The Best Professional Soccer Player

By: Stephen Lejeune

Soccer is the biggest sport in the world. Many kids from all continents are inspired by professionals to become the best players that they can be. Some of the most idolized players are Ronaldo, Messi, Zidane, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo Nazario. That does leave one question, who is the best player of all time? This topic is very debatable but usually it comes down to two players, Messi or Ronaldo. Both players have had very successful careers, but now that they are nearing the end of their careers, we are now left to debate who the better player was. 

One of the most controversial aspects of their careers is, who is the better goalscorer. In the top 5 leagues, Ronaldo has 19 more goals, at 829, but he has also played 121 more games than Messi. Messi, despite having fewer goals, has a .06 higher goals per game and 8 less minutes per goal, he also finds more success from outside the box. Ronaldo finds more success shooting inside the box, he excels on headers and weak foot. Ronaldo has taken 500 more shots but has a lower percentage on target.  

Messi also shows more dominance in overall performance. He is the most decorated footballer with 44 trophies. He has won 2, arguably 3, trebles in his career and holds the most Ballon d’Ors of all time at 8. He has been awarded 316 Man of the Matches, which is nearly doubling Ronaldo’s 168. Messi also has a 0.57 higher average match rating. 

These are only a few of the many statistics to be compared between the two. The further down the rabbit hole you dig the clearer it gets that Messi is the GOAT of football. His career is something that might never be recreated in a long time. People around the world are lucky to experience the generation that brought two of the best players of all time and some of the best talents football has ever seen.