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Diego 'El Cholo' Simeone recently had his say on the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry when he was asked about them by Marca. Here's a part of what he said.
“What I consider is that in a team with fewer solutions, Ronaldo is a better fit because he provides many solutions, For a team which focuses on football, Messi is much better. [Ronaldo] can win a game in two actions, he simplifies the situations. Messi is mesmerizing because he plays elaborate football. Leo plays in a team that compliments all of his talents. He always ends up finding solutions.” - Diego Simeone
Since he clearly said that Ronaldo is better for a team with fewer resources or solutions, CR7's fans are taking it for granted that he hailed Ronaldo as the better player. There is also a huge uproar in the Messi fanbase regarding the comments, as they feel the diminutive Argentine is being downplayed by El Cholo.
Both sides are wrong on this matter. The question wasn't even about who is better, it was about who would fit his team better.
He said Ronaldo is better for a team with fewer solution because the solutions are simple. What does Ronaldo do? Head the ball well? Just cross. It's not rocket science and hence it is a simple solution. You want to break Atleti's sturdy defense, cross, it's as simple. Juve had nothing else to offer, and they came up with the simplest of solutions. But simple solutions don't work every time. Just like Juventus found out against Ajax. They defended the crosses well and Juve had no other ways to score.
Now Messi. Diego Simeone said that he is a player who needs a team who focuses on football. He doesn't always provide simplicity. His goal against Liverpool looks simple, but he made it look that way. It should have been simple enough to defend a 3-0 lead but Messi won't help you do that. He likes to have the ball at his feet. To utilize the complete talent of Lionel Messi, you need good players around him. If you want to utilize Messi's vision, you need a Jordi Alba who will sense the pass. If you want to utilize Messi's passing, you need a telepathic player like Iniesta. If you want to use his scoring, he needs to be provided with the ball, as Suarez and Xavi do.
Does it mean Messi is good only with world-class players? Not necessarily, he just needs to be provided with simple things. You just need to do some simple things for him. Don't mess up the passes that he gives you and know when to shoot and when to play a one-two. You have to anticipate his through balls and latch onto them. And of course, try to overlap when he is dribbling and the defenders are focusing on him. But as Johan Cruyff said, playing simple-football is a hard thing to do, and thus not many players could play alongside Messi.
You don't need that with Cristiano because his idea is always to score. You just need to provide him with the balls in the right areas inside the box. His presence attracts defenders and thus others have the time of plenty to find him. The defense takes their eyes off the ball while marking him and Cristiano being the player he is, can win headers above anyone, can win aerial duels and finish, and knows how to beat a trap.
If defense marks Messi, they are automatically marking the ball and if teammates don't anticipate what his magic is going to be, then the defense will double him up and win the ball. Not everyone can anticipate through balls out of nowhere, not everyone can play one-two passes, not everyone can keep pace with Messi's dribbling and overlap the defense.
Crossing? Any player can do it. Anyone. Lobbing the ball to a target man, yes it can be done by anyone, especially when the attention is on the man who is wanting to get on the end of it. What Ronaldo does is that he complements these things well. He is a great header of the ball, a great vertical player, a good person to win aerial duels and head to the goal. This is not elaborate football but it works.
In simple words, Messi is the i9-9900K processor. For you to experience its worth, you need a good graphics card, you need a good RAM, you need a good cooling facility on your PC. Or you can take anything of such sorts. If Messi is the artist with flamboyant brush strokes, you still need good brushes and vibrant colours.
Ronaldo? He is compatible but he is not the most elaborate footballer. He has solutions which can be comprehended by fairly average players. He does what is required of him, score goals, and the only help he needs is to have the ball in proper scoring areas. He only needs a touch of the ball.
You don't run an Intel i9 with 2 GB of RAM and without a cooling system. You don't experience Messi with average teammates and an obsolete system. The teammates are the RAM and the playing style is the cooling system. Both have to function well for him to bring his genius out.
It is not an insult to any of them, it is not calling one better than the other, it is what it is. That's why El Cholo has got it spot on, one of the best coaches in history.
