I still ask myself exactly when did Cristiano prove he can play in more systems than Messi?
Ever since his first Ballon D'Or level season he essentially played the same position. A very unique one, too. You could probably cqll it something like a false 7 since he plays as a winger but only to make runs into the area which is usually inhabited by a no 9. Over the years this got more and more extrem and he left more and more traditional winger responsibilities aside in order to maximize his goal scoring. What's also very important: he needed striker to support him in a very uncommon fashion. Benzema needed to adapt to him like few players did and sacrificed a lot of his goal threat as a consequence. His duties were usually dragging defenders away to create space which Cristiano could attack, either through runs or by playing more like a false 9. As said before, this got more extreme with every season at Madrid. Juventus is a step back from that (and a huge one indeed) but you can still see similar patterns. For a player that is allegedly so adaptable, Cristiano needs a very unique setup to function. At Juve he essentially forced Higuain out of the squad and Dybala's goal scoring, formerly their best and most important player, fell off a cliff and he became replaceable. Hard to imagine Cristiano forming a partnership with someone like Kane or Lewandowski.
Now, if we look at Messi, he's functioned in a LOT of different setups. It's the third time I post it (still waiting for Peyroteo to adress the points in it) but here's a great video that illustrates how Messi adapted to the players Barcelona brought in.
Under Guardiola he started on the left with Eto'o/Ibrahimovic being the main striker. He then moved into the false nine position which was completely different from his previous position. Played very high up the pitch and received the ball usually in the line between the midfield and defense. When Enrique came in and Suarez and Neymar were bought, he again moved to the right side. Under Valverde, he initially played as a second striker. When Dembele came in, he moved to the ten. Now that they have Arthur and switched back to a 4-3-3, he's back at the left wing (though his position may still change from game to game).
He also drops much deeper than he did in his early days in order to help the midfield in the build up of attacks. And that in completely different systems. There's no need to describe Guardiola's system, but Enrique played differently. A lot more cautious. If they took the lead then they'd fall back and rely on counter attacks. His team was characterized by a great attack in contrast to Pep's whose teams are always characterized by dominant midfields. Valverde's system is much more opportunistic/improvised and gives the players much freedom. Highly reliant on individual class, not at all like Guardiola or Enrique who provided clear instructions in the build up and positional play.
You can also see his adaptability at the partnerships he's formed. Besides the other La Masia players (Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, primarily) he also formed great partnerships with Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, Suarez, Neymar and even Paulinho. Regarding Cristiano you could maybe say the same for Marcelo and Benzema, though Benzema is a tricky case. Messi made every single attacker he played with look better while Benzema looked worse because he sacrificed much of his typical striker game for the Portuguese.
And that's probably the most important thing. Messi can play with everybody successfully. Ronaldo can only play with a selective few. It's hard to imagine him in the same team as someone like Hazard or Neymar since he occupies their space on the left. Yet it is also hard to imagine him playing with a worldclass striker because he'll occupy their space in the box and requires them to abandon these areas. With Messi it is different. Positionally, he's much more adaptable because he can switch between three positions without any drop in quality. You can fit him in the same squad with almost anybody. And he doesn't occupy the space top strikers usually demand for themselves like Ronaldo does. The goal records of his fellow attackers won't drop because he's in the squad like it is the case with Ronaldo, if anything they will rise. And that's because he's probably also the best assist giver in the world right now and scores his goals starting from deep positions instead of occupying the box. You basically get his goals on top of the output of a top striker.
So I really don't see how Ronaldo is more adaptable. Yes, it is easy to assist him since he's probably the best there is (or even was) when it comes to converting crosses and is also great at making runs behind the defense but he's still a very challenging team mate for strikers and left wingers. He forces the team to adapt to him (and you see it at Juve this season, primarily when looking at Dybala and Higuain) and not vice versa. In order to think that he's better in this area you have to analyze his career with a magnifying class while only briefly examining Messi from the distance IMO. If you really take a closer look, Messi has been truly worldclass in more different positions than Ronaldo and in completely different setups as well. And it also shows that when new stars come in, it is Messi who adapts not the other way round like it is often the case with Cristiano.
