Approximately 400 million viewers from across the globe will tune in to the 209th edition of El Clasico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The prospect of watching two of the world’s finest footballers in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo going head to head in the biggest derby on the planet, is an event no fan of the world game would want to pass up. Indeed there has been constant opinion of late in regards to which of the above players is a better footballer. Most Ronaldo supporters would have you believe that the Portuguese superstar possesses more individual class than his Argentine counterpart, and is less inclined to rely on his team-mates to produce a moment of magic. Some supporters have gone as far as proclaiming that Ronaldo actually prefers to be the headline act in his team, despite having played for two powerhouse clubs in Manchester United and Real Madrid. While it is true that Ronaldo prefers to be the centre of attention in whatever side he plays, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the former FIFA World Player of the year is a better footballer than Messi. I would even argue that the 23 year old from Argentina possesses more individual brilliance than Ronaldo and the following example explains why. Let’s cast our minds back to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Both Ronaldo and Messi were expected to star in the biggest sporting showpiece on the planet and lead their respective nations deep into the tournament. While both players ended up only scoring the solitary goal between them in South Africa, Messi had a far better tournament than Ronaldo, with World Cup winning Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque even proclaiming that the Barcelona star was the best player in the month long event. Ronaldo on the other hand hardly produced anything of note for a Portugal side in which he was clearly the star attraction. He went missing against the Ivory Coast after rattling a shot off the bar, and was even quite in Portugal’s 7 nil route of North Korea, despite scoring a clumsy goal with his back. And let’s not mention the matches against Brazil and Spain, where Ronaldo was merely a spectator when his beloved Portugal needed him the most. Dare I say it, current Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho would have had more of an influence on Portugal from the sidelines, than Ronaldo ever had on the pitch in South Africa. While Messi himself didn’t score a goal on the African continent, he was still Argentina’s best player by far and was probably the most in-form footballer heading into the knockout stages. The 23 year old Argentine had a cracking opening match against Nigeria, and was very influential in the victories against South Korea, Greece and Mexico respectively. While Messi could do nothing about the disaster against Germany, the Barcelona star did make his presence felt in a Argentina team which had inexplicably left a host of world class players on the sidelines, notably Inter Milan duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso. With the El Clasico between Barcelona and Madrid now approaching, the onus will once again be on Ronaldo and Messi to uphold their status as the two finest footballers on the planet. With both players experiencing great starts to the new season, it will be interesting to see whether or not they will perform in a match which looks set to be a tightly contested affair. While Ronaldo is yet to score against Barcelona, Messi is no stranger to producing in El Clasico, having scored seven goals in his past eight matches, including a memorable hat-trick in 2007 which signalled his ascension from a gifted footballer, to a superstar capable of changing the course of a match in an instant. One believes he will do so again, thus reaffirming his status as the no.1 footballer in the world game. If you liked the article, click here
