‘More important for football’ - Why Lionel Messi tops Cristiano Ronaldo in GOAT debate for fellow Ballon d’Or winner and former rival of Diego Maradona

Former Bayern Munich and Inter midfielder Matthaus collected his Golden Ball in 1990, after helping West Germany to a World Cup glory on Italian soil that summer. Around that time, he was competing with the likes of Diego Maradona to be recognised as the world’s best.

He enjoyed that battle, with a rivalry sometimes required in order to unlock full potential in certain individuals. That has been the case with Messi and Ronaldo down the years, as they have spent two decades competing for global dominance.

Matthaus told The Telegraph of his tussle with Maradona: “Diego was the best footballer of my generation. Of course, after me! We had football friendship. We were in those days like Messi and Ronaldo. The rivalry makes them great players. Diego and I were rivals on the pitch. We were fighting for our teams and country. Diego made me bigger and vice versa. We profited from each other.”

Messi and Ronaldo could never have imagined when first starting out that they would achieve sporting immortality. They have, however, won 13 Ballons d’Or between them and broken countless records.

Messi is the most decorated player in history, with 46 trophies to his name, while Ronaldo is the greatest marksman that Champions League football has ever seen. Both are still going strong in MLS and the Saudi Pro League with Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively - with new contracts being signed.

Asked to pick between two icons, Matthaus said when siding with his fellow World Cup winner: “I am a fan of Messi because of his style. I don’t like to say Messi is better than Ronaldo, because they have different styles. Ronaldo has more power and is physically stronger. Messi is smarter. If Ronaldo makes a short entertainment with Messi, it’s a long entertainment. And for this, I prefer Messi more. He has been more important for football in the last 15 years. If I had a chance to play with one of these two, it would have been definitely the maestro from Argentina.”

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Plenty have positioned themselves in Messi’s camp down the years, while many more have plumped for Ronaldo. Discussion regarding who can be considered the GOAT appears set to rumble on until both head into retirement.

They are, however, very different players and characters. With that in mind, Ronaldo’s former Manchester United team-mate Fraizer Campbell told GOAL recently on why the comparisons need to stop: “For me, I enjoy both of them. I wouldn’t say either is better than the other. I love the way Messi plays and I love all that Ronaldo has achieved. For me they are two of the greatest players to ever do it. Sometimes I think it’s a bit sad how people put one against the other. It’s just two incredible guys. Enjoy them!”

There may be one last epic meeting between Messi and Ronaldo to take in. They are both expected to grace next summer’s World Cup finals. CR7 has confirmed that he will be there, after seeing Portugal wrap up qualification, with said tournament set to be his last at international level.

Messi has stopped short of announcing his involvement, as he keeps everybody guessing, but will likely form part of Argentina’s global title defence - having completed his glittering medal collection at Qatar 2022.

Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football, with 143 efforts to his name, and continues to chase down 1,000 efforts over the course of his remarkable career. That is a figure that Messi could also reach if prolific standards are maintained and he plays on through 2028 and potentially beyond.