Ever since his first Ballon D'Or level season he essentially played the same position. A very unique one, too. You could probably cqll it something like a false 7 since he plays as a winger but only to make runs into the area which is usually inhabited by a no 9. Over the years this got more and more extrem and he left more and more traditional winger responsibilities aside in order to maximize his goal scoring. What's also very important: he needed striker to support him in a very uncommon fashion. Benzema needed to adapt to him like few players did and sacrificed a lot of his goal threat as a consequence. His duties were usually dragging defenders away to create space which Cristiano could attack, either through runs or by playing more like a false 9. As said before, this got more extreme with every season at Madrid. Juventus is a step back from that (and a huge one indeed) but you can still see similar patterns. For a player that is allegedly so adaptable, Cristiano needs a very unique setup to function. At Juve he essentially forced Higuain out of the squad and Dybala's goal scoring, formerly their best and most important player, fell off a cliff and he became replaceable. Hard to imagine Cristiano forming a partnership with someone like Kane or Lewandowski.
Now, if we look at Messi, he's functioned in a LOT of different setups. It's the third time I post it (still waiting for Peyroteo to adress the points in it) but here's a great video that illustrates how Messi adapted to the players Barcelona brought in.
Under Guardiola he started on the left with Eto'o/Ibrahimovic being the main striker. He then moved into the false nine position which was completely different from his previous position. Played very high up the pitch and received the ball usually in the line between the midfield and defense. When Enrique came in and Suarez and Neymar were bought, he again moved to the right side. Under Valverde, he initially played as a second striker. When Dembele came in, he moved to the ten. Now that they have Arthur and switched back to a 4-3-3, he's back at the left wing (though his position may still change from game to game).
He also drops much deeper than he did in his early days in order to help the midfield in the build up of attacks. And that in completely different systems. There's no need to describe Guardiola's system, but Enrique played differently. A lot more cautious. If they took the lead then they'd fall back and rely on counter attacks. His team was characterized by a great attack in contrast to Pep's whose teams are always characterized by dominant midfields. Valverde's system is much more opportunistic/improvised and gives the players much freedom. Highly reliant on individual class, not at all like Guardiola or Enrique who provided clear instructions in the build up and positional play.
You can also see his adaptability at the partnerships he's formed. Besides the other La Masia players (Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, primarily) he also formed great partnerships with Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, Suarez, Neymar and even Paulinho. Regarding Cristiano you could maybe say the same for Marcelo and Benzema, though Benzema is a tricky case. Messi made every single attacker he played with look better while Benzema looked worse because he sacrificed much of his typical striker game for the Portuguese.
And that's probably the most important thing. Messi can play with everybody successfully. Ronaldo can only play with a selective few. It's hard to imagine him in the same team as someone like Hazard or Neymar since he occupies their space on the left. Yet it is also hard to imagine him playing with a worldclass striker because he'll occupy their space in the box and requires them to abandon these areas. With Messi it is different. Positionally, he's much more adaptable because he can switch between three positions without any drop in quality. You can fit him in the same squad with almost anybody. And he doesn't occupy the space top strikers usually demand for themselves like Ronaldo does. The goal records of his fellow attackers won't drop because he's in the squad like it is the case with Ronaldo, if anything they will rise. And that's because he's probably also the best assist giver in the world right now and scores his goals starting from deep positions instead of occupying the box. You basically get his goals on top of the output of a top striker.
So I really don't see how Ronaldo is more adaptable. Yes, it is easy to assist him since he's probably the best there is (or even was) when it comes to converting crosses and is also great at making runs behind the defense but he's still a very challenging team mate for strikers and left wingers. He forces the team to adapt to him (and you see it at Juve this season, primarily when looking at Dybala and Higuain) and not vice versa. In order to think that he's better in this area you have to analyze his career with a magnifying class while only briefly examining Messi from the distance IMO. If you really take a closer look, Messi has been truly worldclass in more different positions than Ronaldo and in completely different setups as well. And it also shows that when new stars come in, it is Messi who adapts not the other way round like it is often the case with Cristiano.
