Lionel Messi Tops Cristiano Ronaldo as Best Player of Last Decade, Says Pele
Brazil legend Pele has claimed Barcelona star Lionel Messi just edges Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to the finest player of this generation.
The former forward, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, stated that over the course of the last decade, there has been no finer footballer in the world than Messi, per the Press Trust of India (h/t sports.ndtv.com): "It's very difficult to make a comparison of players of different generations. But in last 10 years Messi was the best. Ronaldo plays forward and tries to score, while Messi plays with a different style. In my team I would love to have both... We have Neymar who also has good future."
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It’s a longstanding debate which Pele is better equipped to offer an assessment on than most. The Brazil icon is the only player ever to have won the World Cup on three separate occasions and was one of the greatest goalscorers to have ever kicked a ball.
In some respects, it’s a little surprising the great man doesn’t prefer Ronaldo. The Portuguese, like Pele, is a thoroughbred goalscorer and a player who lives to stick the ball in the back of the net.
Recently, Ronaldo notched the 501st goal of his distinguished career, but at the moment, he is struggling to score, per OptaJose:
Still, in front of goal, the Portuguese can do it all. Whether it’s his right foot, his left foot or in the air, Ronaldo scarcely spurns clear-cut opportunities, and like Pele, he can find the target from a variety of distances and angles.
Messi is different, of course. He’s a player that’s much more cerebral in his style, dropping into pockets, gliding past defenders and prompting clever linkup play with team-mates. But the end result, as is the case with Ronaldo, is a lot of goals and assists.
As we can see here, courtesy of barcastat (h/t barcastuff) in terms of overall contributions to goals, Messi does have the edge over the Portuguese:
"Most goals+assists in 2015: Messi 68 - Ronaldo 53 - Suarez 46 - Aguero Lewandowski 41 - Ibrahimovic 40 - Neymar 38 #fcblive [via @barcastat]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 7, 2015"
The next phase of both players’ respective careers will be highly interesting. Neither are quite as dynamic as they were in their younger days, and already, we’ve started seeing Messi and Ronaldo adapting their playing style, with the former as more of a midfielder and the latter as more of a No. 9.
What will be critical for the pair is to continue affecting big matches at precarious points. As noted by Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, at the moment, that’s not something Ronaldo is doing:
Ultimately, that’s what is likely to set Messi aside from Ronaldo. The Barcelona man has helped his team to more major honours down the years, and while that can be attributed to a tremendous supporting cast, with the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, Messi has made decisive impacts in the overwhelming majority of the Blaugrana’s big games.
There’s still time for Ronaldo to make amends in that sense, and playing in a more advanced role should give him more opportunities to conjure decisive moments. But while Messi and Barcelona remain at the peak of their powers, Ronaldo and Real will rarely have things their own way when it comes to domestic and European titles.
