Is it? There was Brazilian Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Thierry Henry before Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. People underestimate just how many young kids attempt to become professional footballers. The number is so high that you will get these incredible players every 5-10 years. I've no doubt we will see a player at a similar level to Ronaldo and Messi in the next 10 years. It could even be Neymar or Mbappe. Maybe it will be someone else. But it will happen.
Transfer Tweets - Summer 2017 | Keep it on topic
- Thread starter Damien
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Is it? There was Brazilian Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Thierry Henry before Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. People underestimate just how many young kids attempt to become professional footballers. The number is so high that you will get these incredible players every 5-10 years. I've no doubt we will see a player at a similar level to Ronaldo and Messi in the next 10 years. It could even be Neymar or Mbappe. Maybe it will be someone else. But it will happen.
None of those players were near Messi or Ronaldo in terms of output. Insane players yes but Messi and Ronaldo have been absolute freaks.
Why the feck are you bringing Real Madrid into this? We all know how many times they have broken the record, but we are talking about United fans being bitter about someone else doing it. If you're so upset about other clubs paying obscene amount of money for a player that they want, maybe next time you should be upset when United spend massive amounts of money for a player, leaving our rivals (domestic at least) in the dust.
There's great players of years gone by and then there's Lionel Messi a few levels higher.
Lol you think the Psg owners care about the money?
Fair enough that none of those players were as good as Messi but a few of those were better players than Cristiano Ronaldo imo. Brazilian Ronaldo at his best was just ridiculous. Injuries shortened his career and prevented him from reaching Messi and CR7 numbers for more than a couple of seasons. Ronaldinho wasn't a goalscorer at the same level as a Messi or CR7 but I don't judge players solely by their goal output. His dribbling was incredible though I would probably still say CR7 was better overall. Zidane surely is of at least a similar level to CR7? Very different roles and of course Zidane could never compete with Ronaldo's goals but he was such an amazing player. Maradona can't compete with CR7's goals either. Doesn't mean he's automatically worse.
Ultimately, the main thing is that these players (or at least some of them) are at least comparable in terms of ability. There's not a massive difference in level imo.
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I hope they absolutely tear the French league to bits, to get expectations sky high; and then flop embarrassingly in the CL.
I also hope we don't play them.
I also hope we don't play them.
Don't agree at all. Football matchs are won by goals. No point comparing different attributes when the players in question aren't even in the same positions. You can't compare Ronaldinho to CR7, or Zidane to him. As you've said, they don't have the same role in a team, and they're not going to score as much as he did. However if we must compare them, then some standards must be set and objective facts used as arguments. As I've said, a match is won by goals, and when a player is so prolific at scoring, nothing else matters. This isn't just a few goals difference we're talking here, the gap is massive. If you can't score as much as him, you're not even in the same level. None of the players mentioned here scored anywhere near CR7 did and STILL DOING. Also you say Ronaldo was hampered by injures, except even in his prime he wasn't scoring as much as CR7. And he was playing with the likes of Zidane, Figo, and Beckham feeding him opportunities. You can give him a few more years of injury free seasons and he still won't catch up to CR7. As for the others who aren't the main goal threat, well their assists aren't anywhere there either.
So no, either you don't compare players with different roles, or objective facts need to be used to compare players. And goals are easily the most impactful aspect to a match, if a player holds such peerless ratio over 8+ seasons (along with Messi of course), you have to give it to him. Unless you can show CR7's short comings would nullify his contributions (goals scored) over each season, how could he not be better than any other players, except Messi who also holds very similar ratios over the same amount of seasons?
This transfer window has exploded of late.
Neymar, Mbappe and Dembele are some serious players all moving in the same window.
Shame we're not at a level to be competing for these players but the sums involved are absolutely crazy!
As much as I'd love watching Mbappes career I would love to see what happens if he completely flopped after his move.
Neymar, Mbappe and Dembele are some serious players all moving in the same window.
Shame we're not at a level to be competing for these players but the sums involved are absolutely crazy!
