Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi 'don't need to be captains'! Rival GOATs told 'it's not right' to follow 'under-11s football' rules with armband at international level

Two all-time greats, who have spent their careers locked in a battle for global supremacy, continue to take on the responsibility of leading their respective countries. The record books have been rewritten with European and South American nations.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo has 217 caps and 135 goals for Portugal, while helping them to European Championship and Nations League honours. Messi, with eight Golden Balls to his name, is a World Cup and Copa America winner that has represented Argentina on 191 occasions and found the target 112 times.

Their standing among the immortals is secure, but both sporting GOATs have been told that they do not need to do everything when it comes to inspiring those around them, with there a child-like quality to their leadership methods.

Ex-England international striker Stan Collymore has told William Hill Vegas: "For any big, game-changing players, why do they need to be captain? I know that we’re in a day and age where Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are captains of Argentina and Portugal, because they're the best players and they want to take corners, free-kicks, even throw-ins!

"But to me, it just harks back to under-11s football, where you give the best player everything - and that’s not right. Things like the captaincy are important, but captains don’t need to be doing everything on the pitch. It’s important to have a captain who is in the right position to see everything on the field."

Ronaldo and Messi are heading down a path that should lead to the 2026 World Cup finals. The former is still going strong at the age of 40 with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, while the latter has a 12-month extension option in his contract at MLS outfit Inter Miami.