A survey of footballers past and present has revealed that a majority believe Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed a better career than Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo and Messi have been rivals for the status of the world's greatest player for more than a decade. The duo have frequently battled each other for the Ballon d'Or, which Messi has won a record seven times and Ronaldo has picked up on five occasions.
Both are now in the twilight of their careers, with Ronaldo back at Manchester United and Messi turning out for Paris Saint-Germain. Messi leads the way in terms of records and honours, though it appears that his fellow players favour his rival.
According to a new survey conducted by The Athletic, who questioned more than 100 players both past and present on a range of issues affecting the professional game. Two of those questions concerned the long-running battle between Messi and Ronaldo.
In response to a question about who has had the better career, 64 per cent of the players answered 'Ronaldo', rather than 'Messi'.
The Portuguese superstar has won four Premier League titles, two La Ligas, Serie A twice and the Champions League five times, as well as leading his country to winning Euro 2016. Messi meanwhile won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues at Barcelona, before picking up the Ligue 1 title in his first season at PSG and driving Argentina to the Copa America in 2021.
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Curiously though an overwhelming majority of 73 per cent said they would prefer to play with Messi over Ronaldo. That is perhaps a hint to how the latter's form has dropped slightly over the past two seasons, leaving him battling for his place at United, while suggesting Messi's ability to create as seen as more team-friendly than Ronaldo's more goal-centric nature.
Messi's long-standing teammate at Barcelona, Dani Alves, recently gave his thoughts on the debate. Surprisingly, the Brazilian hailed Ronaldo, but insisted that Messi's talent means he is on "another world".
“I love Cristiano. Now that we are no longer at Barça and Madrid I can speak, because it always seemed like I couldn’t. Cristiano exemplifies, for all of us who don’t have that much quality, that with hard work you can also compete against the best," Alves told a podcast.
"I respect him a lot and I had the opportunity to tell him. How can I not respect a guy who got everything based on work? I identify with him, because everything I did in my life was based on that.
“If you made a comparison, as a player, I am closer to Cristiano than to Leo because of the work, not because of the talent, because Leo is a born talent, who was born with the talent to play football and to be in another world that only he achieves."
