Never before has there been such dissent in the soccer world. Ask any fan, any expert, anyone who their favorite is, who they believe is better or simply who they prefer, and you will never, ever reach consensus. It is the never ending argument that speaks volumes and goes beyond the sport. When the best Spanish teams, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, meet, the biggest subplot of the match is Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo. But the question remains, who is better? You can reach the answer to this question by comparing the two players – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – based on shooting and goal-scoring capabilities, and mentality.
Goalkeepers constantly have to stop rockets that come their way, but when it comes to shooting, Lionel Messi prefers finesse over brute force. And even though he normally doesn’t take hard long shots on goal, Messi is capable of producing exquisite shots that bend past opposing goalkeepers, even if it’s not his strong suit. His strength is accuracy, and at that, he’s one of the world’s best. It’s rare to see Lionel Messi’s shots end up way off target. Where Messi generally favors brains over braun, Cristiano Ronaldo often opts for sheer power.
Ronaldo certainly enjoys bombarding “ Ronaldo Rockets” to the goalkeepers as much as he can during every game. And that’s partly because he has one of the world’s most powerful and deadliest kicks; with both legs, too. Unlike Messi, who is left-footed and finishes most of his chances off on that side, Cristiano Ronaldo is right footed, but is also savvy finishing on his weaker side. But truth is, even though he has a great hard-shot, most of them end up way off target. Goal-scoring can arguably be one of the most important things in the game.
Sometimes, it’s said that it’s the only thing Cristiano Ronaldo thinks about. He has very good positioning skills on the pitch and creates a lot of goal-scoring opportunities. He never seems to be offside, but his “ all-power” approach doesn’t serve him well when he’s close to a goal. When he’s one-on-one against the goalkeeper, Cristiano’s not as deadly as he should be. Cristiano Ronaldo scores far more goals with his head, not afraid to go in where it hurts. He manages to apply great power to his headers and undoubtly is always going to be more effective in the air than Messi.
This is due to the fact that Ronaldo stands at 6’1″ while Lionel Messi stands at 5’6 ? “. Messi scored the memorable second goal against Manchester United, one of England’s best teams, in the 2009 Champions league final with his head. But that was the exception to the rule. Most of “ La Pulga Atomica’s” (The Atomic Flea) goals come from his left foot. Lionel Messi has become a lethal intruder in the goalkeeper’s area. If someone were to tell you that they’ve seen him gently push in 40 goals with one-touch kicks inside the goalkeeper’s area the past two years, they wouldn’t be exaggerating.
When the play needs collected finishing, Lionel is right there to lightly push it home every time. Lastly, a player’s mentality can make them or break them. It influences so much that it changes the way a player acts. Messi’s mentality, suprisingly, isn’t the best around. When his under pressure, it seems like the weight of the world lies on his shoulders and slows him down. This happens often when he plays with his national team, Argentina. The fact that you’ll sometimes find yourself asking — Where’s Messi? — is proof enough. His performance in the World Cup will never reveal his true potential.
Cristiano wants to win. Badly. He wants to score and shine through. He enjoys making a spectacle out of his plays and will try to do more than he’s capable of giving. And that plays against him when he’s under pressure. It frustrates him and his concentration snaps. Ironically, he tries to do too much and ends up doing nothing at all. Neither one of these players is particularly good under pressure. At long last, ball launching, goal-making and state of mind are key ingredients to comparing great soccer players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
As you can see now, choosing between these two is clearly not an easy task. There is Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar with the ability to shoot bullets from a great distance and Lionel Messi, the Argentine who makes any goalkeeper weep with such a gentle touch. Their contrasting differences is what makes it so difficult to pick one or the other and why their fans will defend them to the core. In reality, they’re both excellent players and is up to you, the fan, to decide who is better.
