Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? It has been the overriding question
among football fans for the past decade. Everyone has an opinion and
everyone has to have a favourite. Indeed, for some, like Johan Cruyff,
it's not even a legitimate debate.
"There is a big difference in being just a great goalscorer and being the best player," the Dutch legend argues. "Every person that understands football knows this. It's absolutely ridiculous to me that some people actually think Messi isn't the best. This isn't about Cristiano at all. He's a fantastic player, one of the best goalscorers ever. This is about how ridiculously good Messi is."
However, for others, such as Luis Figo, it's all a question of taste. "It's like choosing between white truffle or caviar," the former Portugal captain feels.
What is beyond dispute is the pair have brought the best out of one another over the last 10 years, resulting in a duopoly of arguably unprecedented footballing excellence. Messi and Ronaldo have not only beaten goalscoring records, they have smashed them. They have achieved a level of consistent quality never seen before, dominating the Ballon d'Or since 2008 and winning every Goal 50 bar one.
It has truly been a golden era for individual brilliance - but it does beg the question as to what happens when time eventually catches up with Ronaldo and Messi. True, Ronaldo remains the perfect physical specimen, suggesting that he could continue to excel at the highest level for another four or five years. However, he is now 30 and it is inevitable that his considerable powers will eventually begin to wane.
Messi, meanwhile, is just 28, so he is conceivably entering his prime, a time in which his maturity should marry perfectly with his innate ability. Still, the Argentina international has always been more susceptible to muscular problems than his great rival Ronaldo and one wonders how long it will be before the persistent punishment dished out to this most mercurial of talents eventually starts to take its toll.
So, when Messi and Ronaldo are finally reduced to the level of mere mortals, who will step up to the mark and take on the responsibility of maintaining the standards by which greatness must now be judged?
The most obvious candidate is Messi's seemingly natural heir to the throne at Barcelona, Neymar. Ever since exploding onto the scene at Santos, the fleet-footed forward has been touted as the next big thing. Despite a somewhat slow start to his Barca career, he has not disappointed.
He carried the weight of a nation's hopes on his shoulders at last year's World Cup in Brazil and yet played with the joyous freedom of a man seemingly unburdened by a care in the world - before being cruelly cut down at the quarter-final stage by Colombia's Juan Zuniga.
Of course, there have long been doubts about Neymar's seemingly frail physique. Former Croatia and AC Milan hero Zvonimir Boban stated last year: "Can Neymar win the Ballon d'Or? Not likely! He is not that good, not that powerful. He is an amazing talent but is currently far from being top class. He will never be Ronaldo, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic or [Andres] Iniesta - and especially not Messi."
However, the stats underline that Neymar is progressing at a remarkable rate. He scored just 15 goals in all competitions during his debut season in Spain. Last term, he hit 39. Furthermore, his recent 'poker' against Rayo Vallecano - which, significantly, came in the absence of the injured Messi - saw him reach 60 goals for Barca in 79 fewer matches than the aforementioned Cruyff.
Neymar is also proving himself a man for the big occasion, as evidenced by the fact that he scored in every game from the last eight to the final of last year's Champions League. In addition, Thomas Vermaelen recently admitted that he and his fellow Barcelona defenders have just as many problems containing Neymar in training as Messi. "They leave us open-mouthed," the Belgian confessed. "They are two demons!"
The only doubts regarding Neymar's ability to inherit Messi's mantle centre on off-field distractions. Sadly, the Selecao skipper's time in Catalunya has been characterised by legal issues surrounding his transfer from Santos and Cruyff is concerned by the constant controversy.
"He's always in the centre of the storm for things outside of football,” the Barca icon opined. “Neymar needs to play football to improve and develop in many areas that he will only achieve by playing football. The problem is that he is constantly being linked with negative things."
In terms of pure talent, though, there should be no stopping Neymar from soon establishing himself as the most lethal attacker in the game. However, he could face stiff competition for the title as the game's dominant force.
Indeed, Paul Pogba has been tipped for greatness since he was a teenager. The only person that had reservations was his former boss at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, who inexplicably allowed the Frenchman to leave Old Trafford for Juventus in 2013.
The legendary Scottish manager has since blamed agent Mino Raiola for Pogba's free transfer to Turin but it is clear that Ferguson remains wholly unappreciative of the midfielder's value, arguing earlier this year that Juve should have accepted Barca's €80 million bid for the 22-year-old during the summer.
