Ronaldo Messi Swap Deal... Would you have it?

Messi came to PSG and PSG scored 4 more goals in the league than the previous season, and 15 goals more than the season before that.
Ronaldo came to United and they scored 16 goals less than the previous season and 9 goals less than the season before that.

Mbappé and Neymar scored 36 league goals combined the season before Messi arrived. They scored 41 goals with Messi in the team.
Bruno and Rashford scored 29 league goals combined in the season before Ronaldo arrived. They scored 14 goals with Ronaldo in the team.

Messi had 2.4 key passes a game. Ronaldo had 0.9.
Messi had 2.5 dribbles per game. Ronaldo had 0.7.
 
OpenIntrovert said:
Isnt the Ronaldo vs Messi thread still alive? Do we really need another thread to drive another fanatic festival?
Click to expand...
We really don't need this thread to become a Messi vs Ronaldo thread. That serves its purpose. This serves a very specific one.
 
In it's current state United would be a worse team without Ronaldo as they don't have a reliable striker, he's not quite a standard striker but he's more suited to play that role than Messi; physically he's also in better shape than Messi who has looked sluggish in the french league. Manchester United needs a striker even with Ronaldo on the team.
 
Scarlett Dracarys said:
He's too afraid to come to the PL
Click to expand...
Hasn’t he made a career of routinely ripping apart the best teams the premier league has ever produced?

Almost single-handedly at times I might add. I’d take him for Ronaldo happily if Ronnie super wants to leave.

Messi is just a better footballer at everything but heading the ball.
 
Son said:
Hasn’t he made a career of routinely ripping apart the best teams the premier league has ever produced?
Click to expand...
Huge difference between ripping apart teams while playing for Barca, a system he understands rather than doing it for United. Also huge difference between playing City/Pool 2-4 times a year versus being roughed up 20 games a season by teams like West Ham, Stoke, Burnley, etc and still maintaining fitness.
 
The same way the Spain national team ripped up every other national team without giving them even a 2% chance in the game.

That’s how Barcelona beat every other club. No other club had a chance on the pitch and that was again due to the influence of Guardiola, xavi, iniesta, Busquets, cryuff and even Messi, orchestra of a “Barcelona way or play style” which was looked down upon if ever another way was looked at.

Valderve’s 46% possesion match was regarded as the complete opposite of the Barcelona way. Arguably just 4% reduction off a equalized possesion of a match between two clubs.
 
Its a touchy topic here but I always felt messi was a more naturally gifted player than ronaldo.
 
In a heartbeat.

Make no mistake about it, if Messi becomes available, any top European club would be interested. He’s had an underwhelming year goalscoring wise but all of his other metrics still have him as a top tier creative playmaker. With willing runners around him, he would smash.
 
We cannot have two midgets in the team. Comeon, we dont know whether Martinez could do it in a cold tuesday night in Stoke (not sure of the current PL equivalent for that unfortunately), and here we are encouraging finding out whether his shorter brethren could cut it on the same night ? I'd rather have Lukaku ! Tall and strong and I'm sure would score a bucket load for us in the physical premier league.. Oh wait...
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
In a heartbeat.

Make no mistake about it, if Messi becomes available, any top European club would be interested. He’s had an underwhelming year goalscoring wise but all of his other metrics still have him as a top tier creative playmaker. With willing runners around him, he would smash.
Click to expand...
No they wouldn’t. Both these guys are long past it now.
 
No. Messi's reign is over and I'd rather we spent the money building for the future. But I would think Messi would have a lot more to contribute to this team than Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored 18 in the league last term and should do better this season, but Messi would likely help create more goals overall. I want both of them to go away.
 
Neither for me, they dominated football between 2008 and 2019, and now they are no longer the top players they used to be, and they command enormous wages.
 
Last season Messi scored 6 goals in the league, Ronaldo scored 18 goals, so there's no way a true Manchested Unired fan would swap them.

And there's one more thing, Messi worsens every club he's in, look at Barcelona, they finished second in la Liga this year, however they finished third in la liga with Messi last year. So Barcelona improved without Messi.

Look at PSG, they played UCL Semifinals and Finals without Messi, this year with Messi they got knocked out in the round of 16.... PSG has been playing the France's Cup Final seven years in a row, but that streak ended this year with Messi when they got eliminated in the round of 16 too, just like in the UCL. Messi destroyed PSG, and turned them into a worse team.

Every club Messi is in, it turns into disaster
 
tomaldinho1 said:
No they wouldn’t. Both these guys are long past it now.
Click to expand...
Ronaldo is long past it, Messi isn’t.

