Ronaldo’s grit as valuable as Messi’s talent

Magic mirror, on the wall, who is the greatest of them all?

The most memorable moments in the sporting world are driven by rivalries – and football fans are arguably the most spoilt for choice. Not only do they have the chance to witness emotionally charged encounters from every corner of the world, but they are also privileged enough to live in the era of Messi and Ronaldo. Both players have pushed their respective clubs to new heights and their individual battle has redefined greatness for generations to come.

Inevitably, their brilliance has been accompanied by the incessant quarrelling of their supporters. There seems to be an underlying expectation that such a gargantuan struggle must have a clear winner. But for many, including myself, it just isn’t that simple. After Ronaldo’s fifth Ballon d’Or triumph, there is practically nothing separating them on paper – and beyond the confines of statistical analysis, it becomes a debate for purists.

Are Messi’s natural talents intrinsically more valuable than Ronaldo’s mechanised approach? Does the Argentine wizard’s ability to drop deep and dictate the tempo make him more versatile? Or better yet, does his supposedly unselfish attitude make him a greater asset to his teammates? The problem with all these questions, other than their outright pompous tone, is that each of them neglects the players’ respective playing styles and football upbringing.

Messi was moulded by the infamous tiki-taka revolution – and his game is a reflection of that. Every touch and every pass is executed with needlepoint precision. Ronaldo, on the other hand, was always fuelled by his inhuman speed. From his days as a scrawny teenager in Lisbon to his formative years in Manchester, CR7 had his pace harvested for the team’s benefit. There was no emphasis on patiently working the ball or playing through the centre, but plenty on explosiveness.

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Training day-in, day-out, Ronaldo sought to maximize his athletic potential, which meant improving everything from his leap off the ground to the size of his thighs. After all, there’s no stopping you if you can jump higher, run quicker, and think faster than your opponent. For all practical purposes, Ronaldo wanted to become a machine – and that’s exactly what he became. Even as he approaches the twilight of his career, he remains an elite physical specimen, capable of putting football’s biggest young prospects to shame.

And so, one must ask themselves: what’s not to admire? He is more efficient in a Real Madrid jersey than anyone before him, and has been instrumental in leading the charge against Barcelona’s domestic and continental dominance. On an individual level, he has fought valiantly to restore parity with Messi in terms of accolades – with the Argentine picking up trophy after trophy for four years on the trot (2009-2012).

If there truly is a gulf in ‘talent’ between Ronaldo and his Argentine counterpart, it only reinforces the notion that his dedication to the game is remarkable. In fact, it’s rather poetic. Ronaldo is the player he is today because of Messi – and vice versa. They have pushed each other every step of the way, and will continue to do so until their bodies allow them to – after which we’ll be left to reminisce over the sheer genius of it all.

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And maybe, when the smoke clears, there will be a winner in this never-ending dispute. It definitely won’t be Ronaldo; and it won’t be Messi either. It will be the beautiful game.