Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are far and away the best football players on the
planet. The battle as to who is the better player has been raging on for years with no conclusion being reached.
This piece is just to highlight some key areas were Messi has edge over C . Ronaldo.

1 . BALLON D' OR
The Argentine ace has an astonishing 5 Ballon d’ Or awards although just one ahead Ronaldo’ s 4 . But Messi is also the only player to have laid his hands on the coveted trophy on 4 consecutive occasions between 2009 and 2012.

2 .Dribbling , tactical ability and decision making :
While Ronaldo relies on his physical ability and heading prowess , the little magician is by far the better player with the ball at his feet . Impossible to tackle when on the ball , Messi has consistently scored goals by dribbling past more than 4 - 5 players in a single attempt . While Ronaldo is often fouled and receives free kicks in his favor , the Argentine is absolutely impossible to stop once he builds up a head of steam . Where Ronaldo is extremely quick and can shred defenders using raw pace , his ability to change direction quickly is nonexistent. Messi ' s smaller frame meanwhile allows him to change direction almost 90 degrees without losing momentum , something no other player is capable of.

3 . Discipline and integrity
Ronaldo has long since garnered the reputation of being a diver and someone who looks to go down at the slightest contact. He also often tries to get his opponents in trouble by play acting . Most England fans will remember his antics in the 2006 World Cup which resulted in Wayne Rooney being sent off. Ronaldo is also known to dive and has often be accused of playacting. Messi , on the other hand , tries to stay on his feet at every opportunity and defenders often find it extremely hard to take the Argentine down . Ronaldo’ s reputation is often the reason referees do not often award him genuine fouls . When it comes to discipline , Messi is a much cleaner player than the Portuguese winger. Messi has just received 1 red card in his entire career which is significantly lower than Ronaldo’ s 9 .

4 . Goals to Game ratio :
Lionel Messi has scored goals prolifically for Barcelona year in year out as well as for his national team and has a far better goal to game ratio than Ronaldo. The Argentine has scored 512 goals in 649 appearances for both club and country excluding friendlies at a rate of 0 . 79 goals per game . Ronaldo meanwhile has amassed more goals overall but at a much lower rate . The 31 - year - old has managed 548 goals in 804 appearances at 0 .68 goals per game .

5 .Messi is a team player
Messi is a complete team player and often sets up teammates for goals and chances . His link up play is second to none and he often drops in deep to receive the ball and try to build attacks, Messi could easily fit into any style of play while Ronaldo who is much more selfish on the ball would struggle to play for clubs like Barcelona and Arsenal.
Ronaldo, in fact , has received criticism from managers and players alike for his eagerness to capture the limelight while Messi likes to do what he can to help the team as a whole .

source: http://sportsocia.com/topics.php?category=Soccer&topic=109

cc: lalasticlala Dominique mynd44

U mean am!!!!

odogwu190:
U mean am!!!!

Pure Facts bros

odafe94:
Pure Facts bros

sure even blind man no go argue am...

Seconded

Abeg How Many Trophies Has Messi Won For Argentina That Boast Of One Of The Best If Not The Best Squad In The World?

And they keep comparing.

5 key reasons? I can think of more than a hundred reasons why he is better, n all r related to football. All d reasons people give to lump cr7 in d same group as messi r not totally football related: he can jump, he can use 2 feet, he can run, he can head, he can dive, he can swim etc. Cr7 is a great goalscorer n dats dat. Fancy, unnecessary step overs don't fool real football people. D razzmatazz crazy media (esp british) always try to create d impression dat there is a rivalry, n cr encourages d charade by scoring as many goals as possible by always shooting even when not necessary. It still doesnt bring him near messi. Ok, let's analyse dis way: if we list all d forward players in d world (attacking midfielders, wing forwards, centre forwards etc) n rate dem based on goals scored, messi will be top, cr 2nd. If u disregard goals n rate dem based on their performance on d field of play n their impact on d field, messi will still be top...cr will not be in d top 20.