After winning the 2022 World Cup, Messi officially ended the debate about the best player of all time. The world football federation FIFA also made a move to end the debate and was considered a “slap” in the face of Ronaldo’s girlfriend – the person who commented that Ronaldo is the best in the world.
GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time, meaning the best player of all time. “The GOAT debate is settled. The greatest prize (the World Cup) has become part of the great player’s collection. The legacy is complete,” FIFA’s account tweeted with a photo of Messi holding the World Cup and the Best Player award of the final.
The GOAT debate has been fierce over the years. After the 2022 World Cup semi-final, Gary Lineker said Messi was the greatest player in football history. The English football legend wrote: “Still debating? Let’s call Messi the greatest player in football history.”
Immediately after that, Ronaldo’s close friend – Piers Morgan responded with the affirmation: “No. Ronaldo is the greatest player in football history. I think Cristiano Ronaldo is the best ever, Diego Maradona is second, Messi is third (actually maybe fourth after Ronaldo de Lima)”.
Ronaldo’s girlfriend also called Ronaldo the best player in the world twice at the 2022 World Cup. Georgina wrote about Ronaldo: “When the 11 starting players sang the national anthem, all the cameras were on him. It was a shame that people couldn’t see the best player in the world play the full 90 minutes. The audience kept chanting his name and demanding he come on the field.”
However, it can be seen that FIFA has spoken out objectively to see that Messi is truly greater than Ronaldo. The difference is undeniable when Messi has the World Cup. Messi scored from the group stage to the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals. Messi has become the first player to win the World Cup Golden Ball twice, the first time was in 2014…
In his professional football career, Messi has won 39 titles, including the 2022 World Cup, 2021 Copa America, La Liga, Ligue 1, Champions League… In addition, Messi won the 2005 U20 World Cup and the 2008 Olympic gold medal. No other player in the world has won all the titles like Messi.
On the contrary, Ronaldo scored 1 goal at the 2022 World Cup. His only mark was constant noise and he left the tournament in the quarter-finals. It is unbalanced to comment that Ronaldo is better than Messi, or to comment like “Cristiano Ronaldo is the best ever, Diego Maradona is second, Messi is third”.
The 2022 World Cup final, which took place in the early morning of December 19 (Vietnam time), left an impression on fans with its tense and breathtaking moments. Especially for fans of player Lionel Messi, the 2022 World Cup trophy is an unforgettable mark.
If before, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were considered arch-rivals, the World Cup championship helped solidify the Argentine superstar’s position as the greatest football player on the planet.
Before that, both were great players in football history, scoring a series of achievements, great titles, only lacking a title as well as a championship at the World Cup. Besides, although both are in the final stage of their peak as players, if CR7’s form is gradually declining, Messi still shows his ability, carrying the national team to win the championship.
Not only that, with his current achievements, Messi can be on par with Diego Maradona, the “golden boy” of football. In the past, many people did not agree with the view that Messi could be on par with his senior Maradona even though Lionel Messi played more matches, scored more goals and won more titles because Messi could not single-handedly bring his country to the World Cup. But after all, Messi has done what Argentina has been waiting for for a long time and can confidently be on par with his legendary senior in football.
With the victory at the World Cup, Messi has in his hands all the most precious titles in a player’s life. During his career, Messi participated in 1003 matches, scored 793 goals, and won 7 golden balls. It can be said that Messi’s career ended in complete happiness.
With his current achievements, Messi has put his name on the list of players in history who have won the World Cup, European Cup/Champions League, and the Golden Ball award. He is also the 9th person in football history to achieve this achievement.
