For all the years Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been considered the best players in the world, the Portuguese has generally come off less to his Argentine counterpart. He is portrayed as the selfish one; the attention- seeker.
This conclusion has stemmed from his hunger to win (score) every time, which is considered greed for the limelight. Yet, Messi is the Mr Nice Guy, who would hand the ball to Arda Turan to take a penalty unlike Ronaldo, who always wants to be top-scorer.
However, the Fifa player awards on Monday exposed Messi and his lack of grace in defeat. For him not to show up on the night yet he was on the three-man shortlist did not show good sportsmanship. It was a classless act from him.
Rivalry and competition must not stir hate, yet Messi’s actions actually suggested that. In fact, Messi’s credibility as a role model comes into question. It is clear that the blueprint of a good role model is one where love and respect for others is shown.
But if Messi, with all his esteem, believes that attending the Fifa awards should only happen in circumstances where he is dead certain to win, then his orientation is bad. He needs some advice on how to act with dignity.
Actually, class has nothing to do with how much money you have; let alone the global acclaim you have generated over the years. Class is an incredibly- nurtured attribute. It earns one respect, which is important for Messi. Only an apology would do now.
Not the defence from his Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, trying to justify uncultured behaviour. Perhaps, like they say, Enrique should have considered the adage ‘silence is sacred’ and done just that, rather than making a fool of himself.
This brings me to question how true it is that football really unites people. Believing that is believing the half truth, especially after the way Messi has behaved.
That certainly cannot be the worst of Messi when you think of it. And, therefore, Ronaldo should get some reprieve on the hate he gets from Messi lovers, especially those who consider him self-centred and the Argentine noble. Of course that is not to say Ronaldo has not thrown his tantrums before, which have not painted him in good light.
For example, Ronaldo threw a journalist’s microphone into the water when he was asked about his bad form during the group stages of Euro 2016. That was despicable. Only a rogue, and not the world’s best player, could act like that.
Yet, despite that, Ronaldo was voted the best of 2016. And believe it or not, his legend will never die regardless of who loves or loathes him. However, some people still wonder how great Ronaldo is since he has only won one La Liga title, as opposed to Messi’s six. That statistic puts Ronaldo in the shade, no doubt.
But even that has to be put into perspective before one dismisses Ronaldo. Football is a team sport. Therefore, no talent of Ronaldo or Messi would have thrived on its own. For the things Ronaldo has done at Real Madrid, scoring loads of goals, which is the most important statistic to winning games, he cannot be indebted to the team.
Everyone has to supplement another’s role for the team to win. So, it has not been Ronaldo’s fault that Pepe and Sergio Ramos have not been as tight at the back. Against that, one cannot begrudge Ronaldo of his credit, where he has averaged 40 or so goals every year.
Otherwise, if that were the case, then MVPs would only be picked from winners regardless of how much someone contributed. But remember Robin van Persie was the Premier League MVP in the 2011/2012 season, yet he won nothing then. Monchengladbach’s Marco Reus was German Bundesliga’s MVP in the 2012/2013 season without winning a thing.
In the same breath, one cannot disregard Messi because he has won nothing with Argentina. And like they say, what is good for the goose, must be good for the gander. So, all hail the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo!
jovi@observer.ug