AbdulRahman Balogun

@lightfinisher @someballfacts Again, tomato, tomato, if i need a goalscorer, I look to CR7 (sounds reductive, he was more fun in his twenties, then shifted to be more efficient, 451 goals in 438 games in a team of galacticos is an absolute joke, as a LW/ST), if I need a PLAYMAKIMG forward, I look to messi

No I won’t concede it. Yes Ronaldo has more range hence why he is the most complete goalscorer but statistically he’s not the better scorer based on conversion Messi finishes his chances more at a better rate meaning he converts better than Ronaldo. Which means he’s more likely to score more from less chances. Better goalscorer is based on that, it doesn’t matter how you score the goal but that you score. CR7 will score less from more chances while Messi scores more from less chances. This is statistically backed and hence why Messi is better scorer bro. Also most important point, Ronaldo doesn’t convert chances better than Messi despite having 70+ penalty goals. It’s insane. Messi is a better non penalty scorer compared to Ronaldo for sure in open play

Let me be clear about Cristiano. And I hope it's the last time I make such a declaration. I am a lover of football first, foremost, and last. I was never a fan of Ronaldo, nor did I ever really gravitate to his football aesthetically. When your favorite players are Maradona / Zidane / Rui Costa / Figo etc - players who are collectivist and have a broader vision of the pitch - you just don't gravitate to Ronaldo. However, I will say this. He is undoubtedly as great a player both in talent and achievement as any that has come before (or with) him. I prefer what Diego proposes with the ball. I don't think Ronaldo could ever replicate Diego's heroics in 86. But I don't think Diego could guarantee the inevitable goal against every opponent in the UCL and lead to a 3peat. That is to say - Ronaldo is a pillar of our sport. There is no history of football without Ronaldo. Whether you like or dislike his football. Whether you like or dislike his personality. He has always been divisive - some of it is due to his personality and some of it due to an impossible and deepseated hatred in Anglo-media since 2006 that never let up and that we can all see. I have never seen a player travel to every stadium in England - even his own - and get booed for a year. And the scorn that he has had to face never let up - with vultures ready to pounce st the first sign of trouble. Sport is about the human spirit. Teaching us to persevere against all odds. Consistency, discipline and courage when the going gets tough. THAT is the lesson sport imparts for our children. THAT is why some sportsmen are heroes. What Ronaldo is doing at 41 is nothing short of an UNPRECEDENTED sporting achievement and act of singular heroism. The sheer amount of work necessary and the willpower to fight against the dying of the light to represent his country. An indomitable spirit. If that isn't enough to stir and inspire you - I don't what can. This is beyond commendable - it is inspiring. He has embarked on an impossible mission - to show us that the human spirit has no limits. Do we tell a an explorer NOT to attempt to travel to the moon? Because it is near impossible and fraught with risk? Or do we applaud and cheer on a man in his bravery? Food for thought. But beyond that, the recent deluge of vitriol, wanton disrespect, and media pile-on is frankly disgusting and evil. It is evil because you are spitting in the face of a 150 year old tradition and culture that we call football. The culture we call home and brings together billions of people. Cristiano is football. And football is Cristiano. Whether you love, hate or are ambivalent about him. And for that, a modicum of respect as a fan of the game for OUR game is necessary. To see charlatans and half-achievers and no-names aspire for clicks and media fame and buzz to keep their name going or out of some tragic, personal hate and dislike for a man is saddening. It is saddening because these people do not belong in the culture they desecrate. The culture they weaponize, utilize, and instrumentalize but provide nothing to. Today we reject these people. We won't accept them in our circle anymore. Forza Cristiano. Against the dying of the light.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts How many players have stayed fit for that long and at that level?

@AbdulBaloo2004 @someballfacts That doesn’t matter without Ronaldo or without anyone Messi would compete with the nearest person. That goes to Ronaldo as well. This is a competitive game.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts This is part of what I mean though, people just seem to hog the notion that Ronaldo was never near messi, like bro, without Ronaldo, Messi never reaches the heights he did and vice versa.

