The Great Debate

David Chemaly

Messi or Ronaldo? Who is the GREATEST OF ALL TIME?

This is the debate of the 21st century; perhaps even the greatest debate of all time. The little boy from Rosario, or the Portuguese legend. During the build-up to the World Cup, the debate became especially heated. Each side came armed with facts to support its claim. Messi with his goals at clubs, Ronaldo with his at club and country. Messi with his 7 Ballon d’Ors, Ronaldo with his 5. Ronaldo fans claimed Ronaldo was superior because of his impact on the sport for his country; Messi, for all his skill, had been unable to win a title with his country, despite achieving every individual award possible. Ronaldo, however, had achieved moderate success with his country and multiple clubs; whereas Messi had only done so at his (almost) lifelong club, Barcelona. A turning point would manifest in 2021, as Messi and Argentina won their first major title. The Copa América. A title eluding Argentina’s possession since their glory days of the 1980s. From there on, Argentina conquered Italy in the Finalissima and only seemed to grow stronger – winning game on game until the eve of the World Cup. A consensus had been reached. Should Messi win the World Cup, he would become the undisputed GOAT. What followed was a dismal loss to Saudi Arabia. The streak was lost, questions arose as to whether Argentina could even escape the group stages, and the iconic “Where’s Messi” emerged. What followed was nothing short of a masterclass, as Argentina finished at the top of their group and advanced to meet Australia in the round of sixteen. After the dust settled (following a nail-biting victory over the Dutch, and a crushing victory over Croatia), Argentina found themselves against the defending champions: France.

Argentina made quick work of scoring goals at first, leading the game 2-0; but France’s Kylian Mbappé had other plans. Within two minutes, he had struck…twice, and the score was equalized – Argentina suddenly struggling to remain afloat amidst the French fury. Extra time came and went, and both sides were at a standoff. But, then, in the 108th minute, Messi managed to squeeze the ball across the goal line and Argentina found themselves ahead again. Ten minutes later, Mbappé had returned, scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final (a phenomenon not experienced since 1966), and levelling the score for a second time. France almost managed to claim the victory in the final moments, had it not been for a French-wrenching save by the Argentine goalkeeper of the tournament, Emiliano Martinez. As the extra time concluded, the game moved to a penalty shootout that would see one of these teams through as the champions. Neither Messi nor the Argentinian team disappointed their country, as an hour later they hoisted the trophy and Messi was crowned player of the tournament, with the second highest number of goals (only outscored by Mbappé by 1 goal).

One might wonder where Ronaldo comes into the picture. Truth be told, he does not. Portugal would fall in the quarter-finals to a brilliant Morocco, and Ronaldo – despite playing five games – only managed a solitary goal. The 2022 World Cup was a pinnacle moment for the GOAT debate, with Messi now having won just about everything with club and country; he has been cemented as the Greatest of All Time. Although spectacular in his prime, Ronaldo can no longer be comparable to Messi. He has been outclassed and outplayed by Lionel Messi in his potential Last Dance.