Debate on Ronaldo vs Messi

Where do you stand on it incidentally Simon? I know Piers Morgan always goes Ronaldo, and you give him stick for that.

Who is the goat? Who's the better player?

In my view Ronaldo.

Really? Yeah, I think the arguments of playing in Portugal, playing in the English Premier League, playing in the Spanish League,

playing in the Italian League, and even playing in the Saudi League for whatever that may be worth.

He's gone into each of one of those leagues and operated at the highest level.

Whereas Messi, you know, played in a wonderful Barcelona team

that was, you know, playing in the climate and conditions that suited him best. He didn't pull up trees at PSG.

and he's gone to American football,

and whilst he's a standout player here,

it's because the standard is so low,

I don't discredit him as a mercurial genius.

I just think Ronaldo, for me, given those facts,

and it really does burn my backside to concur with Piers,

because I'll try and find anything to disagree with him,

because his knowledge is about the size of a thimble about football,

despite him thinking it's bigger.

I go down the Ronaldo argument,

but I don't feel it has to be a compare and contrast.

I just think they're both wonderful players.

Did we run the argument back...? I suppose we might have done.

Did they run the argument who was better between Pele and Eusebio?

Who was better between these...?

It was always Pele and Maldonado, wasn't it?

Well, no, they were different generations, weren't they?

At the time, it was Pele and Eusebio, wasn't it?

In terms of Eusebio was at the same era as Pele.

But I look at this and say, they're both wonderful players.

They're both phenomenal athletes.

They're different.

Ronaldo is a different type of player,

whereas the silkiness and the beautifulness on the eye,

and I've seen both of them in the flesh.

I've seen Messi and his pomp in the flesh in Spain,

and I've seen him slightly off it as he's getting older now,

not quite the same level, but they're still...

Whereas Ronaldo is more power and something about Ronaldo that for me has been able to translate.

And the argument would be easier made and I hate the argument of a wet Tuesday in Stoke because it's such a reductive argument.

But you wonder how Messi would have played in the Premier League which was more competitive.

How he'd have played in Italy. I'll never know.