FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Messi is a maestro, on the way to becoming the worlds best player, unless Ronaldo can keep up his form :)

I think he looks better than Ronaldoinho at his best, he just moves past players with such ease

Lionel Messi is better than Ronaldo right now and three months ago as well. He is multi talented in his midfield and attacking positions. Ronaldo is a pure striker, IMO, and he gets a lot of media attention because he plays for Man. U.

On the national team level, Messi is light years ahead of Ronaldo and he is not a big whiner the way C. Ronaldo is. God, I hate that look on Ronaldo's face every time he falls (flops) to the ground as if the entire officiating nation is against him or he is entitled to every call in the book.

I'd take Messi over C. Ronaldo any day of the week.

Messi had a great performance at the Olympic Games, but i will be paying attention to what he does against more elite compitition, specificaly the 2010 World Cup

I wouldn't call Ronaldo a pure striker, he plays on the wing and if he played striker he wouldn't be your traditonal target man or fox in the box that "pure" strikers are known for.

Ronaldo was better than Messi almost all of last years club season, especially with Messi injured. The top scorer in the Champions League and Premier League from the wing is amazing, if Messi did that he would get press as well.

So lets compare, Ronaldo is stronger and better in the air and has better goalscoring instincts. Speed and ball control are similar. Messi has better vision and is a better slow dribbler, Ronaldo is a better speed dribbler. Messi is a better passer, Ronaldo is a better free kick taker. Long shooting is similar.

Its hard to pick one way or the other.

Messi is a better dribbler, period. His smaller frame give him an advantage because defenders have to be extra careful not to foul him - Ronaldo makes up for that with his flopping.

Messi is a beast with the ball. He is physical even though he is small. His vision with the ball is fantastic and he can take over games by himself. His injury did limit his production last season, but the 3 goals he scored against Real Madrid in that memorable game excels him in my book. He is an apple with an orange hint. Maybe an orange with an apple hint.

The media factors in greatly. As an example, take Teves and all the press he got with Man. United. Messi is way ahead of Tevez and yet he doesn't get relative attention.

I would really like to see the two stars play in the same league right now. Real (Ronaldo) vs. Barca (Messi). It's be great.

As far as Messi as a better dribbler, as i said, hes best when hes at a normal pace.

When Ronaldo turns it on at full speed and puts on the afterburners he is untouchable, the only way to stop him is to foul him, he goes so fast that if you do make contact its easy to fall, some say flopping, i say its only flopping when hes not at full speed. Its something messi cant do, and also those stepovers are great, kind of showboating, but messi doesn't do it that good

I think there is a difference between top speed dribbling and normal dribbling, ronaldo does well with the stepovers there but not as good as messi in normal pace

I think Messi gets alot of attention, it all depends where u are. south america mess is bigger than tevez, north america the EPL is king, so tevez gets lots of press, mainland europe i think its messi, asia is probably even. But tevez's transfer is what made much of the press, if messi made a huge move to milan or real, he would get insane press. Man Utd and Barca are both similar in club size

I wanna see Barca vs Man Utd again, both in top form. I also wanna see Barca vs Milan and Man Utd vs milan so both can face off against kaka and ronaldinho

Messi comes to Chelsea, now that would be interesting

Messi comes to Chelsea, now that would be interesting

jeevs BS | 08/26/08, 12:38 AM

Oh hell no.... I like Messi where he is now. I prefer the Spanish league for Argentines because Spanish soccer suits their style (Italy is a close second). The EPL is more physical, IMO, and still employs longer and higher passes which doesn't favor Messi as much.

I see you're a big fan of Ronaldo. I am not an Argentine national, but I loved their national team since I was 4 years old. I like the ORIGINAL Ronaldo - even though he is Brazilian. I think the 25-year old Ronaldo was the best striker I have ever seen. Batistuta is a close second.

Messi is still growing. At 21, he is perfectly suited to take over the world just like the ORIGINAL Ronaldo did. Success in the world cup is a key, and I guarantee you that the Argentines are ahead of the Portuguese right now. This is a subjective matter, so no matter how long we argue, I find it hard for us to convince each other.

Soccer, religion, and politics.... you can't win arguments in those.

as long as messi doesn't get fat...

For me the best strikers I've seen are:

1. Ronaldo
2. Henry/ Cantona
3. Shevchenko
4. Rivaldo
5. Bergkamp

Baggio, Weah, Van Nistelrooy, Shearer, and Owen at their best are close, for some reason I saw very little of Batistuta, so I couldn't include him. Raul is overrated, he doesn't have the skills of the others, but he seems to be in the right place at the right time and had a champions heart.

Messi is second striker/ winger, Ronaldo was an out and out striker, i think he'll take over the world more like Ronaldinho did or Figo from the wing