Both Ronaldo and Messi have won the Ballon d’Or - given to the player
who is considered the best in the world - on five occasions, which is more
than any other player. Messi edges things when it comes to the European
Golden Shoe, which he has scooped five times to Ronaldo’s four, and they
each have four Champions League winners’ medals.
The gauge for discerning who the GOAT is can vary, but some have
highlighted Ronaldo’s ability to excel in a number of various
amounts of countries as a reason for placing him ahead of the
Argentine. As well as that, the Portugal captain has lifted
major honours with his country (winning the Eropean
Championship in 2016), a feat Messi has yet to
achieve at senior level with Argentina (he has won an Olympic
gold medal and the Under-20 World Cup).
The fact that Messi plays for Barcelona and Ronaldo played
for Real Madrid added to the layers of the rivalry and served
to fuel the debate, given that they were going head to head
in El Clasico. Both players spurred each other on and em-
braced the tag of GOAT, with Messi sheepishly posing with
a live goat in an edition of PAPER Magazine.
It’s an age old debate, and one that will be disputed for
years to come
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