Carlo Ancelotti has refused to name Lionel Messi as the Greatest Of All Time (Goat) after the latter won the World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup opened a new chapter of virulent debate among football fans, pundits, and players on who is the best player in football history.
Football has known legends and icons. Late Pele of Brazil, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Ronaldo Delima, Zinedine Zidane, and others are among the big names that have graced the game.
However, modern football has been dominated by two players – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The goat debate revolved around the two stars. They have dominated the game for over a decade, with superb and classic performances for both club and country, winning trophies, scoring hundreds of goals, and raking mass following on social media.
The Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry came alive when Ronaldo left Manchester United in 2008 for Real Madrid. The two players came close to each other playing in the same league.
While Lionel Messi was groomed at Barcelona where he was at par with Spanish football, Cristiano Ronaldo arrived from Manchester United joining one of the best team in La Liga, Real Madrid.
Despite leaving the La Liga to other leagues, both players left their imprints in the Spanish elite division.
Lionel Messi is currently La Liga all-time top scorer with 670 goals in 778 matches. Ronaldo is second on the chart with 311 goals, in 292 La Liga games.
Cristiano Ronaldo has 118 international goals for Portugal, while Lionel Messi has 98 goals for Argentina.
Lionel Messi have over 790 career goals for both club and country, while Cristiano Ronaldo has over 800.
Though subtle, the rivalry between the two has been evident. However, it appears the 2022 World Cup was the final arbiter on who possesses the bragging right.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo went into the 2022 World Cup in their late thirties, nearing the twilight of their football career.
While Cristiano exited the tournament in tears at the quarterfinal, when Portugal lost to Morocco, Lionel Messi flew high with the Albiceleste.
Lionel Messi crowned his heroic football career with the World Cup trophy, after helping Argentina defeat France 4-2 on penalties.
He also won the best player of the tournament award, and was close to winning the Golden Boot award after scoring 7 goals, one less than his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe.
After the 2022 World Cup win, fans and pundits have concluded that Lionel Messi has won the goat debate after he won the World Cup trophy that has eluded him in five World Cup tournaments.
However, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has begged to differ by refusing to crown Messi as the greatest player to have graced the game.
Instead, Ancelotti is still placing the crown on two other famous footballers, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona
Speaking at Real Madrid’s pre-match press conference on Thursday morning, Ancelotti said: ‘It’s difficult to say, I don’t know if he’s the best in history.
‘It’s not fair to say that, because each era has very good players. ‘Messi is the best in history’ won’t come out of my mouth.
He went on to add: ‘I’ve enjoyed so many good players… I train the Ballon d’Or every day. And I’ve seen Cruyff, Maradona play…’
Carlo Ancelotti led Real Madrid to La Liga and Champions League trophy last season. He also produced the Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema.
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