He reached the milestone of 125 Champions League goals – including his remarkable hat-trick in the last 16 second leg against Atletico Madrid – and also captained Portugal to the inaugural UEFA Nations League title.īut overall, the stats showed diminished returns of 28 goals in 43 appearances for Juventus – still impressive, although some way off his diminutive Argentine rival. In winning the Scudetto, he became the first player to seal titles in the big leagues in England, Spain and Italy. Ronaldo, 34, deserves huge credit for making the switch from Real Madrid to Juventus, taking up a challenge in yet another of Europe’s top leagues. But at the age of 32, his stats and consistency remain quite simply staggering. Yes, Messi and Barcelona famously folded in that second leg at Anfield, and yes, he yet again failed to lift silverware with Argentina in the Copa America during the summer. He conjured up such magic moments as his incredible lobbed goal against Real Betis – which was a Puskas contender – as well as that incredible free-kick against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final first leg. Messi racked up 51 goals in 50 games for Barcelona in all competitions last season as the Catalans retained their La Liga title. Also on rt.com Ronaldo aiming for as many as EIGHT Ballon d’Or titles to end Messi debate once and for allīut this year, it’s hard to argue that Ronaldo deserved the top FIFA prize ahead of Messi – or Van Dijk for that matter. Now that Messi has edged in front in the honors stakes in their personal duel for greatness, it will be galling for Ronaldo. Indeed, in his emotional and engaging recent interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo revealed that he was targeting more world player of the year accolades to put the Messi debate to bed once and for all, believing in his mind that he “deserves” that recognition. It will have been painful for Ronaldo to watch Messi lap up the plaudits on the Milan stage – the joke being that the Barcelona ace had heeded Ronaldo’s exhortations to come and join him in Italy by doing just that, only not exactly in the way the Portuguese had planned.
Tells you a lot.- Oliver Holt September 24, 2019 So Messi voted for Ronaldo in his top three but Ronaldo didn't vote for Messi. Instead, Ronaldo opted for Juventus teammate Matthijs de Ligt as his number one, followed by Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong in second and France and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe in third.
Ronaldo’s ceremony snub inevitably led to accusations of sour grapes, with the social media swipes intensifying when it was revealed that there was no room for Messi in the Portugal captain’s top three selections for the Best Men’s Player prize. Also on rt.com Best in the world: Lionel Messi and Megan Rapinoe win FIFA player of the year awards at Milan gala (VIDEO) And keep in mind that after night always comes dawn."Ĭryptic musings as Ronaldo reflected on the fact that an award he has previously picked up five times would this year be destined for his great Argentine rival Messi, who also beat Liverpool’s Dutch defensive colossus Virgil van Dijk to the accolade. You can't do everything, but do everything you can to make your dreams come true. "Everything that is big today has started small.
"Patience and persistence are two characteristics that differentiate the professional from the amateur,” Ronaldo wrote.