The Best of This Generation: Messi or Ronaldo?

Messi and Ronaldo have proven to be two of the best soccer players of this generation. Many people compare them daily, but regardless of whom you believe is better, they are undoubtedly incredible players with remarkable skills and the ability to score spectacular goals. Today, we will look into these player’s past, stats, and more. Just sit tight and enjoy.

                                                                     Messi

Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 24, 1987. He has played soccer since childhood and joined Newell’s Old Boys team in 1995. When he was 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, but he still managed to become what some people call the best soccer player. When he was 13, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, to join the U14 team FC Barcelona. Barcelona helped pay off Messi’s medical bills for his disease. His first professional soccer match for Barcelona was when he was 17, impressing everyone with his skills. A year later, he also joined the Argentina national team. Messi left Barcelona in 2021 because of financial difficulties and then moved to the PSG club (Paris Saint-Germain). He left PSG in 2023 to join Inter-Miami and still plays for them today. 

During this time, Messi has earned many achievements, such as:

• Won eight Ballon d’Or trophies, which is more than anyone has ever earned
• FIFA World Player of the Year award 7 times
• Nine LaLiga Best Player awards
• The Golden Shoe Award 5 times 
• The Premier League Golden Boot 6 times,
• Ten La Liga championships
• Seven Copa del Rey titles
• He won the World Cup with Argentina one time 
• He won one Olympic gold medal (in the 2008 Beijing Olympics)
• He has scored 850 goals in his career and many more achievements

                                                      Ronaldo

Ronaldo was born in Funchal, Portugal, on February 5, 1985. His family was very poor, and he had a hard life. He started playing soccer at 9 years old. The first team he played on as a kid was Andorinha, and his dad was -the person managing the team’s equipment. He then went to the Nacional soccer club for 2 years. He was then signed by Sporting CP, one of the biggest soccer clubs in Portugal. After he left Sporting CP in 2003, he went to join Manchester United and won the FA Cup his first season. When he joined Manchester United, he also joined the Portugal National team. In 2009, Ronaldo left Manchester to join Real Madrid. In 2018, he left Real Madrid to join Juventus, and they signed him for €100 million. In 2021, he rejoined Manchester United, and in 2023, he joined Al Nassr for €200 million. That’s a lot of money!

During all of this time, Ronaldo has earned a lot of achievements, such as: 

• Won the Ballon d’Or 5 times 
• The FIFA Puskas Award
• The Golden Shoe Award 4 times 
• The Premier League Golden Boot 4 times
• He scored 908 times in his career and has way more achievements

                                                   Comparing Them Both

As you can see, both of these people are excellent soccer players. They have so many awards that if they were all in this article this would take forever to finish! But let’s compare some of these achievements they got.

Who do you think is better? Messi or Ronaldo? Comment your thoughts in the comment section!

Bibliography

Jenkins, Keith. “Lionel Messi’s Soccer Career: Stats, Trophies, Honors.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40624256/lionel-messi-soccer-career-stats-accolades-honors. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.