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Messi vs Ronaldo - Who's the Top Trump?

Wednesday, 13 August 08, 05:17 PM

Christiano Ronaldo has occupied the back pages of our news papers for nearly a year now, from the start of last season when he started his amazing run of form for Man United to now when the papers are obsessively speculating on the end of Ronaldo’s Man United career. He’s even managed to get himself in the fashion pages with his over-tanned body, short-shorts and pink t-shirt ensemble. Non-United and United fans alike are sick of hearing about the Portugeezer’s life as a poor football ‘slave’. But, his magnificent ability and goal-scoring record gives him the right to be the most talked about player in England.

Meanwhile in La Liga (the Spanish Premier League), Lionel Messi is getting ready for the new season without Ronaldinho, the man who inspired Barcelona’s resurgence since 2003. Are the bosses at Barcelona right to place the weight of expectation on Messi’s shoulders? I think so. Messi does not get half the media coverage as Ronaldo, but this is largely because he looks like a young Peter Beardsley with long hair and lives a comparatively modest life off the pitch. This means that Messi is often over-looked in “who’s the best player” debates. Comparing the Barcelona maestro to Ronaldo will shed some light on whether Messi can step-up this coming season and contend to be the best player in Europe.

In terms of comparing their goal records, it’s best to look at the last two seasons as Messi wasn’t a regular starter for Barcelona before the 2006/07 season. Over the last two seasons, Ronaldo has netted a massive 48 league goals compared to just 24 goals by Messi. Ronaldo has played many more games, but his strike rate in the league is still much higher at 71% (goals divided by games played), while Messi’s strike rate is 44%. Lionel Messi has also made fewer goal assists than Ronaldo. Both players have a strike rate of 50% in the Champions League over the last two seasons, though Ronaldo has played more games and scored a few more goals.

So, Ronaldo has a far better record in the league, though he is a couple of years older than Messi and over the coming season we should see more goals from the skilful Argentinean as he starts to mature as a player. After all, Maradona himself named Messi his “Successor”.

Messi still has a long way to go if he is to fulfil Maradona’s prophecy, though he has put on some electric performances for Argentina and Barcelona, most notably his hat-trick against Real Madrid in the 2006/07 season. Barcelona had a man sent off just before half-time, but Messi managed to become the first player since Romario, in the 1993-94 season, to score a hat-trick in El Clasico. For now, the unofficial title of Europe’s best player belongs to Ronaldo, but the coming season is Messi’s best chance to show he’s got the unrivalled ability to fill Maradona’s boots.

Check out www.thefootballfix.com for more articles.

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