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Can Messi fire Argentina to World Cup success in Russia?

15th January 2018 7:41 am 1 Comment

Argentine football fans have never warmed to Lionel Messi, but they worship Diego Maradona. At 30 years old, the Barcelona target man is approaching the twilight of his career and Russia 2018 may be his last chance to propel his country to World Cup glory.

Having won everything at club level, can the five-time Ballon d’Or winner achieve true greatness this year? Let’s assess his chances…

Signs Messi won’t win the World Cup

Lacklustre performances on international stage

Messi is one of the best two players in the world at club level, but some believe he rarely shows the same flair on the international stage. He was voted Player of the Tournament in 2014, yet Maradona was among those who claimed he didn’t deserve the honour.

He can’t do it on his own

The key reason pundits and fans cite Maradona as the greatest-ever player is because of his glorious performance at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Maradona was instrumental in every aspect of the national team’s success in 1986; he was by far the best player in the world at the time and capitalised on his abilities.

By contrast, Messi can’t do it on his own. While there are some great players in the Argentina squad, none come close to Messi.

The team as a whole is probably a few steps behind the likes of Germany, France, Brazil and Spain – and a host of old and new bookies agree, which is why most have Argentina down as fifth favourites. In 1986, Argentina were outright favourites from the start.

Argentina struggled to qualify for Russia, 2018. Yes, the was due to a few strokes of brilliance from Messi. But Maradona is the only player in the history of the World Cup to be surrounded by also-rans and still win the competition; the likes of Brazil, Germany and even England all achieved glory with great squads.

Reasons Messi can win the World Cup

He’s brilliant

It’s well established that Messi is a brilliant player. While Argentina didn’t perform well in the qualification stage, Messi proves time and time again that he can pull something out of nothing.

He frequently saves Argentina

He achieved this against Iran in 2014, when his team looked like getting dumped out of the competition before the knockout stages. Still at 0-0 in the 91^st minute, he scored the winner to save Argentina from an embarrassing premature exit. This same was true in 2017 when he scored a hat-trick against Ecuador to take Argentina to the World Cup in 2018.

The notion that Messi doesn’t do the business from his country is nonsense. He’s often the savour of a mediocre Argentina side.

Messi is not alone

That said, the notion that Messi has to win the World Cup alone is also ridiculous. The likes of Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero, Paul Dybala and Mauro Icardi would make most teams in the world much better. The fact that Argentina are fifth favourites despite a poor showing in qualification is testament to the quality in the squad as a whole.

The betting year of 2018

22nd December 2017 6:22 am 1 Comment

2017 has been a very exciting past 12 months, especially in the messi vs ronaldo debate as they’re now equalled on 5 Ballon d’Or each (collectively claiming the last 10) and we have really great sportsyear a head of us that is 2018 with the highlights being the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Highlights of the past year

Real Madrid to claim their second straight Champions League
Real Madrid winning the La Liga for the first time since 2012 to break Barca’s domination
The spanish super cup between Real Madrid and Barcelona with Real Madrid outplaying Barca for 2 games and winning 5-1 (game 1, game 2)
Cristiano Ronaldo top scorer in the Champions League for five years straight
A transfer circus for Barcelona in the summer of 2017 with Neymar going to PSG for a record sum and Dembele being brought over from Dortmund

New betting sites 2018

2018 is going to be the biggest sports year to date with the highlight being FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. Right now Germany is the favourite to claim the trophy in Moscow the 15th of July with an odds of 5.50, Brazil second with 6.00 and France third with 6.50. The EURO 2016 winner Portugal has an odds of 26 which could have some real value. All odds are taken from one of our favourite betting sites, bet365. At the other end of the table you can find both Panama and Saudi Arabia with a whopping odds of 1001.

To find new betting sites 2018 we recommend the site bettinglounge.co.uk which has complete comparisions and lists of the best bookmakers available.

Messi Vs Ronaldo 2018

2018 will be another year for the messi and ronaldo rivalry and as none of them are getting any younger this can be one of the last years when they’re both at their prime. It’s also possible that they’ll get some competition for the Ballon d’Or next year around with a Neymar performing very well with his new team, Paris Saint Germain.

