So who is the best in the world? As you would expect their respective managers say Cristiano Ronaldo is "the best in the universe" says his Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, who also says it would be a "crime" if Barcelona forward Lionel Messi beat his player to the 2012 Ballon d'Or. Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova said Messi, who has won the award three years in succession, is "the best [player][ in the world by a long way". "When someone with the same responsibility as me comes out and says: 'Mine is the best on the planet' then I have to say: mine was not born in Madeira, he was born on Mars; he is not from planet Earth, he is the best in the universe," Mourinho told Portuguese daily A Bola. "If Messi is the best on the planet, Ronaldo is the best in the universe. It would be a crime if Ronaldo did not win the Ballon d'Or." For me it has to be Messi both as a player and as a model professional. What do you think?
Messi has better stats for the past year.... Ronaldo has won more silverware... I actually find Messi quite irritating. Well actually I guess its peoples love of Messi, he does go down very easily, he is petulant and he does moan to refs. But so does Ronaldo so thats not really relevant to the Ballon d'or I guess! Messi will probably win it and probably should win it. But got to feel for Ronny who has had an incredible year with Madrid
That's because the Argentina team is crap. Messi is the best by a long way, but I'm sick of hearing about both of them.
Just throwing a curveball out there: people only consider forwards/attacking midfielders when they talk about who is the best in the world, because those players show the most flair and score the most goals, so they're the most exciting to watch. Surely the best player in the world would be someone who is well-rounded, can attack and defend, and is good at all aspects of the game, rather than just dribbling and scoring? Messi and Ronaldo aren't exactly the best passers, or the best tacklers, or the best headers. I'd be tempted to go for someone like Yaya Toure, who appears to be good at pretty much everything.
There is some truth in that Joe. Very rare for a defender or holding mid-fielder to get the same rave reviews. Not sure I'd quite put Yaya up there with Messi though.
You can't really compare Yaya Toure with Messi because they play completely different roles. There's no doubt that Toure is one of the best midfielders in the world.
When you're talking about "best player in the world", you have to disregard their roles. Just consider all of the skills and techniques that football involves, and make a judgement on who you think is best at most of those skills. Having thought about it some more, I am going for Iniesta.
Maybe the best player in the world should actually be the player who gains his team the most points and wins them the most games..... Joe Hart anyone?
Oh yeah because Ronaldo is consistently brilliant when he plays for Portugal isn't he. [video=youtube;W57eNr8dqqU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W57eNr8dqqU[/video] Yeah he's crap
Yeah must be hard to play in a team with Tevez, Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria... so crap... He has been playing quite well for them recently to be honest. What you talking about, Ronaldo is a great header of the ball. Messi isn't though. The world's seen much better players than him. What makes a player the best in the world? Messi or Ronaldo will never be the best players in the world in my opinion, because no player can be the best in the world, only the best in their respective position. The best player in the world would be able to play in all positions, from GK to forward. They are great players, but they wouldn't make the top 10 list of all time best players.
Ronaldo can do things Messi can't. I don't really see how this is even a debate anymore. Ronaldo is an aerial threat, long shot taker, can score with both feet (from long range as well) , better skiller, bigger physical presence, faster, better penalty taker. Barcelona are the best team of the modern era averaging 70%+ possession almost every game they play. Ronaldo would get a goal a game playing for Saints or a poor team. Messi would be struggling. They both have poor records at International level. It doesn't help Ronaldo that he is playing with worse players and often at LM in both situations. In fact you could argue he's done reasonable at international level considering Portugal's defensive style and lack of attacking quality other than him. Whereas Messi is often in a super attacking 433 formation for Argentina with world class players around him
Messi is a better player than Ronaldo although his attitude is overrated whereas Ronaldo has an underrated attitude just determined to win
