Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the stalwarts of their respective clubs and hold demigod status with the club’s fans. The pair is the best in the world at what they do and has been instrumental in winning major honours for their clubs, firmly embedding themselves in their clubs’ histories.
But what exactly would happen if their stories had turned out differently? What if Ronaldo was the one who ended up playing for the Catalans and Messi was one of Real Madrid’s galacticos. While it is something which is as close to impossible as possible, one YouTuber, Rich Leigh decided to give it a go on FIFA 17 which led to some interesting results.
Accomplishing the impossible task of exchanging Cristiano Ronaldo with Lionel Messi is made possible on the FIFA 17 platform via the manager mode feature where players can take charge of a club and its finances and use them according to their whims and fancies.
Rich Leigh accomplished the above on the game by offering Barcelona £1,500,000 in addition to the services of Cristiano Ronaldo for the Argentinian. Messi finally agreed to a contract worth more than a million pounds a week to commit blasphemy and move to the hated rivals.
The race between the two is close in the first season with Lionel Messi finishing with 18 goals in 45 games, one more than the Portuguese’s tally over 47 games. Also, Real Madrid managed to win La Liga that season with the Argentine in their ranks by a margin of nine points. The Catalans were a far off second with only 79 points collected over the duration of the season.
While Real Madrid did win the La Liga, Barcelona with Ronaldo managed to fare much better in the Champions League. They reached the semi-final stage while the Blancos had to be content with an inglorious exit in the last 16.
In the following season, both players’ overall ratings declined but Messi managed 38 goals to Ronaldo’s 23. The now 34-year-old Ronaldo’s dip in production was evident for Barcelona as they finished third in La Liga which is embarrassing by their high standards.
Leigh went to the extent of playing 5 seasons with the modified teams after which a 37-year-old Ronaldo’s rating had dipped to 74 while Messi’s natural talent had him playing at an 81 level for Real Madrid. Ronaldo, however, retired that season after suffering significant dips in individual attributes and being knocked out by Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The very sight of Cristiano Ronaldo in a Barcelona jersey or vice-versa is enough to enrage fans on both sides of the Spanish footballing divide. Such a scenario is truly unthinkable and never going to occur in reality even though it is an appreciated attempt at fancy by Rich Leigh.