@AbdulBaloo2004 @someballfacts No Ronaldo isn’t better bro. I respectfully disagree. Ronaldo is a more complete goalscorer but not the better goalscorer. Better goalscorer is based on who converts more from less chances and that’s messi, this is backed by statistics

@lightfinisher @someballfacts But we know Ronaldo is better in that aspect, especially when it come to variety and range

@AbdulBaloo2004 @someballfacts Messi is also a sure fire goalscorer bro. He’s a hybrid, an elite goalscorer and elite playmaker.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts Argentina plays for and with Messi, Portugal is a bunch of individuals playing for themselves

@lightfinisher @someballfacts Then you have to consider the teams they play in, messi in that portugal team will likely struggle as well, especially in that dr Congo game. Like, it doesn't matter the team, if your striker is not fed, you shouldn't walk away expecting goals.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts Ronaldo as a footballer appeals to me more, people also seem to forget that he is taller and older, so his physical decline was always going to be apparent quicker

@lightfinisher @someballfacts I agree, my issue is in most conversations, it is always Ronaldo is not even a top 5 player, like hun??? I actually like messi's football. I am just waay more impressed by a player who understands their limitations and adjust themselves mentally, physically etc to be the best

@lightfinisher @someballfacts I honestly respect that. But messi would love a player like CR7 in front of him. Imagine messi being able to create with a certainty that a surefire goal scorer is right there. They have both shown us a world above. But disrespecting him because he is not as good as before, wrong

It’s not being tunnel visioned here. It’s just Messi is the better footballer over Ronaldo or anyone else in the matter and it’s not said in disrespect. Nothing to do with liking or hating someone’s personality to be honest. This is said purely by football performance wise on the pitch.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts Messi is a better all round footballer, but Ronaldo has abilities that are known to guarantee goals in any league in the world. He scored 18 EPL goals at 37, that is absolute insanity. Yet people act like he is normal or like his decline is a mark on his career. Absolutely not

@AbdulBaloo2004 @someballfacts Playing sport differently is not a reason to equate everyone at the same level. Ofcourse everyone has their style like finger prints. Someone who plays better should be lauded as better. Simple as that.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts No problem at all. But the argument that he is not the second beat player because he is ageing pisses me off. Like goal scoring wins games, wins leagues, without that, no team wins anything. He went from a more creative role to a finishing role and he is damn good at it

@KaineBarcaFC @lapeoche @whosgenrul People keep saying he is finished, he might as well be. He had 2 shots from awkward angles from 2 shocking passes. Like who chooses not to cross to the guy known to head balls like he intends to kill someone

@KaineBarcaFC @lapeoche @whosgenrul If the ball is not given yo and of the players you mentioned, they are not doing shit. Like what is with all this lack of intelligence. No matter the player, without service, nothing will happen.

This whole Ronaldo thing is being blown way out of proportion it's insane. Portugal's issues vs Congo were so clearly with the midfield and the lack of risk, Ronaldo was the absolute least of their worries. That midfield 3 playing rondo's in the center circle is the main issue

@lightfinisher @someballfacts It's okay not to like the person, but his spirit and sportsmanship as well as his football talent has undoubtedly defined the best goalscorer in football history and in my opinion, the best footballing athlete and the one of the best footballers ever.

@lightfinisher @someballfacts As I said before, people play the sport differently, it is all about what you prioritise and can physically do. In that sense, even at 41, most people can barely stand on a pitch for 90 mins constantly darting around for space

@msmithgolfpro @RhysCarefree If it is so easy to be that good for that long, R9 would have done it as well

@RhysCarefree Longevity should not make you a shoe in for a GOAT conversation. To say Pele played against drunks and L2 players is exactly what Cristiano has been doing for the last ca. 3 years. "The brightest stars burn the fastest, so we must love them while we can."

Nonsense, I’m the biggest Messi fan ever but Ronaldo is the second best player of all time by an absolute distance. Third place isn’t even close. R9 had an awful record in the CL and never won it, CR7 has doubled his total career goals. Maradona won 3 league titles in his entire career, one of them was the Argentine league. 345 career goals, Ronaldo scored more than that between 2013-2019. Pele was playing against unfit drunks, the standard of elite football back then was probably League 2/national league standard at best Happy to discuss any other names put forward, no one is close to those 2. We’re lucky to have witnessed both