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Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Inter Miami Al-Nassr showdownGOAL
Chris Burton

Why ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is a more complete player than Lionel Messi’ – with Premier League & MLS used in argument by former CR7 team-mate

C. Ronaldo
L. Messi
Premier League
Major League Soccer
Inter Miami CF
Manchester United
Al Nassr FC
Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain
Juventus
Real Madrid
LaLiga
Saudi Pro League

Former Portugal international Pedro Mendes has explained why, for him, Cristiano Ronaldo is a “more complete player” than Lionel Messi.

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Over 28 monthsSave 67%
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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's entry-level Basic plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

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Additionally, ExpressVPN's Basic plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 10MB/month private email relay plus 10 shared aliases.

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Over 28 monthsSave 80%
Advanced protection across 11 devices with high-speed VPN
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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

  • Portuguese icon played in five countries
  • Argentine legend only figured in three
  • Both have rewritten the history books

  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    The GOAT debate continues to rage when it comes to two icons of the modern era, with Messi and Ronaldo posting numbers across their respective record-breaking careers that may never be seen again – with countless major honours being collected by a couple of all-time greats.

  • Lionel Messi Cristiano RonaldoGetty/GOAL

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Ronaldo has spread his wings a little further than Messi – spending time with Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr. His Argentine rival appeared set to be a one-club man when rewriting the history books at Barcelona, but has since moved on to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.

  • WHAT MENDES SAID

    Using the Premier League and MLS in his argument for Ronaldo being the best to ever play the game, Mendes has told OLBG: “I think we have witnessed the two greatest players of all time in the game, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, for years and years they competed at the highest level and have done fantastic things on the pitch, both of them are incredible. The debate always comes down to who you like more as a player, for more Cristiano Ronaldo is the more complete player, he proved he could win La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A and was the top scorer in all of them - for me that is a huge thing to do.

    “Between him and Messi, Ronaldo wins that battle. Messi of course is a fantastic technical player, but we only saw him playing outside Spain for two years in France towards the end of his career and only now in MLS. So we never knew how we would do in England in the Premier League where it is far more aggressive with more tackles, where Ronaldo did fantastically. In that debate there is a lot of controversy and opinion, but Ronaldo is a more complete player than Messi.”

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  • Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo 2024Getty/GOAL

    WHAT NEXT?

    Messi, who will turn 37 in June, continues to catch the eye in the United States and now has eight Ballons d’Or to his name. Ronaldo, with five Golden Balls in his collection, is showing no sign of slowing down at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr and is expected to play on well into his 40s.