However, while Pogba has had a relatively quiet start to the new season, France legend Zinedine Zidane has no doubts about his compatriot's potential. "The word 'mistake' is not something you would normally associate with Alex Ferguson's time at Manchester United, but I do think it was a mistake letting Paul Pogba leave. He will go on to be one of the best central midfield players in Europe and he was the natural successor to Paul Scholes, someone they could have built the team around."
That is a view shared by Rio Ferdinand, who remains baffled that his former club did not fight tooth-and-nail to hold onto Pogba. "I saw first-hand what he could do and what a top player he could become," the retired defender recently revealed. "He has the height and strength of Patrick Vieira and the feet of a ballerina. He loves the game and wants to play it the right way. I would confidently predict that, provided he stays injury-free, Pogba will be the world player of the year within the next four years. Yes, he is that good."
Juventus and Italy goalkeeping icon Gianluigi Buffon also knew from the moment he first set eyes on Pogba that this was a special player, one that he now believes capable of emulating Messi and Ronaldo.
"After just a few training sessions we saw how good he was. It cannot have been the same player they saw in Manchester - we thought they maybe needed glasses. I have never seen a player who is so good at his age, he is so strong, so technically gifted, has exceptional all-round play. Pogba can do things only Pogba can, similar to Messi and Ronaldo."
Only time will tell, of course, whether Pogba and Neymar can come close to emulating the achievements of Messi and Ronaldo. It seems highly unlikely, though. Even Eden Hazard, who Jose Mourinho this summer claimed performed better than Ronaldo last season, has admitted that he will never be capable of scoring with the same remarkable regularity as the Portuguese.
"I often ask myself what I can do to become like Messi and Ronaldo and get 50 or 60 goals in a season," the Belgium explained earlier this year. "I try, of course, but I realise that I will never be a true scorer. It's not in me. It is mainly mental: at 2-0, not thinking that is enough for example. Sometimes I still think after a goal, 'that's enough.' I'm not in search of records like some other players -- if I can score between 15 and 20 goals each season, I will be very happy."
The difference between Messi and Ronaldo and the rest is that they have no doubts about their own ability, while at the same time possessing an insatiable desire for further success and more and more goals. So, for now, it's probably just best to fully appreciate them while we can, as we will never see their likes again.
"There is a big difference in being just a great goalscorer and being the best player," the Dutch legend argues. "Every person that understands football knows this. It's absolutely ridiculous to me that some people actually think Messi isn't the best. This isn't about Cristiano at all. He's a fantastic player, one of the best goalscorers ever. This is about how ridiculously good Messi is."
However, for others, such as Luis Figo, it's all a question of taste. "It's like choosing between white truffle or caviar," the former Portugal captain feels.
What is beyond dispute is the pair have brought the best out of one another over the last 10 years, resulting in a duopoly of arguably unprecedented footballing excellence. Messi and Ronaldo have not only beaten goalscoring records, they have smashed them. They have achieved a level of consistent quality never seen before, dominating the Ballon d'Or since 2008 and winning every Goal 50 bar one.
It has truly been a golden era for individual brilliance - but it does beg the question as to what happens when time eventually catches up with Ronaldo and Messi. True, Ronaldo remains the perfect physical specimen, suggesting that he could continue to excel at the highest level for another four or five years. However, he is now 30 and it is inevitable that his considerable powers will eventually begin to wane.
Messi, meanwhile, is just 28, so he is conceivably entering his prime, a time in which his maturity should marry perfectly with his innate ability. Still, the Argentina international has always been more susceptible to muscular problems than his great rival Ronaldo and one wonders how long it will be before the persistent punishment dished out to this most mercurial of talents eventually starts to take its toll.
So, when Messi and Ronaldo are finally reduced to the level of mere mortals, who will step up to the mark and take on the responsibility of maintaining the standards by which greatness must now be judged?
The most obvious candidate is Messi's seemingly natural heir to the throne at Barcelona, Neymar. Ever since exploding onto the scene at Santos, the fleet-footed forward has been touted as the next big thing. Despite a somewhat slow start to his Barca career, he has not disappointed.
He carried the weight of a nation's hopes on his shoulders at last year's World Cup in Brazil and yet played with the joyous freedom of a man seemingly unburdened by a care in the world - before being cruelly cut down at the quarter-final stage by Colombia's Juan Zuniga.
