Messi vs Ronaldo (Who is the best?)

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two legend players of current era. Both of them rule the game of football. If one is Ferrari the other is Porche. Both of them are shining stars of the game. But there is a battle between the supporters of this pair. There fan tries to sought out who is more energetic, skillful and overall the best.

 Both Messi and Ronaldo are the figureheads of Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, and the comparison between the two is far too often used as just another battleground to continue this most hateful and historical of rivalries. 

Over years the players in question have adopted various ways of dealing with the constant competition, renewed every year in La Liga and a variety of tournaments. Messi has many times attempted to play down the rivalry on a personal level between the two, recently heaping praise on the Los Merengues sharpshooter in an interview with Time Magazine: 

“I think he's a good person. I think he's a good player, who brings a lot to Madrid, and who, in any moment, can decide a game.

I don't think [there is a rivalry]. I never really fixated on him or compared myself with another player. My mentality is just to achieve more each year, to grow both as an individual and as a team, and if he wasn't there, I'd be doing the same thing.”

Ronaldo, on the other hand—perhaps inevitably given his more bombastic media presence in comparison with the more retiring Messi—has raised the subject of who is the more complete footballer on certain occasions. Talking to CNN in 2012, the Madrid man may have only been half joking when he gave his answer to the question: who is the best? 

“At the moment ... I think it is me (laughs). 

You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it's a different engine. You cannot compare them. He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid.

I think we push each other sometimes in the competition; this is why the competition is so high. This is why Madrid and Barcelona are the best teams in the world because everyone pushes each other, not just me and Messi but other players.”

But who truly deserves to be recognised as the most talented player on the planet? Looking over every aspect of each star's game, the truth is, at times it is almost too close to call.

Goalscoring Ability

Since the appearance of Messi and Ronaldo on the scene, La Liga's Pichichi trophy for top scorer has only been about two players. Perhaps driven on, as Ronaldo alludes to, by the need to make both themselves and their team evermore formidable, the two stars have taken hitting the back of the net to new, almost unimaginable levels. 

The numbers barely separate them. Messi has netted 315 goals in 381 games for Barcelona, since making his debut back in the 2004/05 season. Ronaldo averages a perfect one per game in Merengue ranks, with 201 in 201.

This would appear to give the Portuguese a slight edge, but take into account that Messi's total includes the first four seasons of his professional career, when even as a precocious teenager he was still learning his trade. 

This was a phase also experienced by his rival, who was in his sixth year as a professional when first recording a goal every two games in league football. 

Ronaldo is the consummate poacher in front of goal and strong enough to make him a fearsome prospect for any defence. Messi's ability to score from across the pitch, however, and coolness in defining shots, means that he comes out as the best goalscorer in this analysis. 

 Physical attributes

Ronaldo began life in football as a lanky teenager often thrown off the ball, but he began an incredible metamorphosis in his time at Manchester United. At 6'1" and with an imposing presence, he blends pace and power to mark himself as one of the most perfect physical specimens in world football.