Lionel & Cristiano: A Messi Releationship

7th December 2017 9:06 am Leave a Comment

Lionel Messi is a world star. He is, arguably, the greatest footballer of his generation and comes across as a man that has not let this stardom go to his head. He joined Barcelona as a child after the Catalonian club agreed to pay for his medical treatment for hormone growth deficiency and he has never looked back since. His humble demeanour has endeared him to fans all over the world and has also perhaps increased his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo, whose character is seen as a polar opposite.

Portugal v Argentina by Fanny Schertzer (CC BY 3.0)

It is clear that there will always be a competitive rivalry between the world’s best players of certain generations. Players always want to prove that they are the best, so it is a natural thing for those at the top of the game to try to outdo each other – and it is not a modern phenomenon. You had it between Bobby Charlton and Franz Beckenbauer who were both the key figures for their respective countries. You had it between Roy Keane and nearly everyone he came up against. It occurs in other sports, too, with the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in golf and in ice hockey between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

So when Neymar arrived at the Nou Camp and then left to PSG this summer in what was a mighty hurrah, it was always going to stoke a rivalry between the two stars. Messi was reportedly upset at the way Neymar went about getting the move and did not like the fact that his teammate’s ego played a massive part in the whole affair. You can understand Messi’s point as Neymar has already clashed with new PSG teammate Edison Cavani over who should take the penalties, which is really code for who should be the head honcho.

Neymar Jr by Antoine Dellenbach (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Both Messi and Neymar are doing the business on the pitch for their clubs, with Barcelona and PSG topping their respective Champions League groups and domestic leagues. It is hard to see which player will help their side progress the furthest in the Champions League this season, with PSG the current favourites in the eyes of the online football tips.

Neymar recently posed with Cristiano Ronaldo at the FIFA Awards as the Portuguese star piped Messi to the FIFA Best Player award which many believed was a deliberate attempt to goad Messi after his open criticism of the Brazilian star. It would be great to see the two players face each other in the later stages of the Champions League and PSG fans will certainly believe their side owes Barcelona a thrashing after the dramatic comeback by the Spanish side knock the French champions out of the competition last season.

Both sides appear to be on target for their domestic titles so the Champions League will take on a greater significance for both players. Real Madrid won it last season and both Barcelona and PSG will be determined to stop them repeating this feat in 2018.

The Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo Record Breaking List

1st November 2017 7:13 am Leave a Comment

Has there been a better football rivalry than the one between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? Sure, Ronaldinho vs. Zinedine Zidane, Johan Cruyff vs. Franz Beckenbauer and Pele vs. Eusebio were all talent-filled, highly entertaining affairs, but Messi vs. Ronaldo is a rivalry that’s literally been record-breaking.

Put simply, when you size up the careers of the two hotshots, the list of accolades and world bests is mind blowing. In fact, the combined résumé of the two players is so impressive that we’ve decided to take a second and recap some of the top records the pros currently hold.

Messi the Hotshot

When it comes to Messi, quantity is clearly his thing. As it stands, the man from Argentina holds the record for the most goals in a calendar year with 91. Thanks to this almost unbelievable strike rate in 2012, Messi has broken (and will continue to break) records for the most goal in Spanish League history (253), the leading scorer in the Champions League and the top striker Barcelona has ever had.

In fact, when you have a look at any match preview from the betting brains at Sun Bets, Messi is always cited as a lynchpin. Often described by the writers as “terrorising” defences across Europe in the Champions League, Messi’s prowess in front of goal is both special and record-breaking. Off the back of this ability to find the back of the net, Messi is currently the only player in history to win the Ballon d’Or, FIFA World Player, Pichichi trophy and Golden Boot in the same season.

Ronaldo the Golden Boy

Across the pitch, Ronaldo has been just as prolific. At the last count, his 137 goals in all UEFA competitions was 30 more than his closest rival, Raúl González. If that wasn’t enough, Ronaldo has been named in UEFA.com’s Team of the Year (user poll) more than any other player (three times). Add to this the top strike rate in Real Madrid history (400+ goals at the last count) and the most goals in a single Champions League campaign (17 in 2013/2014) and it’s easy to see why Ronaldo is among the greatest to ever do it.

