Barcelona’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi reacts during the UEFA Champions League football match between SK Slavia Prague and FC Barcelona in Prague, Czech Republic on October 23, 2019. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)
The debate over who is the best striker in the history of football has been a never-ending one and everyone seems to have a different opinion on it. However, certain names always seem to be in the race for the same. Players like Pele, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo Nazario, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are all such names.
However, Lionel Messi, who is deemed by many as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in the sport of football irrespective of the category, has given the title of the best forward to one of his competitors and it is none other than Ronaldo Nazario.
Messi labelled the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star as the best forward he has seen in his life. Interestingly, the Brazil international, who has now retired from international sports, played more than five hundred matches at the club level and scored as many as three hundred and fifty-two goals. He even went on to win the coveted Ballon D’Or title twice and was named FIFA World Player of the Year three times.
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“Ronaldo was the best [forward] I saw in my life,” Messi was quoted as saying by FOX Sports Argentina.
While the Barca forward has stated that his predecessor at the club is the best forward of all time, many football fans and pundits alike believe that the title should be given to Lionel Messi himself. Those on the other side of the spectrum believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is, in fact, the best forward to have ever played the game.
It is worth highlighting that both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have achieved unparalleled success in the sport. The duo has won as many as ten Ballon D’Or awards between them, with both winning the title five times each, the joint-most by any player.
This year though Lionel Messi is expected to lift his sixth Ballon D’Or and leave behind his rival Ronaldo. The award will be handed out in December 2019.
