Someone said we are living in a blessed generation, absolutely, you would agree with me seeing the statistics. For the past ten years only two individuals have lifted the Ballon d’Or award, here is what makes it even sweeter, both individuals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have evenly shared the award in the past ten years.
Among the duo, Cristiano Ronaldo first lifted the prestigious award in 2008 as a Manchester United player and then went south, then came the reign of Messi. The Argentine began his dominance in 2009, he won the award four times in a row, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Wow, what agony Ronaldo must have endured during this time!
Now, over the past years, from 2013, Ronaldo has won the award four times. Following his recent success, many have come out to criticise the Portuguese reign. Some say its unmerited and others have argued Messi is better. Now, I will not argue who is better because both players are a blessing to this generation.
Personally, I feel people have been asking the wrong question about these two individuals: the questions should be:
Who is more talented and why?
Messi is a better talent to be frank, and you see this from the way he plays, his composure, and the way he makes the runs, it just there.
Who works harder?
Cristiano Ronaldo is all about hard work, if you have been following him right from Lisbon, you realise he gets better and better. He was very bad at penalties but has had to change that over the years. For him, its about evolving with the game and this is done via hours of practice.
Who has had the better team?
In 2008 Ronaldo had the better team, where he won the champions league and later went on to win his first Ballon d’Or award. The following years from 2009 to 2012 Messi had the better team. That is to say each year this player won the award, they had the better team.
Who depends more on the team?
Many have argued that Ronaldo depends more on his team, while Messi carries the team. Personally, I disagree with that, for you to win games and go on to win individual awards, you must have a good team. Now, what I believe is that Messi is the anchor of his team including the national team, while Ronaldo makes his side the better team.
Who has been more consistent?
Both players have been very consistent over the years, that is why they remain dominant at the highest level. But I recent years, Ronaldo has been more consistent in winning trophies and breaking records. Messi has still not won any trophy for his senior national team, while Ronaldo with ‘not so good’ Portugal won Euros 2016.
Who deserved the 2017 Ballon d’Or Award?
Ronaldo undisputedly recorded more success than Messi last season, winning the league title and the champions league. Ronaldo also won the inaugural edition of FIFA Men’s Player Of The Year Award in 2016 and 2017 edition few months ago. That makes him the obvious winner.
Congrats!
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