Of course, there are some records the dynamic duo haven’t yet been able to crack. At the time of writing, neither Messi or Ronaldo had cracked the following footballing feats:

Oldest goal scorer in a Champions League final: Paolo Maldini at 36 years 333 days during Milan vs. Liverpool (2005).
Fastest UEFA Champions League goal: Roy Makaay found the net in 10.12 seconds.
Most number of teams scored for in the Champions League: Zlatan Ibrahimović has scored for six teams, including: Juventus, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter and Ajax.
Greatest number of goals for a single club: Pele scored 643 times for Santos.

A Battle on Virtual Ground

With a few more years before the two hang up their boots, there’s no doubt a few of the above records and probably a few more will go. However, even if they didn’t push the boundaries any more, Messi and Ronaldo have proven they have every right to be considered among the greatest of their generation. Indeed, when you compare what they’ve achieved in arguably one of the most competitive eras ever, the mere mortal can only sit back and marvel.

In fact, that’s one most of us do via the power of social media when it comes to Ronaldo. Indeed, if there’s one area in which Ronaldo trumps Messi, it’s social media. Although the former is going strong with 82.5 million Instagram followers while the latter is currently killing it with 114 million.

Taking this a step further, the Ronaldo brand is huge and that’s helped him secure endorsement deals with the likes of Nike and more. When you tally all that up, Ronaldo has an estimated net worth of $93 million (£70 million). By this token, Ronaldo has not only broken plenty of records off the pitch in areas such as social media and wealth, it’s fair to say the 32-year-old just has the edge on his Barcelona counterpart.

A rivalry from hell but a match in heaven?

24th October 2017 3:03 pm Leave a Comment

The history of football is awash with ‘what ifs’. For instance, with Steven Gerrard nearly joining Chelsea in 2005, many people wonder just how he and Lampard could have given the West London club a complete monopoly over domestic trophies. A curious combination undoubtedly, but as evidenced by their poor cohesion in England’s failed Euro 2008 qualification campaign, Lampard and Gerrard might not have been a match made in heaven after all.

Then there was Alan Shearer’s Manchester United near-miss in the mid-1990s. The Geordie hero instead chose to join his hometown club, rather than partner up with the likes of Andrew Cole and Eric Cantona. Had Shearer taken a different path, then an intriguing blend of contrasting personalities would have been in full evidence, although opinions as to how that would have affected United remain mixed.

Today, there are two players that continually whet the appetite where fantasy football is concerned. They are, of course, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The latter is aiming to equalise against Messi in the Ballon D’Or stakes, and the latest spread betting markets indicate that Ronaldo (along with his Real Madrid teammates) is the more fancied of the two to lift the Champions League trophy yet again in May.

The two have a personal rivalry akin to nothing the world has seen before, but how exactly would they combine in a dream starting XI?

Joining forces – a match made in heaven?

Firstly, and most importantly, the players would not necessarily have to overlap as part of any attacking setup. Ultimately, the dream XI with Ronaldo and Messi contains more of a ‘combination’ made in heaven, rather than a ‘match’ – or any sort of ‘partnership’. Being ambidextrous, Ronaldo’s primary objective would be to provide quality from the left flank in a wide 4-3-3, with Messi doing the same from the right.

Both players are obviously well-known for cutting in from wide and shooting with deadly accuracy. Since there is no explicit need for the two to overlap under normal circumstances, the combination could very easily work. However, with Ronaldo generally being seen as the greater ‘showman’, there would always be underlying concerns that Ronaldo’s love for the limelight could affect the team. With Ronaldo and Messi in the same squad, a combination of big personalities would be an inevitable factor, but so too would a glut of silverware.

It should be remembered that Ronaldo has won silverware playing alongside other celebrated luminaries of European football, and his personality has never prevented his club from fulfilling its expectations.

Messi v Ronaldo – The war continues

Most neutrals would argue that Ronaldo is the greater ball-player, but Messi’s low centre of gravity gives him extra stability on the ball when running at goal. Under the right coaching, such complementary qualities could be present to devastating effect. However, this is the real world, and the debate as to which player is the better continues to rage amongst football fans across the world.

In each of the last nine editions of the Ballon d’Or awards, the greatest piece of personal silverware in the football world has gone to Messi or Ronaldo. This year, Ronaldo has every chance of ‘equalising’ against Messi by winning a fifth award, having powered his side to yet another domestic and European double. However, the fact remains that Messi outscored Ronaldo 37-25 in the 2016/17 La Liga season.

