Neymar vs Ronaldinho: Who was the better player?

Who was the better player

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tomaldinho1 said:
I really don’t think that’s true. Football is different but it’s not like there’s not still a gulf between the richest teams and those below. Tactically I’m not sure many, if any teams, you can say are light years ahead of teams like Ancelotti’s Milan, Pep’s Barca, Mou’s Inter to name three completely different styles from that time. Most of the best teams today are still playing variations of 433, it’s not like there are groundbreaking tactics revolutionising football outside of fitness/conditioning. We’ve been rehashing the same game for decades and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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Was talking to an older Liverpool fan last week, and he is fairly adamant that aside from moving the ball around the back, that what he's seeing now, is not all that far removed from what he was watching and playing in the 70s. He's been around long enough and has been going to games in Anfield and abroad since the 70s.

Tactically the game might have moved on, but from a purely technical and aesthetic point of view, it's not better than what we were watching 20-30 years ago.
 
Oranges038 said:
Was talking to an older Liverpool fan last week, and he is fairly adamant that aside from moving the ball around the back, that what he's seeing now, is not all that far removed from what he was watching and playing in the 70s. He's been around long enough and has been going to games in Anfield and abroad since the 70s.

Tactically the game might have moved on, but from a purely technical and aesthetic point of view, it's not better than what we were watching 20-30 years ago.
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Yeah even in my lifetime I don’t see a huge difference. I’m not even sure it has changed that much tactically - when you think of how old total football is for example, it’s more that we move in cycles. Every generation thinks theirs was the ‘best’ but they’re all the same if you look at it relatively.
 
I think it's way closer than the poll suggests. Pound for pound they're more or less the same but Dinho's cultural impact was bigger which makes me favor him slightly.

Boomercaf will always favor the older player regardless. Just look at similar threads in the past. Henry vs Mbappe, Kaka vs KDB, Giggs vs Bale, Pele/Maradona vs Ronaldo etc. Criteria (longevity vs peak) changes every time to favor the older player.
 
The argument about the football being so much better during Neymar's prime is silly and annoying so I will ignore that...

Looking at Ronaldinho's 5 best years (2003 - 2007 I reckon?), he's overall the best player in the world and I don't think that there is much doubt to be honest. Ronaldo and Zidane still had some juice left, but their best days were over. Kaka and Henry were excellent but not better in my opinion. Messi and C. Ronaldo had just about started so they don't win either.

Neymar doesn't even have an argument for being the best in the world during his best 5 year period. And even if you think it's unfair because of C. Ronaldo and Messi: was he even 3rd best?

Cherry on top:
Ronaldinho played in a more individualist era and he still managed to stand out

Cherry on top of the cherry:
Ronaldinho played for far weaker teams (relative to competition)
 
ok, so what are Neymar's top 3 or top 5 best/iconic moments/goals and how do they compare to Ronaldinho's most iconic moments and goals?
 
Scandi Red said:
The argument about the football being so much better during Neymar's prime is silly and annoying so I will ignore that...

Looking at Ronaldinho's 5 best years (2003 - 2007 I reckon?), he's overall the best player in the world and I don't think that there is much doubt to be honest. Ronaldo and Zidane still had some juice left, but their best days were over. Kaka and Henry were excellent but not better in my opinion. Messi and C. Ronaldo had just about started so they don't win either.

Neymar doesn't even have an argument for being the best in the world during his best 5 year period. And even if you think it's unfair because of C. Ronaldo and Messi: was he even 3rd best?

Cherry on top:
Ronaldinho played in a more individualist era and he still managed to stand out

Cherry on top of the cherry:
Ronaldinho played for far weaker teams (relative to competition)
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Ronaldinho would never have been the best player in the world if Messi was 7-8 years older, so it’s not the fairest comparison.
 
The only time Neymar was at all comparable to Ronaldinho was when he carried that Brazil team on his back in the world cup at the age of 20 or whatever he was but ended up getting injured (broken back ironically I seem to remember). Otherwise he was the 3rd best player in an all time great front 3 for a few years and then pissed about shagging his sister in Paris.

Ronaldinho was simply unplayable in his pomp from around 21-26 and is the most entertaining footballer I've ever seen (leaving Lee Trundle out of it).
 
