As someone who works with data every day, these posts are really so, so hard to read. Ronaldo the scientist.. jesus.
See, from a scientific perspective, goals and assists are a terrible, terrible model to capture the performance of a player. That's why data scientists working in football developed advanced metrics such as xG, xGC, xGBuildUp and so forth: They tried to define wholistic models which consider the impact of every play a player makes, not only those that happen during the last two contacts before the ball passes the goal line.
Those two metrics (goals and assists) are very, very limited because in a chain of plays that lead tona goal, sometimes the finish is the best and most difficult play, sometimes it is the assist, sometimes the pre assist, sometimes the ball recovery and so forth. Not even the most advanced metrics are able to reflect this complexion accurately.
And here you are, claiming that Ronaldo is a scientist because he developed his game to optimize a metric that's very popular among fans because it is easy to understand but also very limited.
You could argue that Ronaldo optimized his game to look better on a stat sheet that people with limited knowledge of how to interpret data and develop statistical models would read. Artist and scientist.. jesus
It's not just stats.
Its his ability to be proven everywhere around the world in 4 different clubs around the world at different times just like Gravity was proven to everyone everywhere after Isaac Newton.
Messi is more an artist, people drooling on how he draws the opposition and does things in a way that's catching to your eyes - but he needs the right artistic tools, the right surface and right environment to do so.
I mean fine - people are instantly making excuses for Messi at PSG whilst players like Cavani & Ronaldo is still doing things for us in the Premier league whenever they play even if they have like significant less natural ability.
Another question that I'm thinking I'm going to keep asking people -
If Messi played all his career only like the way he did for Argentina for Argentina - no other performances; would people call him the greatest as much?
He isn't even regarded the best ever for Argentina by so many. So why exactly is he the GOAT? I don't see Messi's performances in his Argentina career anywhere on the level of his Barcelona career. (Let's keep it simple and not add PSG to the list, because all he needs would be a goal in the UCL semi finals/finals to have people believe that he has been playing like he always did for Barcelona).
Then look at C Ronaldo, the way he played and what he helped achieve for Portugal and how he is viewed.
Ronaldo is regarded as a soccer god for Portugal, the media talk about him non stop that it sounds like he is the only player of the team. Their best and most successful ever from performances like hattricks vs spain to the trophies win.
The way he plays for whoever, whenever by almost just carbon copying himself and his style before pasting such a dominate force at Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus or Portugal is simply stunning.
He needs no tactic like possesion football to play his best football, yet he can also do it in posession football, he can do it when his team parks the bus, he can do it when the opposition park the bus, counter attacks, dominant attacks - anywhere, any time, any style, any place, any who- you know what your getting with Ronaldo; a copy and paste version of one of the best of all time in football.
That's why he is my GOAT. Not the guy who can beat Stoke on a cold winter night - but the guy who could actually play for Stoke on a cold winter night playing their tactics and look the least out of shape or form.