Although it is naive to say that a sixth Ballon d’Or for Messi to Ronaldo’s four would be an unassailable lead, time is the only unbeatable element in football. There are now a number of younger players waiting to pounce on football’s most coveted personal prize, and the time of final reckoning in the battle of the world’s greatest two is close at hand.

Ronaldo beats Messi to Uefa player of the year

11th September 2017 9:46 am Leave a Comment

On Thursday Cristiano Ronaldo was voted Uefa player of the year for the third time beating rival Lionel Messi in the process.

The Portuguese superstar’s player of the year award takes him one ahead of Messi who last won the title for the 2014/15 season and comes after Ronaldo guided Real Madrid to a League and Champions League double firing in 12 goals in Europe’s elite club competition.

Already Ronaldo’s Madrid have been instilled as favourites for the La Liga title this season with betting odds making Cristiano just behind Messi to end as top goal-scorer.

The pair have been dominant in Spain’s Premier division and have claimed the last four player of the year awards between them.

However, Ronaldo, has given insight into who can take over his mantle as he will be 33 next year and cannot go on forever.

When asked by a reporter to name some players he thinks can succeed him, he replied by saying: “A good question, I see some great potential” and highlighedt six in particular.

But who are they?

Marco Asensio

The first player Ronaldo reeled off was team-mate Marco Asensio. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder is making a name for himself in the Madrid ranks and made his Spanish international debut in 2016.

Asensio played an important role for Real last season and played 38 times scoring 10 goals in all competitions last season and already has 2 strikes in four appearances this season.

Kylian Mbappe

The Monaco man on everyone’s lips, Mbappe appears to have the world at his feet and has impressed Ronaldo as a result.

Mbappe caught the key most notably for his performances for Monaco in the Champions League last season.

The Frenchman is still only 18 and it appears destined for a big money move to PSG sooner rather than later and we can only hope he continues his development and lives up to expectation.

Neymar

Ronaldo has plenty of first-hand experience of the Brazilian wonder kid who is more of a wonder man at 25-years of age.

A record breaking deal this summer to PSG has lifted Neymar further up the footballing echelons and bright start has ensued with two goals on his debut.

Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona’s new forward Dembele has big shoes to fill following Neymar’s departure. The former Dortmund and Rennes attacker has had a bright start to his career and found the back of the net six times in 32 Bundesliga appearances last season.

Eden Hazard

Like Neymar, another player in his mid-twenties but due to his consistently high performances for Chelsea, feels like he has been around much longer.

The Belgian attacking midfielder has already made 174 Premier League appearances for the Blues scoring a whopping 57 times.

Marcus Rashford

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has an impressive record at Old Trafford despite only being 19 and having spent a lot of time on the bench.

45 League appearances have returned 10 goals for the youngster and with Mourinho’s signing of Lukaku, could we soon see Rashford start to itchy feet and want out for regular first team action.

Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo

30th August 2017 2:30 pm Leave a Comment

Football has seen a lot of iconic rivalries over history. Probably the greatest of all was the one between legends of the game, Pele and Maradona. There is literally no football enthusiast who has not been asked for an opinion in regards to which of the two greats had the supremacy. It is actually impossible to provide an adequate answer as it is very hard to compare which of them was better as they do not belong to the same time-frame at all, but nobody can deny the fact that both of them were more than superior for their time being.

However, the above mentioned iconic rivalry has been replaced by probably the one even more iconic. The one we have the opportunity to still enjoy in as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi do not have the intention of stopping.

The world has never previously seen such consistency of scoring at the highest possible level before two new masters of the game stepped on the courts. Spain is lucky to have them both on its soil as the two stars play for the arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona.

There is a general notion that Lionel Messi has always somehow had an edge over Cristiano Ronaldo ever since the beginnings of their rivalry, but the Portuguese superstar stole the show by leading his national team to the European Championship title as well as taking Real Madrid to a record-breaking Champions League title in the last season.

Whilst Ronaldo had a much more successful season overall (Real Madrid won Primera Division title as well), it was Lionel Messi who won the Pichichi award being the league’s top scorer with 37 goals (12 more than Cristiano). Leo already has two goals in the new season while Ronaldo is sidelined due to the suspension and won’t be able to play next two matches as well. This is why you can have Messi at 1/2 to become La Liga’s top scorer once again, but we would not underestimate the Portuguese star after the survey done by bettintips4you.com just before the start of the season.

