Messi vs. Ronaldo: The Repetitive Comparison

It seems to me that over the last year there have been a myriad of articles from respected soccer media sources highlighting the now age old question of who's better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. My answer: who cares.

Both players are incredibly talented and will go down as two of the best in history, yet this comparison is beat to death in the media. A fellow enthusiast and like-minded thinker pointed out, after my Ballon d'Or post of disgust, that these names are household names now. He's absolutely right. If any person with a remote interest in soccer is asked to name a few players, I am positive the names Messi, Ronaldo, or Beckham will be uttered. These men are what's hot in world football and being leeched on by the media as a result. And to the media's delight, fuel was added to the fire when Ronaldo joined Real Madrid, the top competitor to Messi's Barcelona in La Liga. This rivalry is so hyped that you can type in "Messi v" in Google's search and you will find the term automatically filled in with "s Ronaldo" (and vice versa).

One particular news source that upsets me is Goal.com. Usually, I am delighted by their diligent and comprehensive soccer reporting, but their weekly insistence on pitting Messi and Ronaldo's stats against each other is ridiculous (see this week's comparison here). It's shocking that a source of such esteem chooses to focus weekly on this topic. At this point, it's almost like 'selling out'.

There are other topics of importance to discuss. Not everyone cares about La Liga. Not everyone cares about Real Madrid or Barcelona. And not everyone cares about Lionel Messi or Cristano Ronaldo. Stop wasting our time by comparing these two over and over again.