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Never lacking in confidence, Cristiano Ronaldo chose himself this week during a discussion about the greatest soccer player of all time.
As part of an interview Monday on Spanish television show El Chiringuito (h/t ESPN’s Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez), Ronaldo called himself the most complete player in history, saying:
“I’m talking about numbers. I think I’m the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it’s me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I’m fast, I’m strong.
“One thing is taste—if you like [Lionel] Messi, Pelé, [Diego] Maradona, I understand that and I respect that—but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete… I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”
Ronaldo, 39, is the all-time leading scorer in major professional soccer with 923 career goals, although there have been times when he has been considered somewhat one-dimensional since he doesn’t contribute much defensively, nor does he set up his teammates particularly often.
The Al Nassr star argued against that narrative, though, noting that he is the most complete player due to the vast array of ways in which he is able to score.
“Who’s the best goal scorer in history? It’s about numbers. Full stop.
“Who’s the player in history who’s scored most goals with their head, their left foot, penalties, free kicks? I was looking the other day, and not being left-footed, I’m in the top 10 goal scorers with their left foot in history. And with my head, and with my right foot, and penalties. All of them.”
Messi, who is second on the all-time scoring list with 850 goals, is seemingly more often considered the GOAT than Ronaldo due to his combination of scoring and playmaking.
Additionally, the current MLS star has significantly more individual accomplishments than Ronaldo does.
Ronaldo has won the Ball d’Or Award as the top player in the world on five occasions, plus he is a five-time UEFA Champions League winner, and he won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016.
Messi, 37, has won the Ballon d’Or eight times to go along with four UEFA Champions League titles and two Copa América titles with Argentina.
What perhaps sets Messi apart from Ronaldo most of all is his success in the FIFA World Cup. Messi won the World Cup in 2022, and he won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player in both 2014 and 2022.
A World Cup is the one major accomplishment Ronaldo has never achieved, and when considering that Messi, Pelé and Maradona all won the World Cup, it is fair to wonder if not winning a World Cup takes the Portuguese star out of the GOAT conversation.
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