Samid said:
Boomercaf will always favor the older player regardless. Just look at similar threads in the past. Henry vs Mbappe, Kaka vs KDB, Giggs vs Bale, Pele/Maradona vs Ronaldo etc. Criteria (longevity vs peak) changes every time to favor the older player.
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Absolutely correct.

'Back in my day...'

I've voted for Neymar but it was accidental. I'd
retract it, though not pass it on to Ronaldinho.

They are both monumental cnuts in real life.

Rich, fascist sympathising scum.
 
The difference between 20 years ago and now is nowhere near the chasm that people like to believe it is.

Anyway, Ronaldinho (with David's) transformed a club that was briefly (very briefly) flirting with relegation. They were a mess of a club.
 
Bole Top said:
ok, so what are Neymar's top 3 or top 5 best/iconic moments/goals and how do they compare to Ronaldinho's most iconic moments and goals?
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I think of this as Neymar's most iconic goal:


Santos then went on to lose 5-4... Ronaldinho hat trick.
 
Despite believing that Neymar gets under-rated, it's Ronaldinho for me. I sometimes think we forget just how incredible Ronaldinho was around 2003-2006. At the time he was clearly regarded as the best player in the world. Many were so blown away by his unplayable brilliance that we were beginning to elevate him into the greatest-of-all-time discussions. We had not seen such extreme technique and ability to manipulate the ball in tight spaces and you could count on one hand the number of players who could enter that discussion. The relative brevity of his peak and his quick fall into fat-man territory made that talk premature, but it was the vibe around him at the time.
 
Of all the players I’ve seen in my lifetime, there is only one player in the world I would pay pretty much any money to watch live. That was Ronaldinho at his peak, I think I’d still watch him when he was in Milan(though I didn’t see many full games, just some highlights). He was magic. This isn’t even a contest to me, personally.

I miss footballers of his ilk.
 
DWelbz19 said:
Even if it's Ronaldinho it's way closer than the poll is showing.
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Also is this peak or career?

Because Neymar was great for a 7 year stretch or so. Dinho was basically Kaka on steroids in terms of really only being the iconic “Ronaldinho” everyone thinks about for around 2-3 years before the partying caught up to him.

In a one off game, Ronaldinho. In a question of careers, Neymar. And the people saying it “isn’t close” are just showing their hatred of the latter because he rolls around like a rag doll
 
For me Neymar was at his peak (short period) one of the top 3 players in his era. I still am of the opinion that Ronaldinho was better, he just had magic on his boots. He could genuinely do things with the ball that no other player would even attempt.
Who would I choose to slot into the United side? Ronaldinho every time. Its a crying shame that Kenyon self sabotaged that deal when we had him almost in the bag

Personally I would always want the entertainer in the United side every time even if it’s only for a few years. It’s what United is about. (Or should be)
 
Ronaldinho's peak is so high that if you saw a top 10 footballers of all time list with him making the 9th or 10th spot, you'd hardly raise an eyebrow. You'd at worst be a little surprised.

But if you saw Neymar on that list you'd probably resort to the most devastating weapon of all: the green, laughing emoji :lol:
 
Gio said:
Despite believing that Neymar gets under-rated, it's Ronaldinho for me. I sometimes think we forget just how incredible Ronaldinho was around 2003-2006. At the time he was clearly regarded as the best player in the world. Many were so blown away by his unplayable brilliance that we were beginning to elevate him into the greatest-of-all-time discussions. We had not seen such extreme technique and ability to manipulate the ball in tight spaces and you could count on one hand the number of players who could enter that discussion. The relative brevity of his peak and his quick fall into fat-man territory made that talk premature, but it was the vibe around him at the time.
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It could be that my perception is skewed by growing up in the era Ronaldinho dominated. There was an certain aura about him that honestly not even Messi and Ronaldo attained. Ronaldinho was a cultural icon. In my lifetime, the only other player I can think that had a similar kind of impact on football culture was R9. I fully admit that I'm potentially a prisoner to the era I grew up in and the hold Ronaldinho had on me and everyone around me who loved football.
 