Of course, there have long been doubts about Neymar's seemingly frail physique. Former Croatia and AC Milan hero Zvonimir Boban stated last year: "Can Neymar win the Ballon d'Or? Not likely! He is not that good, not that powerful. He is an amazing talent but is currently far from being top class. He will never be Ronaldo, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic or [Andres] Iniesta - and especially not Messi."
However, the stats underline that Neymar is progressing at a remarkable rate. He scored just 15 goals in all competitions during his debut season in Spain. Last term, he hit 39. Furthermore, his recent 'poker' against Rayo Vallecano - which, significantly, came in the absence of the injured Messi - saw him reach 60 goals for Barca in 79 fewer matches than the aforementioned Cruyff.
Neymar is also proving himself a man for the big occasion, as evidenced by the fact that he scored in every game from the last eight to the final of last year's Champions League. In addition, Thomas Vermaelen recently admitted that he and his fellow Barcelona defenders have just as many problems containing Neymar in training as Messi. "They leave us open-mouthed," the Belgian confessed. "They are two demons!"
The only doubts regarding Neymar's ability to inherit Messi's mantle centre on off-field distractions. Sadly, the Selecao skipper's time in Catalunya has been characterised by legal issues surrounding his transfer from Santos and Cruyff is concerned by the constant controversy.
"He's always in the centre of the storm for things outside of football,” the Barca icon opined. “Neymar needs to play football to improve and develop in many areas that he will only achieve by playing football. The problem is that he is constantly being linked with negative things."
In terms of pure talent, though, there should be no stopping Neymar from soon establishing himself as the most lethal attacker in the game. However, he could face stiff competition for the title as the game's dominant force.
Indeed, Paul Pogba has been tipped for greatness since he was a teenager. The only person that had reservations was his former boss at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, who inexplicably allowed the Frenchman to leave Old Trafford for Juventus in 2013.
The legendary Scottish manager has since blamed agent Mino Raiola for Pogba's free transfer to Turin but it is clear that Ferguson remains wholly unappreciative of the midfielder's value, arguing earlier this year that Juve should have accepted Barca's €80 million bid for the 22-year-old during the summer.
However, while Pogba has had a relatively quiet start to the new season, France legend Zinedine Zidane has no doubts about his compatriot's potential. "The word 'mistake' is not something you would normally associate with Alex Ferguson's time at Manchester United, but I do think it was a mistake letting Paul Pogba leave. He will go on to be one of the best central midfield players in Europe and he was the natural successor to Paul Scholes, someone they could have built the team around."
That is a view shared by Rio Ferdinand, who remains baffled that his former club did not fight tooth-and-nail to hold onto Pogba. "I saw first-hand what he could do and what a top player he could become," the retired defender recently revealed. "He has the height and strength of Patrick Vieira and the feet of a ballerina. He loves the game and wants to play it the right way. I would confidently predict that, provided he stays injury-free, Pogba will be the world player of the year within the next four years. Yes, he is that good."
Juventus and Italy goalkeeping icon Gianluigi Buffon also knew from the moment he first set eyes on Pogba that this was a special player, one that he now believes capable of emulating Messi and Ronaldo.
"After just a few training sessions we saw how good he was. It cannot have been the same player they saw in Manchester - we thought they maybe needed glasses. I have never seen a player who is so good at his age, he is so strong, so technically gifted, has exceptional all-round play. Pogba can do things only Pogba can, similar to Messi and Ronaldo."
Only time will tell, of course, whether Pogba and Neymar can come close to emulating the achievements of Messi and Ronaldo. It seems highly unlikely, though. Even Eden Hazard, who Jose Mourinho this summer claimed performed better than Ronaldo last season, has admitted that he will never be capable of scoring with the same remarkable regularity as the Portuguese.
"I often ask myself what I can do to become like Messi and Ronaldo and get 50 or 60 goals in a season," the Belgium explained earlier this year. "I try, of course, but I realise that I will never be a true scorer. It's not in me. It is mainly mental: at 2-0, not thinking that is enough for example. Sometimes I still think after a goal, 'that's enough.' I'm not in search of records like some other players -- if I can score between 15 and 20 goals each season, I will be very happy."
The difference between Messi and Ronaldo and the rest is that they have no doubts about their own ability, while at the same time possessing an insatiable desire for further success and more and more goals. So, for now, it's probably just best to fully appreciate them while we can, as we will never see their likes again.
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