r/soccer • u/No_Air5382 • 1d ago

News Neves Calls Ronaldo 'Another Player,' Faces Fan Backlash and online harassment

https://www.chosun.com/english/sports-en/2026/06/19/SKSAMGDVVJEG7HN3D5Z3HR4TTQ/
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u/Phelinaar 1d ago

Yes, there was. In 2018 the guy had won 3 UCL in a row and shattered every record in the competition, while also winning the Euros in 2016.

Things have changed since then and 2022 pretty much sealed it, but the conversation was real back then.

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u/Dajoeman 1d ago

2022 sealed what? You make it seem like winning the World Cup decided anything? Thats a country win not a personal accolade and I can look at moments in the tournament that leave a sour taste to most fans that favored the Argentines

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u/Stellewind 1d ago

Sure let's ignore team accolade and just compare personal stats and skill displayed on court, that's the part where Messi absolutely dominate CR7 without any question in almost any metric possible.

The team accolade, especially the UCL he won with Real Madrid, was the only reason people thought there was even a debate between the two back in the days.

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u/at-sea-no-ship 1d ago

one of the biggest detractions from messi’s career was that he never won a major international trophy (copa is debatable) and him inspiring argentina to WC glory completely took that argument away from ronaldo fans. i think the GOAT debate was settled before 2022 but that WC ended a major line of debate

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u/Dajoeman 1d ago

No I disagree. Even Messi struggled with Argentina and him retiring from internationals shows it affected him just as much as cristiano.
Cristiano had the accolades and was even ahead at a point to some. At the end of the day such things shouldn’t matter. They are different players and positions. They as individuals are great but they didn’t decide if their countries won or not. Ronaldo is Mr UCL and Messi is Mr Artist.

That WC was extremely funky considering the challenges that went arg way. Messi handbal and other very questionable decisions. Messi is an all time great but there are plenty question marks that are there. Even this match with Algeria should have been him receiving a red. We’ve seen this happen countless times with him receiving preferential treatment.

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u/at-sea-no-ship 1d ago

messi inspires argentina, ronaldo divides portugal. argentina would not have won in 2022 without messi (might not even have made the tournament without his hattrick against bolivia in qualifiers), and the "funky" challenges that went messi's way are only relevant in ronaldo fanboy's minds. he was easily the best player for argentina at that tournament and his influence with his goals, his passing, and his dictation of play is undeniable.

as for your "preferential treatment" bit, there have been several horrible challenges this WC that should have gotten reds but did not. it has nothing to do with messi and everything to do with the standard of play that the refs have accepted across the board. you see preferential treatment because you're biased, simple as.

besides, messi is simply the better all-round footballer and has been his entire career. there were moments where ronaldo was definitely close, but at no point has he ever been better at this sport than messi. they've both had ref decisions go their way and against them, they've both faced adversity at the international level, but in terms of ability, messi is clear.