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Messi v Ronaldo | Contains double your daily salt allowance
- Thread starter Rado_N
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the strength one makes me chuckle, that's all based on Ronaldo's six pack. If you watch the two actually play he gets pushed over a lot easier than Messi does. And shooting? christ, over the years Messi has been proven to be far more clinical (aside from penalties which I'll give him).
Exactly.
How people can rave about his strength when he goes over so easily is beyond me. If the man himself doesn't utilise the strength to his advantage how the feck can you go on about it as if it's something that stands him above the rest?
As for the shooting... Utterly ludicrous and proves how little people look into the game at times. He'll score a 30 yarder into the top corner and everyone will think "you know, Ronaldo's brilliant at shooting..." it's the exact same with his free kicks. He's wasteful. Don't have the stats but I'd be stunned if his shooting accuracy was higher than Messi's or even at a level you'd expect from a player of his standing.
I'm sure the stats are in here, but you're right - he has a worse conversion rate than Messi, who has scored more variety of goals too (as in outside the box, etc) compared to Ronaldo.
I think what Cal means to say is that Ronaldo has a harder shot... Or maybe he just meant he simply shoots way more, so I guess he's right in that regard.
He's right about something at last.
I have seen the stats from last world cup and Messi is higher. http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/
Strength doesn't mean not getting pushed over, that has more to do with a higher centre of gravity.
Messi has better finishing but Ronaldo has harder shot and just as lethal (if not better) in terms of scoring goals.
Ronaldo has strength in that he can challenge for contested headers, where Messi cannot.
Balance, as Cal points out, is more to do with core strength and centre of gravity. Messi has an extremely low centre of gravity and therefore some insane balance, he cannot be pushed over.
Balance, as Cal points out, is more to do with core strength and centre of gravity. Messi has an extremely low centre of gravity and therefore some insane balance, he cannot be pushed over.
I don't think anyone with right mind would honestly think Messi has better strength than Ronaldo... there's not even a contest there (Drogba used to fall over easily too...). But true though he definitely has better balance/low center of gravity when carrying the ball.
See, we can agree occasionally when you're being reasonable.
Messi does seem more difficult to push over, not that it can't be done.
I don't think anyone was debating the point, but it was just being pointed out as far as comparing the attributes of the two players.
See, we can agree occasionally when you're being reasonable.
Messi does seem more difficult to push over, not that it can't be done.
I'm a good bloke, me.
It would most probably take a card-worthy effort to knock Messi over on the pitch.
How is Ronaldo better at crossing?
My first post in this thread, I think. I'm scared of what I may be sucked into. Here goes..
I'm not necessarily saying Ronaldo is a better crosser, but I do think his crossing is severely underrated as a result of his sub-par passing (for a player of his standard, at least). He is capable of playing in some brilliant balls, low and hard. He did it a lot in his time with us, though obviously he is not utilized that way at RM. Messi does not actually cross the ball enough at Barca to be judged fairly, in my opinion. He may slide it across the area for an unmarked forward, or when he is right next to the byline, but it is rare that he actually tries to curl one around a defender and onto the head of a forward. He did display it a fair few times pre-Pep, however. He is definitely capable.
Both are good crossers. Messi is a hundred times the passer Ronaldo will ever be, but I do think Ronaldo is at least on par with him when it comes to whipping a ball in.
I see where you're coming from and I do agree I've probably seen Ronaldo cross the ball more than messi though they both don't do it that much. I think crossing is just a particular type of pass tbh. It requires vision, technique and the ability to place the ball where you want it. I think Messi is superior to Ronaldo in regards to those qualities. I'll also add that Messi regularly plays 40 yard diagonals and switches the play from side to side with ease and precision, but with him playing centrally a lot ( applies to Ronaldo too) doesn't necessarily get the chances to cross( plus Barca don't really play that style of football)
True, they definitely don't do much of it post, especially from 2008 onwards. I think on paper, it would be easier to say Messi is definitely ahead of Ronaldo, but crossing is not just that - depending on who it is you are playing it to, sometimes it is more important to be able to play it with great power between the last defender and the goalkeeper, or low and hard across the ground in between two defenders to a runner. Messi is probably a better conventional crosser, though - agreed. He can float in a high ball a little better, I think.
No arguments on their passing - Messi, to me, is the best passer of a ball on the planet. His weighting of a ball is otherworldly. Yes, ultimately it is about their style - Barca don't really play a crossing game - they may work it in from wide positions, but they are not going to have Neymar, Messi and Pedro trying to David Beckham the ball to Suarez. Real Madrid tend to cross a lot more, though Ronaldo doesn't actually do much of it at all - it's mostly Marcelo, Carvajal, Bale or Isco playing it in centrally when Ronaldo (and Benzema) makes a run into the box.
I do agree Ronaldo is underrated in his crossing. He used to cross a few for us during his time here, and even after that occasionally I remember he has made a few good ones too (during recent WC I think he had made a great cross which assist to a goal, despite his poor show overall due to being unfit/injured)
Messi is better but one should not look down upon Ronaldo's penalties when comparing goal tallies. Messi is simply not a reliable penalty taker.
But bloody hell he was incredible again today.
