6 times Ronaldo refused to admit defeat to Messi in GOAT debate
It’s been a while but Cristiano Ronaldo is back in the headlines for his latest claim that he, not Lionel Messi, is the greatest player of all time.
You have to give it to Ronaldo and his never-ending self-confidence as despite substantial evidence, he refuses to concede that Messi may just be better than him.
His latest statement said he does not want to be ‘humble’ and that he disagrees with Messi being better, but it’s not the first time the Portuguese winger has tried to claim he is the best.
2012
Messi v Ronaldo comparisons have been going on for decades but the first time one of the players weighed in on the debate came back in 2012.
At the time, the pair were both in Spain with Ronaldo scoring 46 goals to power Madrid to the league title.
However, it was quite the year for Messi too as he scored 91 goals, breaking the single-year tally by Gerd Muller, and as a result, the Argentine picked up his fourth Ballon d’Or in a row.
Ronaldo, though, still reckoned he was better.
“At the moment … I think it is me,” he told CNN.
“Sometimes [the comparisons with Messi] makes me tired … for him too because they compare us together all the time.
“You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because they have different engines. He does his very best for Barcelona and I do my best for Real Madrid.”
2015
The next time Ronaldo made a similar statement was in 2015 when he said the “numbers” proved he was the best.
“I don’t need to say ‘I’m in the history of football, I’m a legend’. The numbers say everything,” he told the BBC.
“It’s opinions, I respect the opinions. Maybe in your opinion Messi is better than me, but in my mind I am better than him. So it’s simple.”
2018
To be fair to Ronaldo, if there was ever a time when his claim may have some truth it came after his run of two Ballons d’Or in 2016 and 2017 as well as three Champions Leagues in three seasons.
Messi meanwhile was in a run of domestic success with Barcelona but fared poorly in Europe with the Catalans heading out of the Champions League via a shock 3-0 home loss to Roma in the quarter-finals.
This was also the year that Ronaldo left Madrid to move to Juventus, scoring 21 Serie A goals in his first season and his statement this time round focused on his physical attributes.
“No other player has won as many individual trophies as me. And I’m not only talking here about the Ballon d’Or,” Ronaldo told France Football at the time both he and Messi had five. “That says something, no?
“It’s not only the work that I’m doing in the gym, like people think. It’s a combination of many things. Legends like Floyd Mayweather or LeBron James, they didn’t get to this level of perfection by chance. It must be many factors coming together. To be at the top and stay there, you must always have more talent than others.
“You know, I respect everyone’s preferences. But I don’t see anyone better than me. I always thought that.
“No other footballer does things that I am not capable of doing myself. But I see that I do things that others can’t do. There’s no player more complete than me. I play well with two feet, I’m fast, powerful, good with headers, I score goals, I deliver assists.
“People have the right to prefer Neymar or Messi. But I insist: There is no one more complete than me.
“You will go and say that I have a big head, but when you’re at the top, it’s normal that you’re criticised. I am the best player in history, in both good and bad times.”
Comparing Lionel Messi’s first 80 games at Inter Miami with Cristiano Ronaldo’s at Al-Nassr
2019
In 2019, Ronaldo took the bizarre decision to make Piers Morgan his go-to interviewer and while this particular partnership was more notable for his self-sabotaging tantrum against United in 2022, Ronaldo also used the platform to again speak about Messi.
With the Argentine wizard having at this point won six Ballons d’Or, one more than Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar maintained his belief that he deserved to have just as many.
“Messi’s in the history of football,” Ronaldo said.
“But I think I have to have six or seven or eight to be above him. I’d love it, I think I deserve it.”
February 2025
With both players away from European football, the Messi v Ronaldo debates have died down somewhat but the latter can’t resist a comment now and again.
Back in February, Ronaldo maintained that he was still the best and described himself as the “most complete” player in history.
“I’m talking about numbers,” Ronaldo told Spanish television show El Chiringuito. “I think I’m the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it’s me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I’m fast. I’m strong.
“One thing is taste. If you like Messi, Pele, Maradona, I understand that and I respect that, but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete … I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”
November 2025
Ronaldo’s latest statement was short and sweet as a tease for yet another interview with Piers Morgan.
This time, all Ronaldo had to say was: “Is Messi better than me? I disagree. I don’t want to be humble.”
Not much chance of that, Cristiano…
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