The World Cup comparison is silly. Ronaldo and Zidane won on loaded teams, although the 98 France team had problems in attack (Trezeguet and Henry hadn't blown up yet). Fenomeno had that nickname for a reason. I think people cut him too much slack on his injury history though. You can't control knee problems, but you can control your weight, which can make knee problems worse. He was consistently 20+ lbs overweight. And because of that, the sustained success of Cristiano and Messi is a bit underrated. It's tough to hit the peak in your early 20s and still find the motivation to work to stay sharp. Neymar has been back sliding ever since MSN tarred and feathered everyone in 2015.
I dont believe he was that overweight before the injuries. He gained the weight as he aged. 90's-ealry 2000s he was lean. Sure on the longevity you cant knock C9 and he will go down in the record books as one of the greatest ever but on pure talent as a player it's a different thing.
During the 1994 World Cup, I would watch Brazil’s training sessions daily out at Santa Clara University. From what I remember, Brazilian Ronaldo was 17 years old at the time but was very small and thin. He would tear it up during practice games but then their coach Carlos Alberto Parreira wouldn’t play him during the tournament because he was too young. He said he was afraid that he would mess things up. I think he started gaining weight when he was injured with Inter and then when he went to Real Madrid. In his last 4 years at Inter, he only played in 36 games and not at all during the 2000-2001 season. It is easy to gain weight when you are sitting around for 2-3 years doing nothing.
The fact we are even still talking about Ronaldo at 36 and Messi at 34 still playing at this level is absurd. They’re freaks. I’m sure there were players in the past who got near or at their level, but never more than short periods. It’s been 15 years for Messi and Ronaldo.
that is also a factor of new era, advanced technology - medical system - training system. It's easier this day to find players playing long into 35 - 40. Heck, there are some sports players coming back from Achilles injuries even better. Things improved on that end. It's not simple comparing eras. Same for tennis players ( Djokovic, Nadal lasting more than Sampras or Agassi etc).
Loaded teams is actually an argument against Messi. He played with teams, that went on winning the World cup + Euros without him ( Xavi - Iniesta - Villa - Puyol - Pique).
I think it’s more than just sports science, as it’s already been said, you need insane fortitude to literally be the best in the world for that long.15 years of trying to stay at the level I would imagine would be exhausting for almost anyone else. 11 ballon d’ors and 7 CL titles between the two in the same era. I don’t think that will ever happen again.
Dont forget they were on loaded teams. So it could happen again in the future with new loaded teams coming through and dominating. Messi didn't manage to win another CL yet without Xavi-Iniesta. And Ronaldo failed to deliver CL to Juventus without the help he had at Real Madrid from Modric, Benzema, Varane, Ramos, etc. And yes, Ronaldo's transfer to Juve should be classified as a failure. As the target was getting them over the hump of losing CL Finals. Yet they ended with 0 CL finals with Ronaldo.
None of these guys win with mediocre teams around them, club or country, and that's why I won't hold a lack of WC success against CR7 or Messi. You're at the mercy of your country's talent pool. Freakin Gago played in that 2014 final. No argument here. Sports medicine is absolutely next level now, and we're seeing players across all sports play longer at a high level than they have before. It's not fair to make that comparison one way or the other, but I don't think it would've mattered for R9 or Maradona, for example. They didn't have the work ethic. Maybe Zidane or Henry.
But anyway, this transfer window has been ridiculous. Messi, Ramos, Varane, Lukaku, Grealish, Sancho, Donnarumma. Possibly Ronaldo and Mbappe in the next few days as well. We are three years into a FIFA save right now.
serie Ass fans after bragging about having a bunch of top players in the league last season pic.twitter.com/Emtk7PeCwy— s (@statutos__) August 27, 2021
If you want to compare R9 and CR7 on the basis of longevity, there is no comparison. CR7 in a land slide. If you want to compare them at their actual peak or zenith of their careers based solely on their own skills and abilities... there is only one known as the Real Ronaldo and he isn't from Portugal. Fact.
You can't say cristiano failed with Portugal. He led them to a euro final and has over 100 international goals, top scorer in euro/ cl history. His argument for being the goat is a little stronger than Messi's imo...but I still prefer Leo!
will see what messi can do while not in barca shirt we saw for years how bad he is argentine shirt lets see in psg
So thats what he meant when he said hes felt like he's played at Inter for years? Roma were playing him out of position. The slug was meant to be a holding midfielder.