When you talk about the greatest players of all time in Football, there is only a few special individuals who are worthy of being involved in the conversation.

The likes of Maradona, Pele, Best, Cruyff, Zidane and of course Eric Djemba-Djemba! Obviously, the last name is a joke, (no offence to Eric if you’re reading) but these players seem to have a god given talent with the ball. They can do things at speed under pressure and at the highest possible level which other cannot. Players with an arrogance and presence that bring the fans to their feet and create an air of excitement and anticipation in the terraces.

Match that with unparalleled levels of commitment, focus and drive to continually improve, and now you are coming somewhere close to the level these players operate at.

In the past decade, TWO players have stood alone as the greatest players on the planet. Since 2007 they have made the ballon d'or their own personal party picking up five a piece. More than any other player.

Q. Going back to 2007 who was the last player other than Ronaldo and Messi to win the ballon d'or? (answer at the bottom of the page).

We tend to look back the greats of the game with a sense of nostalgia. People growing up in the 60s will say that Best at his ‘Best’ was untouchable. Those from the 90s will mention el fenomeno (the original Ronaldo).

But since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi we can objectively look at these players and agree that they are in a league of their own. They have rewritten the rules on what it takes to become considered a great. At one time scoring a goal every two games was a fantastic achievement. Ronaldo and Messi in recent years have been averaging a goal a game for their clubs which up until now is unprecedented.

Ronaldo vs Messi

To put this into perspective Raul was Real Madrid’ highest record goal-scorer before Ronaldo came along. He scored 323 goals in 741 games. By all accounts that is astonishing. The consistency, the stamina required to play 741 games for Real Madrid is tough enough but to add a goal roughly once every two games is something else altogether. Ronaldo knocked off 324 goals in 310 games. That’s next level! (goal.com). Similarly, Messi in 2014 broke Alacantra’s Barcelona goal scoring record which had stood for nearly a century in just ten year of his debut for the club in 2004 (currently 534 goals in 619 APPS).

So how do you pick the G.O.A.T.? A good place to start might be the honours both players have won at club level:

They have won 56 top flight club honours between them. Messi edges out Ronaldo 31 to 25. But it could be argued that Messi has not been tested in any other league than La Liga. Ronaldo’s road to greatness started in Portugal but he really proved and made a name for himself in arguably the world most competitive and physical league the EPL.

On the international stage both players up until recently had often been criticised for not delivering. This all changed when Ronaldo captained Portugal their first European Championship in 2016. Messi took some harsh criticism for quitting the Argentinian national team after losing for the second time in the Copa America final to Chile and he had also fallen short in the World Cup in 2014 to Germany. However, it didn’t take him long to reverse his decision and recently secured Argentina’s place in Russia’s 2018 World Cup scoring a hat-trick against Ecuador.

Nature vs Nurture:

So, in terms of what the players have done in the game as far as honours go. There is not much to split them. Cristiano Ronaldo looks like he was built by sports scientist in a lab! To some extent he was and is. Ronaldo’s dedication to sports science is widely reported, he relies on heavily on his physicality and it’s obvious just by looking at his physique that he is finely tuned. Abundant amounts of strength, speed and power make him unplayable most of the time.

At 5 foot 7 inches on a good day and his slight build, Messi doesn’t quite fit the mould of what we expect the modern footballer to look like. What he lacks in physicality he makes up for with insane ‘natural’ talent. Natural-talent is sometimes a dirty word in some circles as it may discredit the hard work that people put in behind the scenes. Clearly Messi trains and works hard behind the scenes but it is also evident that his ability to manipulate the ball, his balance and the way in which he makes great players look like Sunday Leaguers is something that is unteachable.

Who will become Don in 2018?

Ever since Ronaldo moved to Spain, the gap between the players has become smaller. Certainly, in terms of goals at least. Ronaldo has subsequently been crowned the best player in the world in 3 of the last 4 years as of the 2017 ballon d'or. So it would seem he has the momentum going into this year.

"In the future, everything will be more equal amongst the best players. Though now they try to sell the story of the battle between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, those of us who know football, know there is no comparison”. (Xavi, 2016)

However, Ronaldo has been experiencing an unsettled year at the Bernabeu and although still killing it in terms of stats. Real it would seem are out of the title race. In contrast Barca have a new-found lease of life this season and Messi is on fire (as always).

"Ronaldo can do whatever he wants as a soccer player. There are some things he does with the ball that make me touch my head and wonder how he did it”. ( Luis Figo, 2015).

Both players are chasing that elusive World Cup medal. Russia 2018 offers a great opportunity for one player to set himself apart. If they can achieve it, they can be inarguably remembered as the Greatest! With both player now 30+ years of age it would appear this is their last real chance to make their mark at a world cup. Other players like Harry Kane, Neymar and Coutinhio all looking to make names for themselves.

Question: Going back to 2007 who was the last player other than Ronaldo and Messi to win the ballon d'or?

Answer: Kaka.