The question was: Who will be the 2017/18 Primera Division top scorer and 60% of football fans picked Ronaldo arguing that he enjoys a much better form at this stage. Given that the bookmakers price up the Real Madrid star at 3/1 to take his new Pichichi award, we just can’t resist noticing the immense value there.

In all, just as we stated for the rivalry between Pele and Maradona, it is almost impossible to give an accurate answer of which of the two players is better. Actually, former Barca and Real Madrid legend Luis Figo best described the rivalry saying: “Messi or Ronaldo” It’s like choosing between white truffle and caviar”.

Who will score more goals next season: Ronaldo or Messi?

14th August 2017 12:45 pm Leave a Comment

The 2017-18 La Liga campaign is just a few weeks away. The Spanish domestic league is one of the most competitive and entertaining in Europe, and next season promises to be hugely exciting. Real Madrid reclaimed the league title last season, and their bitter rivals Barcelona will be determined to take it back from Zinedine Zidane’s side. Atletico Madrid will be aiming to challenge for the La Liga title yet again as well.

For almost ten years, a major subplot in the La Liga title race has been the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Madrid ace Ronaldo and Barcelona star Messi are the two best players in the world, and which team win La Liga next season will depend much on these two genuine legends of the game. Both are natural goalscorers, and although both are in their 30s, they remain at the top of their game.

Ronaldo has altered his game and is more or less a ‘goal poacher’ these days. There were injury and fitness concerns for the Portugal international last season, but he still scored 25 goals in 29 La Liga matches for Madrid last season. The former Manchester United star scored 12 goals in 13 Champions League games, and his end to the season was his best for many years.

The 32-year-old has become more conservative in his game and does not run as much as he used to when he was in his 20s. However, Ronaldo remains as clinical and as potent as ever, and with the likes of Karim Benzema, Isco and Gareth Bale around him, he will be confident of scoring 35 to 40 goals at least next season. If Ronaldo remains fit throughout the campaign, then it would not be a bad idea to place a bet on him to win the Trofeo Pichichi.

Ronaldo seems all set for the 2017 Ballon d’Or as well, thanks to his exceptional performances for Madrid last season. The former Manchester United ace is 1/33 to win the most prestigious individual prize in football, with Messi second-favourite with odds of 16/1.

Interestingly, both Barcelona and Madrid are joint-favourites for the La Liga title with odds of 10/11. With Los Blancos have been the busier of the two sides in the summer transfer window so far, the odds could shorten on them if they complete the signing of 18-year-old AS Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe.

There are some great betting offers for all Ronaldo’s fans, who will back the Madrid star to become the top scorer in Spain for the first time since 2014-15 and for the fourth time since his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009. With some bookmakers offering up £200 as welcome bonuses, you could place an early bet on Ronaldo bettering Messi in the scoring department next season and then sit back and enjoy the campaign.

Of course, Messi will be Ronaldo’s main competitor for the Trofeo Pichichi next season. The Barcelona star scored as many as 37 goals in La Liga last season, and if he does not miss a chunk of the 2017-18 campaign, then he will be up there once again. However, the 30-year-old may not be thinking about winning the topscorer’s award in La Liga next season due to the current circumstances at Camp Nou.

Barcelona are under immense pressure at the moment, having failed to do much of note in the Champions League last season; they also lost the La Liga title to Madrid. Moreover, the Blaugrana have a new manager in charge, Ernesto Valverde, who could have a different idea of using Messi. If Neymar leaves for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window, then the Argentina international forward may have to play in the ‘hole’ in order to accommodate Luis Suarez and another forward up front, which could restrict him from getting into goalscoring positions and reduce his chances of winning the Trofeo Pichichi.

Real Bosses Say Ronaldo is Going Nowhere

10th August 2017 8:24 am Leave a Comment

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to remain at Real Madrid. That is the gospel according to those closest to the football legend, with Real Board members and Ronaldo’s team mates at Los Blancos all saying that their most famous forward will see out his contract, which ties him to the club till 2021.

The very public assurances come on the back of weeks of speculation about Ronaldo’s future. Some sources say he has fallen out of love with Spain after being accused of tax fraud earlier this year, to the tune of €14.7 million. Subsequently, there were rumours linking him with a move to Paris Saint German or even back to Manchester United.