The latter’s poor goalscoring form is a combination of unfortunate finishing (loads of crossbar/post hit) + further positioning from goal (tactical instruction) leading to less chance to shoot + run into the box. He’s stayed consistent with his averages in previous seasons in dribbling, chance creation, key passes, take ons etc... And PSG with him in the team scored more than they did 20/21, whereas Utd’s offensive output as a whole tanked.

His workrate is no doubt atrocious and has been for a long while (last 5-6 years), and that certainly poses a tactical issue in tough matches, but he’s still an elite footballer, compared to Ronaldo who is now a mediocre footballer with elite finishing (and that’s being generous, since Ronaldo actually underperformed his xG last season).
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
Ronaldo is long past it, Messi isn’t.

The latter’s poor goalscoring form is a combination of unfortunate finishing (loads of crossbar/post hit) + further positioning from goal (tactical instruction) leading to less chance to shoot + run into the box. He’s stayed consistent with his averages in previous seasons in dribbling, chance creation, key passes, take ons etc... And PSG with him in the team scored more than they did 20/21, whereas Utd’s offensive output as a whole tanked.

His workrate is no doubt atrocious and has been for a long while (last 5-6 years), and that certainly poses a tactical issue in tough matches, but he’s still an elite footballer, compared to Ronaldo who is now a mediocre footballer with elite finishing (and that’s being generous, since Ronaldo actually underperformed his xG last season).
Click to expand...
They are both a shadow of their former selves. Ronaldo is a very good goal scorer around the box and physically looks after himself extremely well, Messi still has his technical and creative abilities but they’re so far off where they were. No PL top four club would touch either of them.

No idea why you’d look at team goals scored and say that means 1 is good and 1 is bad. I mean Ronaldo scored basically all United’s goals versus Messi who got over half his assists against a terrible St. Etienne and Clermont. Neither is elite anymore.
 
Ronaldo wouldn’t be past it in the Ligue 1 :lol:

Zlatan is the proof of this - the unsuccessful version of Ronaldo.

Pepe > Messi in the Ligue 1, not even Pele but Pepe:lol:
 
No. Messi over Ronaldo any day, but in our current state, I'd rather have neither.
 
Bebestation said:
Ronaldo wouldn’t be past it in the Ligue 1 :lol:

Zlatan is the proof of this - the unsuccessful version of Ronaldo.

Pepe > Messi in the Ligue 1, not even Pele but Pepe:lol:
Click to expand...

PSG will win Ligue 1 anyway, all Ronaldo would do would be to take 10 goals off Mbappé and the whole team to struggle more. At least Messi understands that he’s second fiddle now in that team and creates from deep. PSG scored more goals with Messi in the team than the previous two seasons, United scored 13 goals less with Ronaldo in the team. Mbappé and Neymar scored more goals with Messi and Messi got 14 assists. Fernandes and Rashford scored significantly less as Ronaldo had 5 assists for United.

All I have to do is quote you back about 100 of your own messages to show that Ronaldo has not been good for United.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
At least Messi understands that he’s second fiddle now in that team and creates from deep
Click to expand...
Messi understands he’s second fiddle yet still takes important penalties that costs them in big games despite having a terrible track record at them? :smirk:
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
Mbappé and Neymar scored more goals with Messi and Messi got 14 assists. Fernandes and Rashford scored significantly less as Ronaldo had 5 assists for United.
Click to expand...
Both Rashford and Fernandes are markedly worse players than Neymar and Mbappe.
 
ilrm said:
Huge difference between ripping apart teams while playing for Barca, a system he understands rather than doing it for United. Also huge difference between playing City/Pool 2-4 times a year versus being roughed up 20 games a season by teams like West Ham, Stoke, Burnley, etc and still maintaining fitness.
Click to expand...

yes because there weren’t rough teams in la liga either. Atletico and Getafe play like bigger cnuts than any of those teams, come on now
 
MrEleson said:
Messi understands he’s second fiddle yet still takes important penalties that costs them in big games despite having a terrible track record at them? :smirk:
Click to expand...

Better than Ronaldo who inexplicably still takes a too many FK’s despite being much worse at them than Messi is at penalties ;)
 
GinobiliTheGOAT said:
Better than Ronaldo who inexplicably still takes a too many FK’s despite being much worse at them than Messi is at penalties ;)
Click to expand...
FKs are generally low conversion anyway. Missing a penalty is probably worth every 10 FK misses and Messi happened to miss what turned out to be PSG’s most important penalty of the season. I’d say that’s worth more than all of Ronaldo’s FKs misses this season (didn’t even take that many).

Also, didn’t Ronaldo score that game winner against Norwich from a FK? :smirk:
 
Sheran18 said:
Last season Messi scored 6 goals in the league, Ronaldo scored 18 goals, so there's no way a true Manchested Unired fan would swap them.
Click to expand...

