Cristiano Ronaldo - Much Ado About Al Nassr

90 + 5min said:
Exactly. We got some really average to poor players being talked about like stars just because social media and so.

I wonder how players like Baggio, Ronaldo (Nr9), Totti and so on would have been portrayed if they played now. Ronaldinho, Henry, Raul or why not vanBasten, Stojkovic, Platini, Zidane. We got some absolute legends from German football but many of them were teamplayers and not individuals like Mattheus. Social media and PR have changed whole landscape about being celebrity.


Ronaldo and Messi are unique players and for the history. I do wonder if they would be this big without social media? Nobody can take away what they have done and still doing but we had lot of quality players doing if not same but close previous decades and not get praise they deserved.
Click to expand...
Social media definitely helps, but I just think it's more about the guys themselves.

I mean, if you were going to create two great players in a lab with the specific purpose of them being rivals for people to expend all their energy arguing over, you couldn't come up with a better duo.

One is tall and one is short. One is left footed and one is right footed. One is South American and one is European. One plays for a small nation, one plays for a big nation. One played for Barcelona, the other for Real Madrid. One is loud, arrogant and demonstrative, one is quiet and (seemingly) humble and shy. One is a poacher (or at least became one), the other a playmaker. One is sponsored by Adidas, the other by Nike. Etc., etc.

They're like opposites in every regard. Hence the ongoing discussion......
 
90 + 5min said:
Exactly. We got some really average to poor players being talked about like stars just because social media and so.

I wonder how players like Baggio, Ronaldo (Nr9), Totti and so on would have been portrayed if they played now. Ronaldinho, Henry, Raul or why not vanBasten, Stojkovic, Platini, Zidane. We got some absolute legends from German football but many of them were teamplayers and not individuals like Mattheus. Social media and PR have changed whole landscape about being celebrity.


Ronaldo and Messi are unique players and for the history. I do wonder if they would be this big without social media? Nobody can take away what they have done and still doing but we had lot of quality players doing if not same but close previous decades and not get praise they deserved.
Click to expand...
They will. Just simply for their longevity to stay at the highest level for so many years alone justify it.
 
ThierryHenry14 said:
They will. Just simply for their longevity to stay at the highest level for so many years alone justify it.
Click to expand...

Of course they would. Broken so many records. Dominated the ballon d'or for 12 years. Even R9 is still legendary for his relatively short prime.
 
He's performed much better at this tournament than most thought he would to be fair.
 
Kinsella said:
He's performed much better at this tournament than most thought he would to be fair.
Click to expand...
For his age being in a less intense league is quite a wise move, he should be as fresh as possible at the moment. We’ll see how he fares coming up against better teams though in the knockouts.
 
Kinda surprised he did that, thought the distinction of having scored in 6 euros would have meant more for him.
 
sepulturite said:
No surprise to see who bumped this thread again tonight :lol:
Click to expand...

Didn’t even have to scroll up and I knew who, personal spokesperson.

Anyway he just tied the assists with Poborsky on 8, after playing 13 more matches to get 8 assists. Robben played less than 10 games to get 5, while Ronaldo’s played 27 games.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
For his age being in a less intense league is quite a wise move, he should be as fresh as possible at the moment. We’ll see how he fares coming up against better teams though in the knockouts.
Click to expand...
Yep, I thought he'd be utilised best as a sort of high impact super-sub but he's performed well so far playing the full 90. Although in the first match I thought the other players in the side were looking to find him far too much...to the detriment of the team and their chances overall, which is essentially the conundrum with Ronaldo in recent years. In other words, his presence takes away from the team as a whole.

But if Portugal can navigate that and play for the betterment of the team (which they did in today's match) then I fancy them as a favourite to win the tournament.
 
Last edited:
KeanoMagicHat said:
Didn’t even have to scroll up and I knew who, personal spokesperson.

Anyway he just tied the assists with Poborsky on 8, after playing 13 more matches to get 8 assists. Robben played less than 10 games to get 5, while Ronaldo’s played 27 games.
Click to expand...
Personal spokesperson is spot on :lol:
 
All the best for him really, he only won 7 league titles in a 22 year career. Meh

Ryan Giggs won 13.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
Quality player who many people will only truly appreciate once he’s gone
Click to expand...
How do you mean? When he's dead? I think most people assume his gone anyway. He's in the Saudi League. I think people already appreciate what he is or was.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
Quality player who many people will only truly appreciate once he’s gone
Click to expand...
I appreciate him now, I just push back against the notion that he's the greatest footballer ever. Because I trust my eyes and not his PR/legions of fans.

He's a great player but he's made out to be something that he's not. IMO, anyway.
 
