At present, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are considered two of the best football players on the planet. This is due to the sheer number of honors both players have won with their teams and the abilities they both possess with the ball. Everything they have accomplished has been possible thanks to their different playing styles and the physically extraordinary bodies they possess. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (Funchal, Madeira, February 5, 1985) reached the summit starting almost from zero. He was born in Quinta do Falcao, one of the poorest neighborhoods of Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira. His father, Dinis Aveiro, put his family to work as a wardrobe guard for Andorinha, the neighborhood soccer team. This is where Cristiano began to play, who, at the age of 6, left with his mouth open in front of his neighbors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get the original essay After a brief spell at Sporting Lisbon, Cristiano Ronaldo became a global star at Manchester United. Ronaldo signed for the Spanish club Real Madrid C. F in 2009. In this club, he demonstrated all his abilities by winning several European championships and winning five Ballon D'or, which today is the highest award more prestigious for a footballer. Figure 1 shows Cristiano with his five Ballon d'Or trophies as he presented them to Real Madrid fans at their stadium. On the other hand, Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 24, 1987. He started playing football at age 5, when he joined a neighborhood club trained by his father. He moved to Newell's Old Boys in 1995, but at the age of 11 he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. The sporting director of FC Barcelona, ​​Carles Rexach, eventually realized his abilities and offered him an opportunity with the team, offering to pay his hospital expenses upon his trip to Spain. He moved to Barcelona with his father and enrolled in the club's childhood foundation. Like his counterpart, Messi has also won 5 Ballon D'or thanks to his outstanding performance with Football Club Barcelona, ​​the only difference is that he achieved this by winning the award in an impressive four consecutive years (2009-2012) . When it comes to abilities, Ronaldo will take on any defender with incredible pace and mesmerizing dribbling that characterizes him greatly. His ability to beat a player and whip in crosses makes him a formidable opponent. The way he takes his free kicks, his pace and his power on the pitch are a tremendous resource for his team. On the other hand, Messi's skills with the ball are second to none, his runs from midfield are usually lethal and he is almost impossible to tackle when he lowers his head. His parity when running at his top speed is extraordinary. Additionally, his goal-scoring ability is astonishing. Such is Messi's skill that the ball can appear to be stuck to his feet as he extricates himself from difficult situations and discovers partners when it appears he is surrounded. Messi, much like Ronaldo, can use the backheel to achieve a glancing effect and also tends to spin the ball over a defender and collect it on the other side. Figure 2 shows how Messi dribbles some defenders and how difficult it is for them to stop him, that's why the opposing team usually uses at least 3 players to stop him. Ronaldo is more of a showman than Messi and can wow with his variety of jumps and flicks..