With an estimated four billion football fans in the world and apparently none of them sharing the same view about anything, I will attempt to breakdown two of the most interesting topics within the sport.
Messi Versus Ronaldo
To this particular debate, my response will more often than not be, “Why cant we just accept the fact that we are alive to witness two of the greatest players we will ever see.”
However with this not being a recognised answer amongst many football fans, lets take a look at who is actually the better player.
It is quite often said that Messi is a player of natural ability, whilst Ronaldo is an example of hard work. To some extent this is true, and I’ve heard plenty of stories about how Ronaldo would sprint with weights around his ankles in order to improve footwork and speed, however, undoubtedly both of them have considerable amounts of natural talent as well.
Some will also say that Messi has had it easier than Ronaldo, with Messi having always played for a Barcelona side that has been consistently challenging for trophies on all fronts, and claiming its status as one of the best teams on the planet. Ronaldo, on the other hand, started off playing in the country of his birth, and with all due respect, the Portuguese League isn’t exactly the best in terms of quality. He was forced to work hard in order to be eventually scouted by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson, and work his way up to the top of the game from there.
With both players having over 500 career goals, each within 900 appearances, it is fair to say that we are witnessing something that may never be witnessed again. It may sound cliché, but its very true.
So in conclusion, I am going to stick by my word of the fact that they are both just as good as each other, however judging by what has occurred this season, many will start to question whether Ronaldo still has what it takes.
Spending Or Youth
Another topic amongst football fans, is whether to spend in order to win trophies, or to build up the youth system in order to create talent for the first teams squad.
This is one of those, where everybody is against spending a lot of money, bar those who have the money to spend. Take for example Manchester City or PSG, who have spent a combined total of well over 500 million this season.
A fan of one of these clubs may love what they are seeing, however from the outside, people will see it as a situation where without the significant investment we are seeing, such as with Sheik Mansour with Man City, these clubs would not be where they are right now.
Some clubs fairly earn their own money, and in my eyes therefore have a right to spend that money, however, many people believe some aspect of financial fair play must be brought into the game to stop such big spending which can destroy football in the long term. The only problem is, how?
We see many teams who create an abundance of talent through their youth, however many managers are reluctant to delve into their reserve squad in order to find a first team replacement.
The only teams within the top six I van think of who consistently play youth, are spurs, united and Liverpool through the likes of Harry Winks, Marcus Rashford and Joe Gomez.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some clubs are scared to promote their academy prospects, because once you do that, the big spenders start coming in and they are a tough force to stop. Prime example- Kylian Mbappe. Arguably single handedly took Monaco into the latter stages of the champions league, as well as bringing home a title and preventing PSG from winning the French Ligue 1 in the process.
This will forever be an interesting topic, especially due to the increased spending within football, and it will be fascinating to see what will eventually happen within the transfer side of football in order to stop the ‘giants’ from running away with it, and ruining football for everybody else.
Jack Antoniou
Whitgift