UnofficialDevil said:
39 years old and having a great Euro, people hating him saying his career ended embarrassingly are being proved wrong,
Click to expand...
No, he just embarrassed himself with the way he left the club and the antics he pulled before he finally did leave. He's a petulant child when he doesn't get his way.
 
Kwabs said:
I appreciate him now, I just push back against the notion that he's the greatest footballer ever. Because I trust my eyes and not his PR/legions of fans.

He's a great player but he's made out to be something that he's not. IMO, anyway.
Click to expand...
Out of interest, where does he rank in the pantheon of footballing greats in your opinion?
 
A someone who faces a struggle to get to the gym 3-5 times a week (depending on how lazy I am) and drags myself there against my will, his fitness is incredible.

He may not be the best footballer of all time, but he is certainly the one that has maximized his potential and athletic peak the most. His dedication is unrivaled.

Does that make him arrogant, petulant, and narcissistic at times? Absolutely, but the pure dedication is something to be admired.
 
@Vidyoyo and @Reapersoul20 putting in some top notch work in this thread, fair play.

Obviously taking the piss and yet somehow completely indistinguishable from the actual nutters. Great stuff.
 
At the age of 39 he's finally learnt how to be humble by assisting a team-mate.
 
MrEleson said:
Out of interest, where does he rank in the pantheon of footballing greats in your opinion?
Click to expand...
I would say that there's definitely 3 players ahead of him, and they would be Pele, Maradona and Messi. After that it is up for debate. I wouldn't say he's definitely fourth because there are other guys who challenge for that spot (Cruyff, for example). But you could argue that he is. So maybe fourth, fifth or sixth.

The problem with him is that he is not thought of as a GOAT candidate on the basis of being a better footballer than everyone else, but rather due to the weight of his stats, trophies and awards. Which are obviously a factor, but I think actual talent and ability needs to be part of the pie. And he has a lot of that, just not as much as I would like to see in someone who is thought of as the greatest footballer of all time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Theonas
Maluco said:
A someone who faces a struggle to get to the gym 3-5 times a week (depending on how lazy I am) and drags myself there against my will, his fitness is incredible.
Click to expand...

It's easy to go 3-5 days a week if your job is to be a professional athlete and you don't have to go to a day job and / or study like regular people.

3 isn't that hard depending on some people's commitments.
 
JogaBonitoRooney said:
It's easy to go 3-5 days a week if your job is to be a professional athlete and you don't have to go to a day job and / or study like regular people.

3 isn't that hard depending on some people's commitments.
Click to expand...

Wow you completely missed his point and focused way too much on the numbers.

Let me try to make it easy for you to understand. Imagine having literally everything that you want, a networth of a billion dollars and yet still having this immense dedication to keep yourself in the best shape possible as a 39 year old.
 
Kwabs said:
I would say that there's definitely 3 players ahead of him, and they would be Pele, Maradona and Messi. After that it is up for debate. I wouldn't say he's definitely fourth because there are other guys who challenge for that spot (Cruyff, for example). But you could argue that he is. So maybe fourth, fifth or sixth.

The problem with him is that he is not thought of as a GOAT candidate on the basis of being a better footballer than everyone else, but rather due to the weight of his stats, trophies and awards. Which are obviously a factor, but I think actual talent and ability needs to be part of the pie. And he has a lot of that, just not as much as I would like to see in someone who is thought of as the greatest footballer of all time.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. That’s a good answer and can agree/understand your viewpoint.
 
statpadder said:
Wow you completely missed his point and focused way too much on the numbers.

Let me try to make it easy for you to understand. Imagine having literally everything that you want, a networth of a billion dollars and yet still having this immense dedication to keep yourself in the best shape possible as a 39 year old.
Click to expand...

Yeah fair enough when you put it like that his dedication is impressive.
 
Kwabs said:
I would say that there's definitely 3 players ahead of him, and they would be Pele, Maradona and Messi. After that it is up for debate. I wouldn't say he's definitely fourth because there are other guys who challenge for that spot (Cruyff, for example). But you could argue that he is. So maybe fourth, fifth or sixth.

The problem with him is that he is not thought of as a GOAT candidate on the basis of being a better footballer than everyone else, but rather due to the weight of his stats, trophies and awards. Which are obviously a factor, but I think actual talent and ability needs to be part of the pie. And he has a lot of that, just not as much as I would like to see in someone who is thought of as the greatest footballer of all time.
Click to expand...
This sums it up really well. He is an outlier in that sense which makes it really difficult to know where to rank him. What can't be disputed is just how remarkable his career has been in every sense. His numbers are ridiculous and his consistency is out of this world. On the other hand, he is the only player out of the all the time greats where the instinct is to marvel at his stats first before anything else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.