Cristiano Ronaldo Is Still the Best, Not Lionel Messi!

Lionel Messi certainly scored the goal that will land him this year’s major individual awards in the final of the Champions League in Rome. But like some people, I still think that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player on the planet.

The Portuguese winger was completely let down by Sir Alex Ferguson’s horrible tactics and the whole team’s poor spirit right from the start of the game.

Ronaldo showed how determined he was to win in the final with some excellent cracks on goals, but when the team is not behind you, performing in a mesmerizing way is almost an impossible task, especially against a Barcelona side who knows how to win games.

Even Messi was nowhere to be found in the first minutes of the game when Barcelona were dominated by Ronaldo’s Manchester United.

Apart from his header which rounded off the score line, the Argentine superstar was not the man at the centre of attraction on the field; Andres Iniesta, Carlos Puyol, and even Yaya Toure were better players on the night, as they prevented Manchester United’s midfielders and forwards to connect to the ball.

But anti-Ronaldo supporters will close their eyes to that and hail Lionel Messi as the winner of the so-called duel and the World’s Best Player.

The truth, in fact, is that the world wanted to get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo ever since he won all the individual titles and honors.

But we need to be clear on the fact that Messi’s goal in the final has definitely put him above Ronaldo this term. The Portuguese winger fired four important goals for Manchester United in the knockout stages of the competition, and the Red Devils wonderfully reached the final with no disturbances among football fans.

But think about Messi’s Barcelona. The Catalans may be praised for their ability to crush and disgrace big sides like Bayern Munich and Lyon.

But was it the case against English side Chelsea in the semifinals? Absolutely not! Messi’s game was completely ruptured by Guus Hiddink’s impressive tactics for Chelsea’s defenders in the semifinals.

If justice was a notion that ruled in soccer, Barcelona wouldn’t have been in the final. How can three clear penalties be denied in a space of 90 minutes?

And then Barcelona’s moment finally arrives—after the referee on the day, Tom Henning Ovrebo, plays with them as a 12th man: Iniesta fires an equalizer in the top corner of Chelsea’s net to send the Catalans through to the final.

Barcelona stole their place in the finals—it’s simple as that to understand. Unless you are a cowardly big cheat, you would not understand this fact.

So would have Messi been a finalist?

Obviously not!

On the contrary, Cristiano Ronaldo was awesome in the semis against Arsenal, scoring two super goals to help Manchester United reach the final of the Champions League.

So a deserved place in the final for Portugal’s wonderful superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, while justice would have seen Messi fly back to Spain empty-handed with the entire Barcelona squad. Then it would have depended on what would have happened between Manchester United and Chelsea in the final.

Who knows? The Red Champions might have tortured Chelsea once again, and this would have given a clear reason as to why Ronaldo must win the FIFA Player of the Year award once again.

One thing I’d love to ask is this: Messi was supposed to crush out in the Champions League semifinals, so why on earth would people hail him as a treble winner who eventually deserves all the accolades? The so-called final duel shouldn't even have existed because Lionel Messi shouldn’t have been a finalist.

They say the Champions League final in Rome was the defining moment to separate the best player in the world from the second best. I say it was a not-to-happen duel because Messi and Barcelona weren’t worthy finalists.

Cristiano Ronaldo is simply the best. You can play around on the field with the strength of a warrior, but if you are not able to win the European Cup in a fair manner, the real champion is the other man, Cristiano Ronaldo.

But hey guys, you certainly think otherwise. Messi is a champion for you, huh! Go here now: http://lionelmessi.soccerstar.org

Angela Asante: CRF and LSTV writer