Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo; better UEFA Champions league career?

Where is the farce?
You are almost insinuating that he did not make those assists like they are fake (like some Barcelona fans use to and still call his penalties “fake goals”)
Are they assists or are they not?

Being an effective world class crosser isn’t such a bad thing or is it(I don’t know)
Nobody claimed he was a better or equal passer to Messi
He does have more CL assists though
This is FACT
you can’t change that only Messi can

It’s already been covered that his best ever passes weren’t converted into assists.
If you require more examples than have already been shown then just ask but there is no need for a panic attack about something you can’t change(ie CR having more CL assists)

 

You are conflating quality with context
Ronaldo has more assists in KO rounds
More assists in GS rounds
in which “context” is Messi superior at assisting in the CL
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/the18.com/soccer-news/messi-vs-ronaldo-champions-league-stats?amp

If they were equal than yeah an argument could be made that by virtue of his assists being more technically difficult Messi is a superior assister
But they are not equal

 

But surely, that goes both ways. After all, why couldn't Ronaldo win the UCL for Madrid before 2014?

Did Ronaldo win the 3 UCLs because Ronaldo of 2016-2018 was better than Ronaldo of 2009-2013?

Or maybe, Ronaldo actually won the UCLs for Madrid, regardless of whether he was better than his early 2010s self (I personally think he was better in the early Madrid years) because his team got better. The likes of Carvajal, Casemiro, Modric, and Bale all made the team better. Ramos improved to become one of the clutchest players in UCL history. Marcelo became one of the best LB in the world, and was at time the best player in the team (how many wingbacks can say that?). Someone like Kroos, who was signed after the UCL victory in 2014, has also been key.

I don't see how Ronaldo and Messi are different in that case. They've both had maybe 1 UCL campaign where you could argue they were THE reason their team won (2015 for Messi and 2017 for Ronaldo). The rest of their titles were won when their team (the midfield in particular) was the best performing in the tournament, not just because they themselves were the best in the world.

 

Neymar and Suarez may have something to say about that.. They both scored crucial goals in the knockout rounds and final.

 

I hate to have to repeat this:

CR won a champions league for Manchester United during which time none of his midfield teammates were even nominated for PFA team of the season let alone uefa team of the year (or fifpro)


He was in this tournament
Top scorer
Voted uefa CL best player
UEFA CL best forward


He was the difference maker in the R16,QF and best outfield player in the final (won the fans MOTM and lost official MOTM to Van der sar for his pen shootout heroics)

 

Yes, I know this, which is why I said for Madrid. Keep in mind that Ronaldo also lost to Messi in the following year. Does that prove that Messi > Ronaldo? No, it just proves that Barcelona > Man Utd in 2009.

 

Of course, nobody is 100% responsible for a game of 22 players, obviously. Messi in 2015 was as close to hard-carrying as anyone will get in football.

 

He's done more carrying in the years after that except on CL. I would say 2015 was a combined effort of the MSN with Ney and Suarez at their peak.

 

You’ve completely sidetracked the point
What has Manchester United losing to Barcelona a year later in 2009 have to do with them winning the CL in 2008

Ronaldo has won the champions league without the help of a dominant midfield.
Manchester United were outclassed by a dominant midfield in 2009 not 2008 so it would be helpful if you don’t confuse the 2

 

75 - Cristiano Ronaldo has been directly involved in 75 goals in 77 Champions League knockout appearances (61 goals, 14 assists). Phenom. pic.twitter.com/NzHcWtj9ex

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 12, 2019

 

The point isn't about dominant midfield, it's about Ronaldo and Messi winning the UCL when they have the best performing team in the tournament.

Ronaldo had an amazing defense to work with in 2008. They conceded the least amount of goals in their group. In the knockout stage, they conceded just TWO goals. Is that Ronaldo's doing as well?

If Man Utd's defense was just slightly worse, and they conceded a 2nd goal to Chelsea (or Terry didn't slip! so satisfying ), Ronaldo wouldn't have won the UCL and it wouldn't have been his fault and he wouldn't have actually played any worse.

 

4 - Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 (2 goals & 2 assists tonight) has been involved in 4+ goals in a knockout game of the Champions League 🇪🇺 for the 1st time since March 2012 against Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 (5 goals). Genius.#FCBOL pic.twitter.com/4x63VNKNpf

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 13, 2019

With help by an easy penalty (Suarez) to get the train rolling. Suarez also great and involved in the first two goals.

 

After all it’s a team sport and when it is said someone is the protagonist it doesn’t mean he is the sole reason his team won rather it means he is the most important player in that championship winning team

Rio Ferdinand was pretty darn good and by most accounts Manchester United’s 2nd best player in 2007/08
Nobody does everything or singlehandedly achieves something
Even when we talk about maradona he is the the closest a player has come to singlehandedly winning a major trophy(closer than any of Messi or ronaldo s CLs)

Still though he had a helping hand from the visually impaired referee in the QF and his teammates in the final

About John Terry..Manchester United fans are still singing this on the terraces

LMFAO
I think it’s even sold on iTunes

 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s header vs Roma in 2008 was his greatest ever. pic.twitter.com/GcywHTLgwP

— Lewis Allen (@lallen125) March 12, 2019

A Top 3 goal in the career of Cristiano Ronaldo underlying in the air he is the GOAT
Gary Neville And scholes I believe also highlighted this as being his most iconic moment in a Manchester United jersey

This is art
No CB I don’t care if his name is baresi or johnny nobody can defend against this

 

“Just stats” sums up your attitude completely

 

MR context do you think goals scored against a regional team from western Germany in a EC final is equivalent to goals scored against teams as Bayern Munich/juventus/Atlético in the KO stages

 

I’m pretty confident Messi will have a fantastic UCL this season. Something seems different about him and it looks like he got his hunger back. WC failure always motivates the shit outta him. Anyways coming to the topic, none of Ronaldo’s top 3 CL performances will top peak Messi’s performance against Utd, Real Madrid and Bayern. He’s the greatest CL goal scorer, but not the best player overall IMO. Carlito will post some shit to impose his opinion on me which will never convince me. Pretty sure he’ll also call me a “Messi fanboy”, but I have given credit to Ronaldo where it’s due. In fact I was impressed with his clutch performance against ATM.

 

What did Messi do vs Bayern 14/15 that ronaldo hasn’t done against

Roma 2006/07
2 goals+1 assist+3 pre assists in 2 games
(Involved in 6 out of 8 team goals)

Sporting Lisbon 2007 (away)

3:44 till end

Sporting Lisbon 2007 (home)




Arsenal 2008/09
2 goals+1 assist
(Involved in 3 out of 4 goals)

Marseille 09/10(ligue 1 champions)
3 goals+3 assists in 2 games
(100% involvement)

Schalke 2014 (3rd place Bundesliga)
4 goals+2 assists+1 pre assist
(Involved in 7 out of 9 team goals)


Ajax 2012/13
4 goals+1 assist in 2 games
(Involved in 5 out of 7 team goals)

Atlético Madrid 16/17
Hattrick
(100% involvement)

Atlético Madrid 18/19
Hattrick
(100% involvement)

Juventus 17/18
3 goals+1 assist in 2 games
(100% involvement)