As if Messi is a penalty box poacher like Ronaldo :lol:
For such a swap, first, PSG would say no. Messi is still an elite playmaker, Ronaldo never had that quality

Sheran18 said:
And there's one more thing, Messi worsens every club he's in, look at Barcelona, they finished second in la Liga this year, however they finished third in la liga with Messi last year. So Barcelona improved without Messi.
Click to expand...
clueless post as if it was the same Barca that Messi left. Where was Barca before Xavi? What happened to Barca in the CL? Oh, they got eliminated first time without Messi in the group stage in CL..

Sheran18 said:
Look at PSG, they played UCL Semifinals and Finals without Messi, this year with Messi they got knocked out in the round of 16.... PSG has been playing the France's Cup Final seven years in a row, but that streak ended this year with Messi when they got eliminated in the round of 16 too, just like in the UCL. Messi destroyed PSG, and turned them into a worse team.

Every club Messi is in, it turns into disaster
Click to expand...

Yeah, PSG turned into a disaster by winning Ligue 1, the league they could not win last year.
Meanwhile United with Ronaldo finished 6th after having 2 top 2 finishes, and 1 top 3 finish in the last 4 years, having their worst season in the last 32 years and playing an FA Cup final and semi final in the last 4 years. Imagine losing to Middlesbrough from the 2nd division in FA Cup with Ronaldo missing penalty at OT and Liverpool 0-5 in OT..
 
Last edited:
Not a chance. Not even sure he'd have been the success he is if he'd been in the Premier League in his prime never mind now. We don't have the type of team that could accommodate an aging player of Messi's ilk anyway. Messi in his prime, playing for prime Barca surrounded by World Class players - outstanding! But aging Messi playing for a struggling Man Utd on the back of a disastrous season and undergoing a rebuild of sorts, in the Premier League, no thanks.
 
genardk said:
Yeah, PSG turned into a disaster by winning Ligue 1, the league they could not win last year.
Meanwhile United with Ronaldo finished 6th after having 2 top 2 finishes, and 1 top 3 finish in the last 4 years, having their worst season in the last 32 years and playing an FA Cup final and semi final in the last 4 years. Imagine losing to Middlesbrough from the 2nd division in FA Cup with Ronaldo missing penalty at OT and Liverpool 0-5 in OT..
Click to expand...
Think the person was being ironic as that’s always the narrative against Ronaldo.
 
For me, no. If Ronaldo doesn’t want to be here then cut him loose and replace him with someone with huge potential who does.
 
ilrm said:
Huge difference between ripping apart teams while playing for Barca, a system he understands rather than doing it for United. Also huge difference between playing City/Pool 2-4 times a year versus being roughed up 20 games a season by teams like West Ham, Stoke, Burnley, etc and still maintaining fitness.
Click to expand...

As if PL teams are a yardstick for performance in the football world where their top teams have been thrashed by top La Liga teams and their above average teams have been dominated by above average La Liga teams for years. As if PL is the place that top players choose to prove themselves when La Liga has long been a bigger magnet for stars :lol:
Who cares about PL? PL just got the strongest league in the last couple of years.. And, even now, a poorer version of Real just won the CL winning against City, Chelsea, Pool in a year where PL is supposed to be the top league.. Below link shows what happens to PL teams when they face La Liga teams between 2009-2018. Between 2000-2020, La Liga teams had 10 CL wins and PL only 3. Between 2000-2020, La Liga teams again had 10 Europa League titles and PL only 3.

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5690749/English-sides-lost-23-27-European-knockout-ties-against-La-Liga-counterparts.html
 
MrEleson said:
Both Rashford and Fernandes are markedly worse players than Neymar and Mbappe.
Click to expand...

It’s the same players compared over two seasons, Rashford and Fernandes scored way more before Ronaldo joined, Mbappé and Neymar scored as much or more after Messi joined because Messi can exist within a team. Just like Suarez scored loads of goals with Messi, whereas Fernandes, Dybala, Benzema, Rooney all took some big hits to their scoring when playing with Ronaldo.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
It’s the same players compared over two seasons, Rashford and Fernandes scored way more before Ronaldo joined, Mbappé and Neymar scored as much or more after Messi joined because Messi can exist within a team. Just like Suarez scored loads of goals with Messi, whereas Fernandes, Dybala, Benzema, Rooney all took some big hits to their scoring when playing with Ronaldo.
Click to expand...
Benzema had his best minutes per goal in La Liga playing next to Ronaldo in 15/16. He also had a 30+ goal season in all comps next to him in 11/12.

Dybala was always streaky throughout his career.

