Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have created one of the greatest competitions in football ever since they faced off against Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga, and fans are divided over who is the greatest of all time. However, both players have established themselves at the top with their titles, records and goals.
However, the Portuguese spoke about his dispute with the Argentine in an interview with Piers Morgan, saying it was unfair to measure a player’s greatness by whether they won the World Cup, as he believes each country’s historical background makes a clear difference.
Cristiano Ronaldo inspires the next generation of soccer stars
How many World Cups did Argentina win before Messi? Probably twice. That’s normal. These countries are used to winning in big competitions. Would the world be surprised if Brazil won the World Cup?No. But if Portugal wins the World Cup, the world will be surprised.
Cristiano Ronaldo also declared that his greatest pride in his career was changing the history of his national team, which had not won an international title until Euro 2016, when they defeated France 1-0. The Portuguese player wants to win what is probably his last chance at a World Cup, but he also made it clear that if he doesn’t succeed, it won’t define his career.
When you compete, you want to win. But I honestly wouldn’t change the way I look at things. For me, it doesn’t define me as a player.
The eternal debate with Lionel Messi: “A player cannot be defined by a single tournament”
Lionel Messi succeeded in becoming world champion at the 2022 Qatar Games, a feat already denied by the defeat to Germany in 2014, but CR7 says a football career cannot be judged by six or seven games.
“Cristiano needs to win the World Cup to save his career” and changed Portugal’s history… No, I won three titles with the national team. Until then, Portugal had never won anything. I’m happy, I’m very happy, but that shouldn’t define you as a player.
Currently, the Portuguese national team, with Cristiano at its core, is very close to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with Messi and Argentina already qualified. This could be the last World Cup in which both teams play each other, and at national team level this is the only way they can play each other.
Lionel Messi recently described winning the World Cup as one of the most important achievements of his career, even comparing his happiness to the birth of his own child. There is no doubt that both footballers were crucial to their teams and national teams. The Argentine player gave his country the joy of winning the World Cup again for the first time in 1986, and Portugal won the 2016 European Championship, proving that they are one of the best footballers on the planet.