Was wondering how long it would take someone to bump this thread 
Ronaldo is a far better penalty taker.
One thing that can't be argued is that Ronaldo is certainly the better penalty taker. How many has Messi missed in the past 10 months alone? Got to be atleast half a dozen.
Rickie Lambert's a better penalty taker as well.
Ronaldo doesn't even come close to having the same impact on matches Messi does. Tonight he didn't score, no assists technically, the penalty/rebound fiasco at the end yet he was still head and shoulders above everyone else. Would that apply to Ronaldo under the same circumstances? Absolutely not.
Ronaldo doesn't even come close to having the same impact on matches Messi does. Tonight he didn't score, no assists technically, the penalty/rebound fiasco at the end yet he was still head and shoulders above everyone else. Would that apply to Ronaldo under the same circumstances? Absolutely not.
Cant disagree with that.
Today is the perfect example of messi not being as good a penalty taker as Ronaldo but a much better footballer. His overall game is just on a whole different level.
I was about to write a very similar post. Saved me some time!
Well put. When Ronaldo isn't scoring he's rarely contributing. Tbf he's such a consistent goal threat that he doesn't need to anyway, but Messi is something else.
Ronaldo's missed a few huge penalties, but he's far better, and far smarter with them. He mixes it up a lot so he's hard to predict, and he either goes high or low. Messi going the perfect height for the keeper so often means if they guess right they have a great chance of saving.
It baffles me why he's so average at penalties. When you see his offside finish over Hart you think to yourself "you can do that but you can't put a ball into the top corner from 12 yards?"
Night and day.
Messi is actually a much better player than Ronaldo for me. It's funny because I honestly think that anyone who sat down to watch them at almost any stage over the last 5 or so years would see that. It's only when we read goal-scoring stats that it even becomes a discussion.
Not that goals are not important, but Messi is clearly so much more. If Iniesta scored 30 more goals a season, he'd be better than Ronaldo too.
Messi is actually a much better player than Ronaldo for me. It's funny because I honestly think that anyone who sat down to watch them at almost any stage over the last 5 or so years would see that. It's only when we read goal-scoring stats that it even becomes a discussion.
Not that goals are not important, but Messi is clearly so much more. If Iniesta scored 30 more goals a season, he'd be better than Ronaldo too.
Don't forget though, Ronaldo had a brilliant game vs Lolerpool at Anfield. I think some people underrate other aspects of his game due to his goalscoring feats, but he can certainly do more than just score bags of goals.
Messi though apart from his penalties is on a completely different plane of existence. That chip over Hart was disgusting and I don't know why, but I feel sad that he didn't score today.
Messi though apart from his penalties is on a completely different plane of existence. That chip over Hart was disgusting and I don't know why, but I feel sad that he didn't score today.
Massive contradiction. Either you think goals are not that important or you think without the goals Ronaldo would be worse than the Iniesta of the past 2 and a half seasons. Either assertion would be batshit insane.
Ronaldo is clearly better at scoring a header from a rebounded penalty against Joe Hart in the last minute of the first leg of a champions league game, on a Tuesday evening in Manchester.
I bet he's intentionally missing some of these penalties to score from rebound and count them in open play, the little midget angel
Despite highlighting it, you still seem to have gotten the quote wrong. I said 'not that goals are not important', as opposed to the implied 'goals are not that important'. It is because of the importance of goals that Ronaldo is considered a better footballer than Iniesta. It is also down to the fact that Messi is not inferior to Ronaldo in terms of goals that there is absolutely no contest as to who is the better player.
No contradiction issue. And no way is it insane to think that Iniesta would be a better footballer than Ronaldo if the latter were not a great goalscorer. The former is a footballing genius, the latter is a goalscoring genius.
No it bloody well isn't. Ronaldo without goals would be much better than the Iniesta of the past 2 and a half years, who if you haven't been watching, has been shit and ineffective for most of that period. And even prior to that, what got Iniesta so much attention weren't the intangible fluff, it was the goals that cemented his status as a world class player (world cup final, semi final goal against Chelsea, etc). If one stripped away the goals and assists and other tangible statistics, I guess Iniesta would be a better freestyle artist.
A Real Madrid without Ronaldo would be much worse in the counter attack, a key feature of the team. His ability to start counter attacks, carry the ball at full speed evading defenders, not screw up counters, and create space for his other players is indispensable. If Ronaldo was mainly about the goals, replacing him with Hernandez, Huntelaar or any deadly poacher wouldn't change the dynamic and potency of Real's attack at all.
To be fair if you're implying that both Ronaldo and Iniesta have established themselves as world class players due to their goalscoring exploits then....
And what's your obsession with the past '2.5 years' anyway? That was not mentioned by me.
Am I? I'm not sure, I'm just bored to be honest.
The thing with the time frame is, I'm wondering what Iniesta you were referring to, because he hasn't been great for the past 30 months. With a hypothetical 30 goals a season I'd take Aguero ahead of him. Not to mention Ronaldo.
I've just come back from the game. Feck know what was going on with that penalty but this guy is simply different class. I love Ronaldo a lot but Messi is something else. The guy's first touch and dribbling is just incredible.
I envy u being able to watch Messi live, watching him live is definitely on my bucket list.
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