Portugal’s No. 07 striker Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal from the penalty spot as a banner depicting Argentina forward Lionel Messi is seen in the background during the ball game Group H of the 2022 World Cup between Portugal and Ghana at Stadium 974 in Doha on November 24, 2022. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP)
DOHA— It may be a day off from the World Cup on Thursday but the never-ending discussion of football continues – who is the better player, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
With no matches in the Qatari capital for a second day in a row, fans flocked to Souk Waqif to shop and sightsee, and the decades-old debate over who is GOAT – “great” greatest of all time” – continues to play out in cafes and restaurants.
Argentina fans, who meet the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Friday and Portugal, who take on Morocco on Saturday, crowd the market’s narrow streets and squares, with a lot of neutrals also weigh in.
“It’s Ronaldo – I think Ronaldo’s all-round play is fantastic. I think he is more versatile than Messi, who has a great left foot, but Ronaldo is the better player and athlete,” England fan David Barley told Reuters.
England fan and Arsenal fan TV presenter Robbie Lyle disagree.
“It has to be Messi now – I’ve watched all the games here and Messi, in the last game (against Australia), he gave his all,” he told Reuters.
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FILE–Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (left) walks past Barcelona forward Lionel Messi during a UEFA Champions League match. (Photo by Josep LAGO/AFP)
Messi, 35, and Ronaldo, more than two years old, have dominated football’s most polarizing debate of the past 10 years, especially when they are rivals at Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Both are playing in their fifth World Cup but neither has won a trophy. It’s the only major prize they’ve evaded in their brilliant career, and this could be their last chance to win it.
The fact that Ronaldo was on the bench in Portugal’s 6-1 destruction of Switzerland has prompted some of his ardent fans to reconsider the current situation.
“Today? Maybe Messi, but overall I like Ronaldo better – I’m a Portuguese fan, Sporting is my team, so Ronaldo,” said American fan Melo Barrows.
Wearing a traditional white thobe in a bustling market, Badr Saleh Debel from Saudi Arabia says he has no doubt – Messi is the greatest.
“Messi, Messi, absolutely Messi,” he said. “It’s not about the ball, the goals, the history. He’s a good player, he scores goals, he assists – what a player, he’s the best player of all time.”
According to Melo Barrow, with two greats at the twilight of their careers, there’s only one surefire way to decide whose legacy will be the greatest.
“A Portugal-Argentina final would be the best scenario,” he said.
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