As much as I'd love watching Mbappes career I would love to see what happens if he completely flopped after his move.
Woodward must be scratching his head in disbelief.
To be fair imagine if the Griezmann transfer had gone through. We'd have Griezmann and Pogba for around the same price as Mbappe.
I actually prefer Mbappe moving to PSG rather than Barca and Madrid. Tired of seeing the best players being hand picked by those two clubs and it was funny to see how Barca panicked when PSG flexed their financial muscle. 
How do PSG even justify the amount of money they have spent and are going to spend with regards to FFP? I guess FFP is well and truly dead.
True, but only because Griez ha a release clause. We might be saving some cash for next year.
So one French club is giving the two Spanish giants bloodied noses in the same transfer market. I never knew that day would come.
No doubt in my mind that Psg will go big for Pogba next summer
There has to be some doubt, else that's a disturbing level of instant conviction based on nothing but a guess.
I know what you mean by "better players" but ronaldo has better than a goal a game for real over what? 450 appearances or something stupid like that. Hes just way above them, along with messi. Mbappe and neymar are at least as advanced up the pitch as ronaldo but its very very unlikely we'll see the same output. If mbappe reaches agueros level he'll have done well.
Thierry Henry was nowhere near Messi. And Mbappe has no chance of being anything like Messi. He simply isn't talented enough.
But its better and has a much better long term projection than what hes left at Barca.
Football is dead.
Football is completely and utterly dead if PSG get M'bappe for 200 million. Just speaking to my brother and we were saying football will have become what everyone hoped it wouldn't, paying fees like a gamer would on FIFA/FM or like fantasy football. 400 million on 2 players is obscene and would destroy the market, and football would do well to recover if that deal goes through.
Agreed.
The surprise for me is that they aren't also throwing 150m euros at dembele.
Not sure how you can place Ronaldo in a tier below Messi. He has won the World player of the year 4 times and 3 of the last 4, which given those are years he is in the same country competing makes things on more of an even playing field than before.
If you are focusing purely on dribbling yes maybe Messi has an edge, but Ronaldo is stronger, more powerful and better in the air. Not sure on stats on freekicks but would expect Ronaldo up there.
He's done nothing to justify that price.
Agreed
Honestly seeing Neymar and Mbappe go to PSG has killed something for me. Very sad to see this, if it remains without serious consequences for PSG than UEFA has failed massively and it will only set a precedent for clubs like City to follow them.
Football has become less
I don't like the sums involved but I prefer players not gong to Barca and Madrid. So I'm conflicted slightly. Ultimately though the sums just should not exist. This is beyond capitalism now, and just a rich man's plaything. That is what football is now at the elite level.
Have you see Pogba playing for United? Can't imagine anyone would be that interested. Not the correct forum here I know but this blindness among us United fans to his complete mediocrity since he joined really annoys me.
I don't like or dislike PSG as a club, but it's the principle of being allowed to spend hundreds of millions of pounds of oil money to buy whoever you want I have issue with. They are obviously going to be in breach of ffp but they clearly don't care. You just know at worst they'll get a fine for it and that fine will go straight in to the pockets of the suits who run UEFA.
The expectation vs Reality doesn't seem to be in line for either club or player. There's not been a single offer for him yet. He thinks he is too good for Everton but I doubt a bigger club thinks of him as an upgrade over any attacking midfielder they have. Everton seem to think he will fetch a king's ransom when he has one year left on his deal and not a single club is interested.
Me too.
20m +10m add ons should be a good deal for us
That's a far cry from that ridiculous 50m
I think 30m is reasonable for Barkley he's a good player, nowhere near world class but a good premier league attacking midfielder.
Well, in today's market, thinking what some other players are going for, 30m isn't that much for a player like him. Just think the fees Bony, Bolaise and Benteke fetched.
He has one year left on his contract? Some people were saying Swansea were ridiculous for asking £50m for a better player with a longer contract, but Everton selling the guy they're going to replace for £30m is justified?