They are the best players, the most awarded, the most famous, of the last 15 years. Uncontested stars. Living and active football legends.
Lionel Messi shone intensely at Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, after he distinguished himself at Manchester United and before a good, but not brilliant, spell at Juventus.
The Argentine is the owner of seven Golden Balls (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021), the coveted trophy annually awarded to the best in the world, and the Portuguese, five (2008, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017).
This year Messi still achieved something he’s always wanted, a title with Argentina’s senior team, which beat Brazil in the Copa America final.
Cristiano Ronaldo, CR7, also in 2021, became the greatest scorer in the history of the Euro Cup, the exciting quadrennial dispute between the best European teams.
The records and titles they accumulate are worth a text in their own right, and the two changed clubs in the middle of the year with the goal of expanding their brands.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United expected Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to make an immediate impact, not just the media, and they did.
But the practical result cannot be considered exciting, especially in the case of former Barcelona shirt 10, current PSG shirt 30.
This season, which is halfway through, surprisingly the French team performed worse when Messi played.
The 34-year-old Argentinian, who dealt with a knee injury that kept him out of some matches, was on the field in 16 of the 27 matches valid per competition.
He played in the French Championship (11 times) and in the Champions League (5). They scored six goals, a slight average of 0.38 per game, and PSG did not win seven of those clashes. There were nine wins, five draws and two defeats.
In Messi’s absence, the Parisian team won 9 of 11 games, drawing one and losing one. In the French, without the ace, the performance is 100% (eight wins) – with him, there are six wins, four draws and one defeat.
Fortunately for the club, Messi has managed to be Messi in the competition that matters most, the Champions League, which PSG wants to conquer more than anything.
Of his six goals, five were in the European Champions League, and two of them, decisive, in a 3-2 comeback triumph over Germany’s Leipzig in October.
In the case of Manchester United, the conclusion is that Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be very important for the team.
Without the 7 shirt, the team, which has been struggling for years to get back on its feet – has gone into decline since the retirement of coach Alex Ferguson in 2013–, would be eliminated from the Champions League.
CR7 scored both goals 2-2 against Atalanta, in Italy, being one of them in second-half stoppages, the winning goal against the same rival, 3-2, in England, and again in second-half stoppages stage, the winning goal over the Spanish Villarreal, by 2-1, in Manchester.
It was essential, it was fundamental, it was brilliant.
Even so, and even having been decisive in the derby against Arsenal in the Premier League (two goals in a 3-2 victory), CR7 has been the target of criticism.
His 13 goals in 19 matches (an average of 0.68), including six in the Premier League and seven in the Champions League, seem not to have been enough to satisfy critics and some of the fans.
Perhaps they expected the 36-year-old cyborg, physically still admirable, to be the “savior of the homeland” not only in the Champions but also in the Premier League, in which Manchester United are seventh with 28 points, 22 behind leader, Manchester City.
If the English finished today, the Red Devils would be out of European competition next season.
The mediocre campaign resulted in the fall of Norwegian coach Ole Solskjaer, who suffered tough defeats against Liverpool (5 to 0), Leicester (4 to 2), Manchester City (2 to 0) and Watford (4 to 1). In all of them, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t score.
This week, after the poor performance in 1-1 with Newcastle, there were those who turned up their noses at CR7. One of them was Gary Neville, Manchester United idol, currently a commentator.
It is well known that Cristiano Ronaldo always wants to be the center of attention, every time “the man of the game”, and he is often irritated by mistakes made by his colleagues and/or when the ball does not reach him.
His body language has given him away for years, and for Neville it hurts the team.
Another former player who is a sports analyst, Gabriel Agbonlahor says the star has bullied young talent on the team, such as Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho, for exaggerating his curmudgeonly side.
With CR7 on the field in this second spell at the club, Manchester United records, in 19 valid matches for any championship, nine wins, four draws and six defeats. Without him, in five games, it’s two wins, two draws and one loss.
The Portuguese should return to the field this Thursday (30), against Burnley, at Old Trafford, if Covid’s outbreak doesn’t postpone the duel.
Messi will try to improve his performance with PSG only after the turn of the year.
The team will play on the 3rd, against Vannes, for the French Cup, and then on the 9th, against Lyon, in France.
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