Cristiano Ronaldo - Much Ado About Al Nassr

Theonas said:
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.
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I do get what you're saying with your final sentence, I guess, it's a bit different when the talk is about him, than when people talk about Messi, Maradona, Pele, etc. I don't think his long career has helped him in that, but I do think there was a time when he played he brought that immense joy only special players can bring, namely in his United days and first seasons at Madrid. But I do get your point, and it does make some sense.

Good game from him today, I felt. Could've had another, too.

He's still a little devil sometimes, too :devil: He dropped the defender on the floor, but it's not just that - excellent cross afterwards.



I will always stand by him not playing as a 9, no matter the age. I still think it's a waste. I don't think he should always stick to the left either, but it could be fluid like in 2007-08 Man Utd, even looking at today, he did fine even on the right as shown above. All his best actions in this game, except for one, came from positions on the field that were not central. His assist in the 3rd goal, he's drifted to the right before making the run - Bruno is taking the central position at that moment. It's not coincidence. Look at how he played, where he played, and how Portugal played today - then compare to the first game against Czechia, where he was a static 9 and we were just bombing crosses to the box to little effectiveness.
 
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Only one ahead of him is Messi. He's clear of the rest.

Supremely talented (yes), and damn near complete footballer.
 
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.
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And why exactly pele, Maradona, Cruyff are better than him? Because they were better dribblers?
 
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.
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If GOAT only refers to as greatest raw talent of all time, then sure you may have a point, otherwise CR7 definitely deserves to be a "greatest player of all time" candidate.
 
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People just love to say anything against CR7 now because kolo muani missed his chance in the final. People forget easily messi proudly led his team against Roma, Liverpool, Bayern in UCL. I am not a fanboy of either, but the disrespect Cristiano gets is too much.
 
He has earned that little respect or lack of it. Talking too much all these years and doing the crap he did in his second stint at United. A great athlete and all that, but the loudmouth he has been until today is terrible.
 
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.
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You are absolutely spot on. I've never felt I'm watching a supremely talented player even during his peak years. He looked more of an athlete with unparalleled desire to put the ball into the back of the net.

One thing though is the number of devoted fans he has. Absolute nutters.
gorky_utd said:
People just love to say anything against CR7 now because kolo muani missed his chance in the final. People forget easily messi proudly led his team against Roma, Liverpool, Bayern in UCL. I am not a fanboy of either, but the disrespect Cristiano gets is too much.
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Why bring Messi into this? Anyway, even without the world cup, the Argentine is a much better allround footballer.
ThierryHenry14 said:
If GOAT only refers to as greatest raw talent of all time, then sure you may have a point are ahead of him, otherwise CR7 definitely deserves to be a "greatest player of all time" candidate.
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Take away longevity and Ronaldo doesn't feature even in top 20. With him you have to separate "greatest: list from "the best" list.
 
Rojow said:
He has earned that little respect or lack of it. Talking too much all these years and doing the crap he did in his second stint at United. A great athlete and all that, but the loudmouth he has been until today is terrible.
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True.
 
I’ve been quite impressed by him this tournament. Thought he would be holding Portugal back but I think he’s been sharp, quick and inventive. Arguably the best striker of the tournament so far?
 
gorky_utd said:
People just love to say anything against CR7 now because kolo muani missed his chance in the final. People forget easily messi proudly led his team against Roma, Liverpool, Bayern in UCL. I am not a fanboy of either, but the disrespect Cristiano gets is too much.
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What on earth is this nonsense and what does it have to do with Ronaldo? :lol:
 
gorky_utd said:
And why exactly pele, Maradona, Cruyff are better than him? Because they were better dribblers?
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Cruijff, like Messi, was also an elite playmaker. Cruijff as a player was already a manager in the field next to having all time great ability as a footballer. Ronaldo doesnt have that. Ronaldo is a better goalscorer and a (much) better athlete.
 
I was impressed by that assist on Bruno. Or even by his general unselfish play.

