Before we can start talking about who is the most complete player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, we have to first decide on what it means to be a complete player. Although the more accurate term should be who is the more complete attacker as both players have been attackers on the pitch for all of their careers which has spanned over two decades. But for the sake of who is the most complete football player between Messi and Ronaldo argument, lets leave it that way.
But still, Ronaldo and Messi are the closest things football lovers would get as complete players because of the various functions both players can perform efficiently on the football pitch.
Who is a complete player?
A complete player is a footballer who is capable of performing different actions above average level that require different football skills specific to each action. A footballer who has mastered all the necessary skill sets and brings them into their football game is known as a complete player. When it comes to footballing ability, the more boxes a player ticks, the more complete they are.
For instance, the great phenomenon, Delima Ronaldo, also known as R9 was a center forward and a goalscorer like Erling Haaland who possibly has the best goal to game ratio in modern football, but the latter has a lot of skill sets added to his game that Haaland could only dream of, for instance, dribbling and link-up plays.
Even though Haaland is more dominant in his aerial ability and goalscoring per game ratio, Delima Ronaldo ticks most boxes when it comes to the different above average skill sets he brings into his football game.
A more in-depth scrutiny would be done on Messi and Ronaldo’s skill sets in football so that we can decide who is the most complete player among them and in the history of football. We would be taking into consideration 10 footballing actions which are;
- Goalscoring
- Playmaking
- Link up/Hold up play
- Making Runs/Off ball movement
- Speed/Pace
- Dribbling
- Weak-Foot play
- Penalty Kicks
- Free Kicks
- Aerial plays
Before we continue, we need to acknowledge that some of these abilities listed above might seem like they overlap or are related to each other, but they are not the same. For instance, penalty kicks are mainly for scoring goals and relates to goalscoring, but they are two different abilities that can exist on their own while serving the same purpose－goals.
However, Victor Osimehen is great goalscorer but not so great penalty-taker. While Jorhinho is a great penalty-taker, but not a great goalscorer even as a midfielder (compared to other midfielders in his position).
The same can be said for Playmaking and Link up/Hold up play which are related in terms of controlling the flow of attacks. But Giroud and Lukaku are players that offer Link up/Hold up plays to their teammates, but we can hardly call it playmaking as they not the same thing strictly speaking.
Erling Haaland scores a lot of goals, but doesn’t score free kicks or solo goals like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who can score both free kicks, and create their own goal scoring chances which combines both playmaking and goalscoring.
Who is the most complete player between Messi and Ronaldo
Also, keep in mind that this debate is about who more complete, not who is better at a particular football skill. We are assessing who possesses more above average skill in their football game.
We would be awarding 1 point to each player when they tick a box (score more than average in a skill), and at the end, we would sum it all to see who is the most complete player.
Also Read: Best Football club Badges in EPL
Goalscoring
When it comes to goalscoring, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi tick the box. There might be a debate about who is the better goalscorer, but being complete is not about being the best at a skill, but being above average, and these two are beyond doubt above average. Though Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer in the history of football, Lionel Messi is also up there with him.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Playmaking
In this aspect of football, there is a bit of a gap when it comes to deciding who is the better playmaker. Lionel Messi is probably the greatest playmaker in history of football and definitely the greatest in the 21st century according to IFFHS.
While Crisitiano Ronaldo is not up there with Messi, we can also consider him above average as as a winger. Much have not been said about Ronaldo’s playmaking abilities in the media, but he’s been recognised as a playmaker by IFFHS several times in their yearly rankings of the best playmakers from 2008-2018, and was ranked 12th best playmaker between 2010 to 2019 decade.
This is the same football association that endorsed Lionel Messi as the best playmaker since 2006, and they know what they are talking about if they see Cristiano Ronaldo as a playmaker. Click here if you want to read more about Cristiano Ronaldo as an underrated playmaker.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Link-up/Hold up play
While Cristiano Ronaldo edges Lionel Messi in this department with his beautiful and smart flicks and backheel passes that creates spaces for his teammates while his back is turned to the opponent’s goal. However, Messi is not below average in this department either.
While Messi prefers to be the playmaker in most cases, he also links up pretty well when he has to with teammates when his back is turned to the opponent’s goal. They are both masters when it comes to link up plays for their respective teams.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Penalty Kicks
There’s no debate about this. Messi and Ronaldo are both master spot kick takers. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 164 penalties and Lionel Messi has 109 penalties to his name. Though Cristiano Ronaldo is better both in conversion rate and amount scored, Lionel Messi is also pretty impressive taking penalties.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Free Kicks
This is also a no-brainer. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 63 free kicks to Lionel Messi’s 65. The player with the highest number of free kicks scored has only 77, so scoring that many free kicks for both players is pretty great and shows they are masters of the craft no matter the conversion rates for either player. Though Messi edges Ronaldo in the free kick department, they are both masters.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Dribbling
This is another department where Lionel Messi edges Cristiano Ronaldo. When it comes to dribbling, Messi has been much more successful compared to Ronaldo, completing over 3000+ dribbles in the league and champion league alone since 2004, compared to Ronaldo’s 1700+ since 2002.
These stats don’t take into account dribbles completed in domestic and international club games and even for their respective countries. Estimates for successful dribbles would be 5000+ for Messi and 3000+ for Cristiano Ronaldo. So, they are both definitely masters of dribbling.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Messi vs Ronaldo Speed/Pace
Here’s a department where Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi. While Ronaldo has more pace in his legs which he uses to outpace defenders and joins attacks in counter-attacking situations, Messi is not a slow player either.
Messi has a lot of pace, but not as Ronaldo, and more importantly they both know how to use their pace to hurt their opponents.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Runs/Off the ball movement
Another aspect of football Cristiano Ronaldo excels over Lionel Messi. Ronaldo’s intelligent off-the-ball runs is one of the scariest things in attacking football, making him the most dangerous, intuitive player without the ball. Ronaldo recent speed record at euro 2024 tells how fast the Portuguese can be.
He can create chances, score goals or even act as a decoy to draw defenders away from a space that his teammates can exploit. While Messi is more of a ball playing guy, he’s also great when it comes to making off-the-ball runs which explains why he has scored a lot of goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Messi vs Ronaldo Weak-Foot Plays
This is another aspect of football Cristiano Ronaldo betters his rival, Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo probably has the best weak foot in world football for scoring goals and creating chances. But Messi has a pretty good weak foot also, having scored 100 goals with his right foot.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 1
Aerial Plays
This is where the debate gets interesting. When it comes to aerial plays in football, there are no comparisons to be had between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is not just way better and above average compared to Lionel Messi who’s aerial play is below average.
Maybe it’s because of Messi’s height, but then Arturo Vidal, Roberto Fermino and Diogo Jota are not really tall but are decent at aerial plays, more than Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is a master at aerial plays, and Messi is not.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 1
Lionel Messi: 0.
Total
Cristiano Ronaldo: 10
Lionel Messi: 9
So, we have a clear winner. Cristiano Ronaldo. While Messi is almost complete, his lack of mastery in aerial plays would have made him more complete, at least as complete as Cristiano Ronaldo.
This is not saying Cristiano Ronaldo is a better player than Lionel Messi, or vice versa, but it shows that Cristiano Ronaldo is a more complete player than Lionel Messi.
While Messi is better at playmaking, dribbling and free kicks, Ronaldo takes the rest of the categories, another evidence that he’s more complete.
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