Because what we need is more of this debate.
You’re probably bored of arguing who the greatest player of all time is. Unless you’re a teenager with a fan account dedicated to either player, most of us have had this debate too many times and realised that we are all probably set in an opinion and can’t be persuaded out of it. Or you just don’t care. It’s largely futile.
That’s why they never bothered to discuss the matter on Monday Night Football, until tonight that is.
With Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester United, it was only right for Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher to discuss how he will impact Manchester United, whether he will bring them closer to the Premier League title, and how he has evolved over the years.
All that could be done without comparisons to Messi, but the panel could not resist.
The debate began with Gary Neville describing Ronaldo as the player he would choose out of anyone in history to come off the bench with 10 minutes to go if his team needed a goal, before he went on to describe him as “the greatest player who’s ever lived.”
Neville alluded to his goal record, highlighting the number of goals the Portuguese scores with his weak foot to back up his argument.
Carragher took issue with that claim, saying: “Ronaldo is not the greatest player of all time.” Questioned as to who is, he gave the obvious answer: “His pal here [Lionel Messi].”
“It doesn’t matter how a ball goes in the net,” he added.
“Messi’s got a better goal record than Ronaldo. Messi is also a playmaker, Messi can run a game.
Ronaldo can’t do that. Again, not a criticism,” he was keen to add.
🗣"Ronaldo is not the greatest player of all time."@GNev2 and @Carra23 debate who is the best player out of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. pic.twitter.com/ozbY3V2vBa
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 13, 2021
He continued: “The stats prove Messi’s got more of a chance scoring off the bench than Ronaldo.
“Messi, as a player, can take you to a place that you can’t actually believe what you’re seeing.”
When afforded the chance to respond, Neville clarified that: “There are a lot of people who believe Ronaldo is, there are a lot of people who believe Messi is. I would never say someone who chose Messi is wrong, that’s their opinion.”