Shows Ronaldo his dedication to keep improving. Even at his ripe old age he added something new to his game!

Hopefully he scores once at the Euros and gets the record of being the oldest goalscorer ever. Only to have Pepe break it the next match :lol:
 
D30757 said:
You are absolutely spot on. I've never felt I'm watching a supremely talented player even during his peak years. He looked more of an athlete with unparalleled desire to put the ball into the back of the net.
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I mean I hate Cristiano because of his 2nd stint at Utd but my God have a fecking word with yourself. Don’t hate so much that you have to talk absolute crap that people stop taking you seriously :lol:
 
Stadjer said:
Cruijff, like Messi, was also an elite playmaker. Cruijff as a player was already a manager in the field next to having all time great ability as a footballer. Ronaldo doesnt have that. Ronaldo is a better goalscorer and a (much) better athlete.
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I don't disagree with your point. It's very difficult to compare players from different generation. The way I look at it that replace Cristiano with any of the player from the list, and messi probably wins 10 ballon d'or.
 
D30757 said:
You are absolutely spot on. I've never felt I'm watching a supremely talented player even during his peak years. He looked more of an athlete with unparalleled desire to put the ball into the back of the net.



Take away longevity and Ronaldo doesn't feature even in top 20. With him you have to separate "greatest: list from "the best" list.
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Theonas said:
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.
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Only thing people talk about with Pele is 1000 goals.
 
He's been far better than Messi so far in this tourney. I think he's finally proven that he's the better player.
 
Funny people have been saying ‘appreciate him, you will miss him while he’s gone’ longer than some people’s careers. He’s played 1,300 games or whatever and has never mentioned retirement. Fully expect him to play at the 2026 World Cup.

He’s like a great band that are 16 songs into their encore while it’s 1.30am in the morning and there’s no more trains from the venue, maybe wrap it up mate or give the stage to someone else.
 
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.
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The man has a trophy room full of league titles from three different countries, multiple Champions League medals, Ballon d'Ors, a European Championship with Portugal and a whole host of other accolades, and he's almost 40 years old. Despite all that he still considers it some sort of life-ending catastrophe when he doesn't win a trophy with fecking Al-Nassr.

There's a fine line between mental illness-levels of obsession and dedication and I think Ronaldo has crossed it a long time ago, but you can't argue with the results. I do wonder if he's even able to let go of the game, though. What does he even do with himself when the thing that takes up pretty much every breathing moment of his life goes away?
 
Red Stone said:
There's a fine line between mental illness-levels of obsession and dedication and I think Ronaldo has crossed it a long time ago, but you can't argue with the results. I do wonder if he's even able to let go of the game, though. What does he even do with himself when the thing that takes up pretty much every breathing moment of his life goes away?
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Not even a real psychiatrist would think it is appropriate to try to correctly diagnose someone from afar. As for the second point, I think he'll cope just fine. He'll obviously continue to dedicate himself to fitness and stay in super shape - and I'm sure his business interests will take up more time as well.
 
Been surprisingly good, thought he would be liability but his link up and touch seems to be back to normal.
 
I'm as biased as they come, can't stand the guy, but can someone please explain to me what was so good about his performance yesterday? Apart from giving Bruno the tapin, he completed 13 passes (9 of them were 5 yard layoffs around the halfway line), dribbled that dreadlocked CB one time and finishing was way off.
Are the standards really that low? Almost a Kane-esque vs Serbia performance, not in the game whatsoever.
 
Robbie Boy said:
He's been far better than Messi so far in this tourney. I think he's finally proven that he's the better player.
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Agree, people always say how Cristiano hasn't won World Cup, yet no one talks about Messi not winning European Championship!
 
elPibeDeOro said:
I'm as biased as they come, can't stand the guy, but can someone please explain to me what was so good about his performance yesterday? Apart from giving Bruno the tapin, he completed 13 passes (9 of them were 5 yard layoffs around the halfway line), dribbled that dreadlocked CB one time and finishing was way off.
Are the standards really that low? Almost a Kane-esque vs Serbia performance, not in the game whatsoever.
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Nothing was good, this thread is now open season of trolling with the occasional clut member
 
statpadder said:
I mean I hate Cristiano because of his 2nd stint at Utd but my God have a fecking word with yourself. Don’t hate so much that you have to talk absolute crap that people stop taking you seriously :lol:
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To clarify supreme talent, I mean Messi/Ronaldinho/Luis Ronaldo type talent. These are players who could consistently create for themselves and for others. Ronaldo doesn't have that magical talent.

