My walks, when not accompanied by podcasts, tend to be fertile times for interesting thoughts, and this past week I found myself wondering if Lionel Messi, despite being the GOAT, hasn't failed to live up to potential. Or if not failed to live up to his potential, then whether his achievements with the Argentine national team haven't lived up to his achievements with Barcelona.
This thought reminded me of another player I (unaccountably) think hasn't necessarily lived up to his potential, which is to say Ronaldo. But not Cristiano Ronaldo, rather the Brazilian player dubbed O Fenômeno.
Ronaldo, who was initially known as Ronaldinho (Little Ronaldo) and whom I now sometimes uncharitably call Ronaldão (Big Ronaldo), isn't necessarily someone you'd consider a failure, since he led his team to two consecutive World Cup finals (1998 and 2002) and won the latter, almost single-handed, as well as the 1994 medal, though he wasn't as involved in that tournament. He also picked up three titles playing across seven clubs in four countries, netted 352 goals and won the Ballon d'Or twice.
When you compare Big Ron to Messi, though, he looks a poor second in terms of sheer numbers: Messi has won 10 league titles and four Champions Leagues, all with Barcelona, netting 640 goals across 741 games and winning the Ballon d'Or 6 times. Though when you look at their respective international careers, Ronaldo comes out clearly on top, since he won those aforementioned World Cups as well as two editions of the Copa America.
Turning to personal perceptions of these players, it also comes down to my earliest experiences watching them. I still kinda see Big Ron as someone who didn't live up to potential because of how he completely went missing in the 1998 World Cup final against France. His poor performance in that match was a result of a convulsive fit the night before the match, but given my distaste for the Brazilian national team after they beat Italy on penalties in 1994, it was satisfying to see the juggernaut stopped. That made it easy to discount his role pulling Brazil to the final four years later, in Japan and South Korea (his silly haircut also caused me to discount his footballing prowess).
Messi, on the other hand, first came on my radar as a rumor from my friends who were more plugged into Spanish football, and then as a series of highlight reels spotted on YouTube. Probably the first time I watched a full match in which he played was the 2009 Champions League final, in which he and Barcelona dismantled Manchester United. And again, personal preferences colored my perception of that game, since I was annoyed at Man United's strong record against Italian teams (especially Juventus). The fact that he did it again two years later just cemented him in my mind as one of the greatest I've ever seen.
Personal biases and raw scoring numbers are poor substitutes for really gauging how great a player is, of course, though for most of us they're all we have to go on. The accepted idea is that Messi is the most natural footballer of his generation, while Cristiano Ronaldo (hereafter dubbed CR7) is the embodiment of drive to become one of the best ever. This implies that quality is effortless for Messi, and that Cristiano Ronaldo is less gifted; but of course Messi's perfection is honed by relentless practice, while CR7's drive to win and be the best wouldn't be possible without his ferocious natural talent.
So where does this leave Big Ron? The consensus, at least per his wikipedia page, is that he embodied the greatest talent, especially in his early years, of the last few decades, more so than either Messi or CR7, despite their longer careers and longer time at the top of the game. If nothing else, he boasted a 63.3% goalscoring record for Brazil, which put him ahead of CR7 (60.4%) and Messi (50.4%), despite them having both played more games and scored more goals overall.
The other reason it's easy to forget about him is that he shared the Ballon d'Or and other European accolades with other great players of his era, whereas Messi and CR7 have locked those trophies up between them for over a decade.
In the end it comes down to whether you think a player's club career or international career is more prestigious. Messi's titles with Barcelona blow out of the water not only O Fenômeno but also his traditional rival CR7. The areas where CR7 beats Messi are in Champions Leagues won, games played and goals scored for his clubs. Fairly or not, it also apparently looks better that Messi did it all with just one club, whereas CR7 did it with four.
But the lack of World Cups or Copas America will surely rankle with Messi, especially since he pretty much single-handedly dragged Argentina to the finals in Brazil 2014. Even CR7 won a European Championship with Portugal in 2016. But Ronaldo, O Fenômeno, beats them both.
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