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WeePat said:
It could be that my perception is skewed by growing up in the era Ronaldinho dominated. There was an certain aura about him that honestly not even Messi and Ronaldo attained. Ronaldinho was cultural icon. In my lifetime, the only other player I can think that had a similar kind of impact on football culture was R9. I fully admit that I'm potentially a prisoner to the era I grew up in and the hold Ronaldinho had on me and everyone around me who loved football.
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Yeah I mean there’s 0 doubt who’s more iconic, which is probably why the poll is just going to be a massacre because a large majority of the public hated Neymar even at his best at Barca, while any time any of us think of Ronaldinho you think of the elasticos and his debut wondergoal etc.
 
Ronaldinho but Neymar is close. Neymar has become the most underrated player of his generation, he was better at Cristiano at a lot of things also, in terms of all round package only Messi came close to being the creator/dribbler/passer and finisher he was.
 
WeePat said:
It could be that my perception is skewed by growing up in the era Ronaldinho dominated. There was an certain aura about him that honestly not even Messi and Ronaldo attained. Ronaldinho was cultural icon. In my lifetime, the only other player I can think that had a similar kind of impact on football culture was R9. I fully admit that I'm potentially a prisoner to the era I grew up in and the hold Ronaldinho had on me and everyone around me who loved football.
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Valencia Shin Crosses said:
Yeah I mean there’s 0 doubt who’s more iconic, which is probably why the poll is just going to be a massacre because a large majority of the public hated Neymar even at his best at Barca, while any time any of us think of Ronaldinho you think of the elasticos and his debut wondergoal etc.
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True, it's why I think I can never be truly objective when it comes to assessing Ronaldinho.

I don't even dislike Neymar. There was a time when I did, but over the years I've often ended up on the side that defends him against people who refuse to give him his flowers. He's a legendary player and history will remember him well. The passage of time will do wonders for his legacy.
 
Righteous Steps said:
Ronaldinho but Neymar is close. Neymar has become the most underrated player of his generation, he was better at Cristiano at a lot of things also, in terms of all round package only Messi came close to being the creator/dribbler/passer and finisher he was.
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Depends which version of Cristiano you are talking about.
 
Ronaldinho at Barça, really at the best of his bests for me is slightly below Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but up there with Cruyff, Best, Ronaldo9. Insane stuff.

Neymar is great, even more productive than Dinho, better than Mbappe too (and ever will be I think). But Dinho is higher.

His reaction speed, height, strength, agility, explosiveness, how do you defend that? He was like Neymar, Cristiano, Suarez combined in that regard.
 
Has to be Ronaldinho for me, seems we have always been waiting for Neymar to live up to his potential. If Ganso hadn't suffered knee injuries in his late teens, I think it would have been Ganso we spoke about as the best Brazilian player of Neymar's time, not Neymar.
 
I think Neymar gets a bit of a bad rap sometimes just because he’s very unlikeable but he was a world class player who was part of maybe the best front 3 of all time. He also suffers from being in the Messi/Ronaldo era.

That said the answer is still Ronaldinho. His peak was so high. His numbers don’t match up but the eye test tells you who was best.
 
WeePat said:
My claim to fame is I was there at that game and I saw one of Ronaldinho's most iconic goals live :cool:
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Were you as stunned as everyone else seemed to be? Love the eerie quiet after the goal
 
Lay said:
Were you as stunned as everyone else seemed to be? Love the eerie quiet after the goal
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I can’t remember being particularly stunned by it at the time, to be honest. I just remember being annoyed because we had been 3-0 up and he just made it 3-2. Next day at school, nobody wanted to talk about Chelsea smashing 4 goals past Barca. Just endless Ronaldinho chat.
 
Matt007a said:
That said the answer is still Ronaldinho. His peak was so high. His numbers don’t match up but the eye test tells you who was best.
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His peak number’s pretty much do match up in fairness.

If we take his 03/04, 04/05, 05/06, 06/07 Barca period as his peak:

• 62 goals, 48 assists in around 11,000 La Liga minutes.

This after joining a side in turmoil. Yet in a free scoring winning machine Neymar managed:

• 68 goals, 49 assists in around 10,000 La Liga minutes.

As I mentioned in another thread, Ronaldinho was playing in a Barca side that had the following GD in those 4 peak seasons:

+24, +44, +45, +45

Compared to Neymar’s Barça: +67, +89, +83, +79
 
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