You could argue Rooney was entering his prime when Ronaldo left as he was just 23/24. And he only had 2 good goalscoring seasons after that and then was mediocre for the rest of his career. Hardly a knock on Ronaldo.
 
No, messi stopped us winning CL's, while ronaldo helped us with one. Loyalty sake, so no.
 
genardk said:
As if PL teams are a yardstick for performance in the football world
Click to expand...
In 4 out of the last 5 years, the PL has had a greater UEFA coefficient than La Liga. In the last 10 years their UEFA coefficients are nearly the same. So yes the PL is a yardstick for performance (40% more than Serie A and 76% more than Messi's Ligue 1). However the challenges are different in PL versus La Liga.
PL:
  • Harder playing surfaces (especially winter)
  • Packed schedules lead to fitness issues
  • Slippier surfaces due to rain/moisture lead to fitness issues
  • Rougher style of play leads to fitness issues
  • Fight for CL spots is more competitive (especially 2nd-4th position)
  • Colder weather leads to more muscle injuries
La Liga:
  • Top-3 spots guaranteed to go to same 3 teams (based on last 10 years)
  • Occasionally face a physical team like Cadiz/Celta but its mainly about ball possession & distribution so easier to maintain fitness
  • Schedules better spread out
  • Warmer/dryer weather leads to lesser injuries
genardk said:
And, even now, a poorer version of Real
Click to expand...
Poorer version compared to who? The Zidane team? Of course every future Madrid team will look poorer compared to that team just like no recent Barca team can match up to Pep's Barca. Also - this is a Madrid under rebuild - so calling it 'poorer' is a very misleading term.

genardk said:
won the CL winning against City, Chelsea, Pool in a year where PL is supposed to be the top league
Click to expand...
Vinicius/Benz/Valverde/Modric/Alaba would be starters in every team in the world.
Kroos/Rodrygo/Casemiro/Carvajal/Camavinga/Courtois/Mendy/Militao/Asensio and now Tchouameni/Rudiger would be at least squad members getting regular minutes in each and every team in the world. The PL big 3 were not beaten by a weak team.

genardk said:
Below link shows what happens to PL teams when they face La Liga teams
Click to expand...
It's mainly Barca/Madrid/Atletico who were genuinely great teams during that period ... However, look at the league they play in today ... You think last year's Barca would have reached 2nd place in the PL? They wouldn't have even hit top-4. Same with Atletico.
 
PSG is not Stupid so it won´t happen, they want to extent his contract not swap him for a former great goalscorer.
 
OpenIntrovert said:
Isnt the Ronaldo vs Messi thread still alive? Do we really need another thread to drive another fanatic festival?
Click to expand...
Just thought you might want to know, the thread is indeed no long alive. It has been closed by mods some months ago.
 
genardk said:
clueless post as if it was the same Barca that Messi left. Where was Barca before Xavi? What happened to Barca in the CL? Oh, they got eliminated first time without Messi in the group stage in CL..



Yeah, PSG turned into a disaster by winning Ligue 1, the league they could not win last year.
Meanwhile United with Ronaldo finished 6th after having 2 top 2 finishes, and 1 top 3 finish in the last 4 years, having their worst season in the last 32 years and playing an FA Cup final and semi final in the last 4 years. Imagine losing to Middlesbrough from the 2nd division in FA Cup with Ronaldo missing penalty at OT and Liverpool 0-5 in OT..
Click to expand...

This year we finished first in the UCL Groups stage, thanks to Ronaldo scoring in every game, last year we finished third and we had to go to Europa League, so we got better with Ronaldo

PSG has won the league 7 times in the 9 years prior to Messi's arrival, so they didn't need him to win the league. PSG aren't paying Messi 40 millions to win a the Ligue 1, they are paying him all those millions to win the UCL, and the painful truth is that PSG played the UCL Final a year and a half before signing Messi, and now with Messi they got knocked out in the Round of 16, same thing happened in the France's Cup.

So whether you like it or not, Messi destroyed PSG and turned them into a worse team.
 
Sheran18 said:
This year we finished first in the UCL Groups stage, thanks to Ronaldo scoring in every game, last year we finished third and we had to go to Europa League, so we got better with Ronaldo

PSG has won the league 7 times in the 9 years prior to Messi's arrival, so they didn't need him to win the league. PSG aren't paying Messi 40 millions to win a the Ligue 1, they are paying him all those millions to win the UCL, and the painful truth is that PSG played the UCL Final a year and a half before signing Messi, and now with Messi they got knocked out in the Round of 16, same thing happened in the France's Cup.

So whether you like it or not, Messi destroyed PSG and turned them into a worse team.
Click to expand...
40 million is a bargain for the Goat, that is why they want to extent his contract.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.