The main reasons why he is considered one of the greatest (and he is, don't get me wrong) are his stats, his success and his longevity not because he reached a magical level in his play.

A player I'd compare him to is Van Basten. A fantastic goalscorer with good general play, just not a genius. Only that Van Basten did not have longevity.
 
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TsuWave said:
Only one ahead of him is Messi. He's clear of the rest.

Supremely talented (yes), and damn near complete footballer.
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Explain why you think he is clear of Pele and Maradona? I can't see any logical argument for it.
 
You would think he had just scored a hat trick the way some are going on but nope just a logical square pass when 2-0 up.
 
gorky_utd said:
And why exactly pele, Maradona, Cruyff are better than him? Because they were better dribblers?
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Better dribblers, better passers, better playmakers, in addition to (in the case of Pele and Cruyff) being prolific goalscorers. And Maradona was a prolific goalscorer at the beginning of his career but he became more of a midfielder later on.

I don't think Cruyff is definitely superior to Cristiano, but I think Pele and Maradona are. All three also performed significantly better in the World Cup than CR, and that's the ultimate test for me. Others favour different competitions, but I feel that the World Cup is king, because it's the tournament that every boy dreams of. Even CR himself wrote some long social media post after Portugal were eliminated from the 2022 WC, where he described it as his biggest dream or something like that.

I'm not just talking about winning it, I'm talking about performances.
 
Kwabs said:
Better dribblers, better passers, better playmakers, in addition to (in the case of Pele and Cruyff) being prolific goalscorers. And Maradona was a prolific goalscorer at the beginning of his career but he became more of a midfielder later on.

I don't think Cruyff is definitely superior to Cristiano, but I think Pele and Maradona are. All three also performed significantly better in the World Cup than CR, and that's the ultimate test for me. Others favour different competitions, but I feel that the World Cup is king, because it's the tournament that every boy dreams of. Even CR himself wrote some long social media post after Portugal were eliminated from the 2022 WC, where he described it as his biggest dream or something like that.

I'm not just talking about winning it, I'm talking about performances.
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Where would you rate brazilian ronaldo?
 
elPibeDeOro said:
I'm as biased as they come, can't stand the guy, but can someone please explain to me what was so good about his performance yesterday? Apart from giving Bruno the tapin, he completed 13 passes (9 of them were 5 yard layoffs around the halfway line), dribbled that dreadlocked CB one time and finishing was way off.
Are the standards really that low? Almost a Kane-esque vs Serbia performance, not in the game whatsoever.
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It's a nice performance. Not world shattering or anything. But he's performing in line with the team, much like Pepe. He had nice defensive contributions in the second half, too, 1 successful tackle while pressing up front, just as an example.

Most of all he looks sharp with his feet, his crosses have been good, his long passes (of which he did not do many, as you said), were perfect. First touch passes, ball reception (except one if I recall correctlty) was on point.
 
bakalhau said:
It's a nice performance. Not world shattering or anything. But he's performing in line with the team, much like Pepe. He had nice defensive contributions in the second half, too, 1 successful tackle while pressing up front, just as an example.

Most of all he looks sharp with his feet, his crosses have been good, his long passes (of which he did not do many, as you said), were perfect. First touch passes, ball reception (except one if I recall correctlty) was on point.
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His performance wasn’t in line with Pepe at all.
Ronaldo is that poor now that when he doesn’t feck up or hinder the team it’s seen as a great performance, whereas Pepe was genuinely brilliant yesterday.
 
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