What went wrong?

The suggestions that Ronaldo, 32, would be moving to pastures new started emerging just days after Spanish prosecutors accused the Portuguese star of evading tax on image rights sales between 2011 and 2014. It is claimed that money was routed through a US Virgin Island-based shell company, called Tollin Associates, which Ronaldo wholly owns. Prosecutors claimed that the company serves no other purpose than to buy his image rights then immediately cede them to another company in the Republic of Ireland.

While these allegations sound serious, it is just another brick in the wall, as far as most Spanish football fans are concerned. Ronaldo is the latest in a long line of La Liga stars, including no lesser names than Neymar and Messi, to face such allegations. In every case, the problem arose with the abolition of the Beckham Law back in 2010, which suddenly meant football stars on telephone number salaries faced huge tax exposures.

Implications for the fans

Real has enjoyed unprecedented success in recent years, and much of the responsibility for that lies firmly at Ronaldo’s door. His name has become synonymous with the club, and if he were to leave, it would have a huge impact on Los Blanco’s 70 million strong fanbase. However, they would not be the only ones to have their weekends irreversibly changed, should Ronaldo move on. Millions more around the globe visit sites like www.bestbettingsites.co.uk every weekend to place bets on another Real win. The odds, and indeed the results, could take an interesting turn if Ronaldo ends up elsewhere.

Business as usual

However, we are assured from all sides that this is not going to happen, and from a pragmatic view, it is difficult to envisage Ronaldo taking a gamble on another team at this stage of his career, particularly when we consider the small matter of a €1 billion buyout clause in his Real contract.

Finances aside, though, it cannot be denied that under Zinadine Zidane, Ronaldo has arguably the best coach in world football by his side, and it is hard to see where else he would really want to go. The Manchester United rumour is a tantalising one, but given the history between Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, it seems implausible. Mourinho himself has distanced himself from all the speculation, simply saying that such a move “would not make sense.”

Ronaldo

Will Cristiano Ronaldo go down as the greatest ever?

12th July 2017 6:50 pm 1 Comment

Cristiano Ronaldo is like marmite; you either love him or you hate him. To most of us, the Portugal legend is the epitome of class. Ronaldo is always involved in charity work, both in and outside of football, and his efforts off the pitch show that he is a decent human being.

But he will mostly be remembered for his performances on the pitch. At 32 years old, he should be slowing down but Ronaldo just enjoyed one of the best years of his glittering career. In 55 appearances for club and country last season, Ronaldo bagged 55 goals, averaging exactly one goal every game; an incredible record.

When you’re talking about the best players of all-time, a few names usually crop up. The likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Ronaldo’s close rival Lionel Messi are all up there – as is the Real Madrid man himself. Ronaldo has been there and done it all, winning everything there is to win on an individual level whilst achieving plenty of team success at both Madrid and Manchester United.

Since storming onto the scene at Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo has gone from strength to strength and he is now arguably the best player on the planet. With four Ballon d’Or awards and a fifth likely to follow at the end of 2017, the Portuguese has to be considered in the same bracket as Messi – if not higher.

The Barcelona man has enjoyed a phenomenal career, winning five Ballon d’Or accolades and he deserves to go down in history as one of the greatest to play the game. Messi has helped Barcelona to win 30 trophies during his tenure at Camp Nou and he has also won a record-tying four European Golden Shoes; tied with none other than Ronaldo himself.

Of course, while comparisons are inevitable, football fans should enjoy both men while they still can – age will eventually catch up with the two La Liga stars. For now, though, Messi and Ronaldo will continue to dominate European football for the foreseeable future.

Just as both men will dominate, so too will their respective clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The two giants of Spanish football will almost certainly be involved in yet another two-horse race for the La Liga crown and defending champions Real will be desperate to retain the title. As of July 11th, Ronaldo’s side are 10/11 in La Liga betting markets to do just that and it would take a brave man to back against Los Blancos.

Whether you are a Ronaldo fan or prefer Messi, one thing is for sure: both men are legends of their generation and deserve plenty of respect and recognition for their achievements on the football field. Ronaldo has come a long way since making his Sporting debut and the fact that he has been there and done it in both Spain and England may just give him an added edge over his arch rival in the history books.

Source: Cristiano Ronaldo via Facebook

The world's greatest footballers - but who's the best?

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