The diary of a Ronaldo fan

Cometh the man, cometh the hour. It was one of the nights when Leo Messi established himself as the greatest-ever football player to touch the ball. Before you think of it as any other story highlighting what Messi has achieved in his career, let me tell you that I had been standing on the other side of the GOAT debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.

What changed my perception?

I never doubted that Messi was God-gifted or his abilities, but what made me claim Ronaldo to be the GOAT was my support for Manchester United since the days of Scholes, Beckham and Giggs. I was not even 10 years old by then. Being a Ronaldo fan had been tough over the years as we had to keep changing bases as he moved from one club to another — from Old Trafford to Santiago Bernabéu to Turin and then again to Old Trafford.

The only thing that separated Ronaldo and Messi in their already decorated careers (Messi won the Ballon d'Or seven times; Ronaldo just behind with five) is who would lift the game's ultimate prize — the World Cup.

As both of them headed towards the knockout stage of what was 'probably' their last World Cup — a World Cup that had more surprises than anyone could have asked for — there were stories all across the Internet on the possibility of the dream final. Argentina vs Portugal. Messi vs Ronaldo. But came a tide called Morocco that swallowed footballing giants one after another — including Portugal.

In the first place, there should have never been a GOAT debate or even a discussion. What both CR7 and Messi have given to the sport is a benchmark that only needs to be pushed higher to become great. Coming back to what changed my perception: this World Cup saw a different version of Messi. He is usually that skilful playmaker and controls the midfield thereby creating chance after chance in any game despite having five-six opposition shirts surrounding him. This time it was not a 'soft' Messi that was only about playing eye-pleasing football. To me, if Messi is a 10/10, I would rate Ronaldo 9.5.

A 'bad boy' Messi

Reaching the finals is one thing. Winning is another. Argentina had already had their hearts broken in 2014 despite having a 'prime' Messi. It was the 113th-minute Goal from Germany's Mario Götze that shattered a dream coming true. Eight years had passed. Messi, now in the twilight of his career, had probably one last go. Things didn't start well — a shocking defeat in the hands of Saudi Arabia!

As a matter of fact, in any team sport, there is nothing better to motivate the players than the captain leading from the front. Messi had been scoring goals throughout the tournament but his approach probably took the world by surprise. We now have an aggressive and more determined than ever version of Messi. From 'cockily' cupping his ears after scoring his penalty against the Dutch, repeatedly shouting "idiot" at Wout Weghorst, and confronting players chest to chest, this is not the version of Messi we had seen earlier. A result of spending his new stint at PSG with one of football's bad boys, Sergio Ramos? Did winning Copa America unburden him? Whatever it is, it was a treat for any football fan. A Messi who has now accomplished everything a football player can ever achieve.

What's next?

Irrespective of when both Messi and Ronaldo hang their boots amid all the speculation, what lies ahead of us is France's Kylian Mbappe. He turns 24 today but already has a World Cup gold medal (2018), a silver medal (2022) and a World Cup Golden Boot (2022). Quite a CV to begin with, right? And I see no one coming close to him 10 years down the line among the new bunch of exciting players. End of an era? Messi or Maradona? That's up for another discussion. For now, the kid from Rosario came, paused, smiled and eventually lifted what turned out to be too surreal to believe.

Messi has already set the bar high. Getting there and achieving what Messi has done over the years will take some climbing. A Ronaldo fan talking about Messi pretty much sums up the GOAT debate, right? Ronaldo is great, and Messi is the greatest. Would love to read your opinions at letter2editor.mp@gmail.com.

The writer is the Assistant Editor, Millennium Post. Views expressed are personal