Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo form one the greatest rivalries and sub-plots in world football today. The enigma's of their respective sides, scorers of simply obscene goals and record breakers to boot. Since Ronaldo swapped Manchester for Madrid in 2009 the footballing world have been obsessed with comparing the two.
It's human nature.
Who is the best goal scorer? Who should win the next Ballon d'or? And so on and so forth.
The
Portuguese hit-man secured his first La Liga title last term, with Jose
Mourinho stealing the edge on his old employers who have welcomed Tito
Vilanova into the managerial helm after Pep Guardiola stepped aside.
Of the two biggest sides in football today though, who will steal the show in La Liga next season?
Stats
Let's
start by establishing the story of the last three seasons, which
culminated in the Barcelona Monopoly being broken as their bitter rivals
became the first team to ever break the 100-point barrier.
The Argentine so far winning the La Liga title battle 2-1 though.
In
terms of goals and assists it is also Messi that comes out on top,
outscoring Ronaldo 115-112 since the 2009/10 season and assisting 43
goals compared to 29.
Last season alone the pair both broke the all time La Liga scoring record, a phenomenal achievement in itself. But
it was again the Barcelona man who outscored his Real Madrid
counterpart 50 to 46, securing the Pichichi Trophy, and got more assists
with 15 against 12, in one game less.
Verdict
Many attributes between the pair are remarkably similar, but there are of course some crucial differences.
Ronaldo
is undoubtedly the more physical player and has more strength and
tricks, but while Messi concedes fewer tricks his tremendous ball
control is cut above anyone worldwide. In addition he is far more robust under the challenge, has a better temperament and is a much better team player.
Ronaldo is the machine and Messi is the magician, essential cogs from which their sides revolve.
Crucially though. it is the Argentine that exerts more influence, in more games for longer, and herein lies the decision.
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