Real Madrid Galacticos

5 Reasons why C.Ronaldo is better than Messi

Posted on 12. Aug, 2009 by admin in General

Now that C.Ronaldo has got his career at Real Madrid up and running. I have no choice but to be biased and go with Ronaldo this time in the debate of ‘Who is the best player in the world’. I have my reasons for it. Firstly because he plays for Real Madrid and Messi plays for Barcelona.

Real Madrid obviously have won more than Barcelona, though Barcelona have eclipsed Real Madrid in the past 5 years in terms of winning league and Champions league but this season, that is about to change as Real Madrid look to collect its 10nth Champions League crown and cement their place as the Europeans Elite once again (if you guys did not know already that Real Madrid are not in the 1st pot for Champions League draw, which basically means that UEFA no longer considers Real Madrid amongst the tier 1 clubs and our place has been taken by Villareal I think). So back to Ronaldo vs Messi debate.

Here is why I think Ronaldo is better than Messi:

1. This is the most obvious one I think and that is, Ronaldo can hit the ball equally well with both feet while Messi SURE can’t. That gives Ronaldo more mobility on the wing and can trick opponents with the use of either feet for dribbling. The plus point Messi has is that, he is so good with his left foot that he hardly requires the use of his right foot in any situation, but still, when we talk about the best, two footed ability is certainly a thing Ronaldo can rely upon to out shine Messi because there will always be situations where Messi would have to cut back on the ball while Ronaldo would just use his left foot to shoot or pass. A lethal weapon to wrong foot the keeper which is the key to scoring goals when one does not have the accuracy of Zidane or Beckham.
2. Second is obviously that Ronaldo can head the ball better. Now this may seem in contrast to what happened in Champions League final 2009 when L.Messi scored off a header to give Barcelona the 2-0 lead over Manchester United and the two defenders marking Messi were Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who are considered to be the best aerial defenders in the world by far but if we ignore that goal, then I do not think that anyone can find a goal from Messi where he uses his head. He does not need to by the way. Anyway, Ronaldo has scored a lot of vital goals for Manchester United by heading the ball and a player as good as Ronaldo, with the ball at his feet, deceives the defenders into thinking that he would not be a threat at headers but in reality, Ronaldo is a big threat, his physique and ripped legs, allow him to jump higher than most people allows him to score headers.
3. Ronaldo can take free kicks like 100 times better than Messi. That also has to do with the fact that Messi does not actually take free kicks for Barcelona, very rarely have I seen Messi taking free kicks either for Argentina (his national team) or Barcelona (his current club side, though Manchester City have appeared to hand him a blank check to name his price in order to move to Manchester City). Ronaldo’s free kick technique is the most unique in history, his free kicks usually change direction mid air several times which fools the keeper into going the other way than he is supposed to but consistency is a problem for Ronaldo. Ronaldo can score from any position on the field with his free kicks. Just look at his goals for Manchester United from free kicks in the season 2008-2009 and who can forget the goal he scored against Arsenal in Champions League Semi Final 2009. What a cracker of a goal, you must watch it in order to feel the power behind Ronaldo’s free kicks.
4. Ronaldo can shoot from any position while Messi has to get close to the penalty area to have any chance of scoring a goal. For people who do not understand this, just search Ronaldo goal against Porto Champions League Quarter Final 2009 and you will realize that Ronaldo has more range in his shooting ability than Messi, not to mention that Messi does not need long shoots but it does gives Ronaldo the edge when it comes to opening up defenses, defenders cannot just park a bus in front of the goal because Ronaldo would just take a look and BOOM, Ronaldo rocket into the back of the net.
5. Ronaldo is better looking and has better physique which means that he is stronger than Messi but Ronaldo is so clever, that he takes a dive whenever he feels he is being touched. That sends the signal to the opponent that though Ronaldo may be over 6 foot, he is not going to get physical and get whacked around all over the park as in case of Messi. Messi is more determined than Ronaldo to stay on his feet and thus, he pays the price for it as defenders constantly try to hack him down to the ground and make some pretty ugly tackles on him. This also gives Ronaldo another dimension. In any match, Ronaldo may choose to be theatrical and take dives, or he might show his upper body strength and not go down on every challenge made on him, thus keeping the defenders guessing of what Ronaldo’s going to do at any instant.

I think I have presented some pretty strong points for Ronaldo being better than Messi. If there are 5 skills in a footballer, Ronaldo gets an 8 (or 8.9) in each one, while Messi gets a 7 in 2 and a perfect 10 in the other 3. Ronaldo is a threat to the opposition from every corner of the ground. Long shoots, free kicks, headers, finishing, speeed, strength and good passing range as well. While Messi is better at running people and beating them with ease, but I think any expert would agree that planning against Messi is a bit easier than planning against Ronaldo because Ronaldo can hurt them in so many ways.

Messi does rely a lot on his face. Any injury can be a serious one for his career and while Ronaldo also relies heavily on his pace, he has other weapons which he can put to good use in case of a injury that hampers his running speed.

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