In 2007, Brazil's Kaka won the FIFA Best Player of the Year award. But at that time, everyone's attention was drawn to the young Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It was at that time that the rivalry between the two began. 

What happened was that Messi came second and Ronaldo came third in that award race. But Pele, who was presenting the award, mistakenly gave the second trophy to Ronaldo. At that event, held at the Zurich Opera House, FIFA President Sepp Blatter intervened and helped each other exchange the trophies. 

This human error did not go down well with both Messi and Ronaldo. For the next 10 years, be it the Ballon d'Or or the FIFA award. These two players took turns winning. Moreover, these two players have won the Best Player award on 20 out of 29 occasions since 2007.

These two players are now on track to score 2,000 goals between them. And they have won 85 titles for their country and club. How many individual awards? That is why these two players will be considered the most successful in world football history. Their rivalry has shaped the last two decades of world football. This has also been a topic of debate in world football.

Recently, the BBC has made a new documentary. Its title is, 'Messi vs. Ronaldo: The Rivalry'. Titles, records and the desire to be the best are still motivating Messi and Ronaldo to play well. This time, it seems that they will definitely play the World Cup for the last time. In this way, the debate has started once again, is Messi better or Ronaldo?

Argentine Angel Di Maria, who had the opportunity to play in the same team with both players, says, 'They changed world football.' But no one has been able to answer exactly whether Messi or Ronaldo is better. Moreover, each person's choice is different. For example, former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand says, Ronaldo is better. Meanwhile, Barcelona's Xavi says that no one can be as good as Messi. 

In 2012, Ronaldo made a statement to further this debate. Ronaldo said, 'There is no comparison between Ferrari and Posse, both have different engines. Some say I am better, some say Messi. But I think I am ahead.' 

What do the statistics say? Ronaldo is ahead in terms of goals and European Champions League titles. Messi is ahead in terms of Ballon d'Or and titles won. When Ronaldo won the Euro 2016 with Portugal, many would now say he is ahead.

Since then, Messi has won two Copa Americas and a World Cup for Argentina. Spanish football expert Guillaume Balague has written autobiographies of both players. He says, 'For me, Messi is the best in the history of world football. And Ronaldo is the best scorer in history.’ Similarly, Deco, who had the opportunity to play with Ronaldo for Portugal and Messi for Barcelona, ​​says, ‘Both are special. Both are completely different players.’

According to him, both have played high-level football together for a long time, so this is the biggest. He adds, ‘There are many players who play well for a few years. But when someone plays well for 20 years, it is extraordinary.’ And this is the best part of the debate about whether Messi is better or Ronaldo. It will never stop being discussed and there will never be a single answer. It is better that it is never resolved.

In fact, these two players are very different. They also have a lot in common. Both were born in ordinary families. Both left home early to fulfill their dreams.  Jonathan Clegg, who wrote a book about Ronaldo and Messi, says, ‘The way they have played football in the last 20 years, the first thing to be admired is that.’ Indeed, to some extent, they are players of two different poles. One dribbles, the other is physically strong. One is a bit shy, the other is arrogant. It is like Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona against José Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Let's say, Adidas versus Nike.

In fact, these two players are very different. They also have a lot in common. Both were born in ordinary families. Both left home early to fulfill their dreams. Messi was 13 years old when he left Argentina for Barcelona, ​​and Ronaldo was 12 when he left Madeira for Lisbon. Both of them never had a comfortable life at first after leaving home. Wall Street Journal journalist Joshua Robinson has co-authored the book Messi Ronaldo.

He says, 'Many say that Messi and Ronaldo are different players, but they actually have a lot in common. They initially chose a destination where there was enough potential. But there was also a lot of risk. It can be said that their childhoods were spent in a similar way to a large extent. Both have worked very hard in their playing careers. He is the best player in the world, he has a lot of sacrifice and determination.'

Both had shown their unlimited talent at a young age. Xavi says, 'It was clear from the beginning that Messi was different. He had the ability to play well. He was also an expert in learning new things. I think Ronaldo kept pressuring Messi to play better.' Meanwhile, Ronaldo reached Manchester United from Sporting as a teenager. At that time, René Melenstein was also one of the people who knew him closely.

He, who is in the training group, says, 'I have never seen a player as confident as him, that too at such a young age. When he came to United, his only goal was to become the best player in world football. He learned everything quickly.' 

Barcelona and United met in the 2008 Champions League final. That was the first time Ronaldo faced Messi. Balague says, ‘At that time, Messi was the best in La Liga and Ronaldo was the best in the Premier League. You could see from their game that something special was about to happen.’ 

United won the title at that time, Ronaldo also won the Ballon d’Or. And the rivalry between the two players began for the first time in a lively way. Tiki Begsiristein was Barcelona’s director from 2003 to 2010. He believes that the rivalry between the two intensified when both Messi and Ronaldo started playing in Spain.

In 2009, Ronaldo left United for Real Madrid for £80 million. Then Real Madrid gained further momentum against Barcelona, ​​the biggest rival in world football. When Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, they won the Ballon d’Or five times between them. In those nine seasons, Ronaldo scored 450 goals for Real Madrid. Messi scored 471 goals for Barcelona. 

Begsiristein also believes that Ronaldo's sole objective during this period was to surpass Messi, and Messi also surpassed Ronaldo. He says, 'This is also when the Guardiola-Mourinho rivalry became very heated. Whether in the press box, in the newspaper or on social media, there was only one thing to talk about, what will Messi do now and what will Ronaldo do. Their personal confrontation took football to another level.'

In the meantime, Messi won more Spanish La Liga. Ronaldo won the Champions League. After Ronaldo joined Juventus, the rivalry between the two players subsided, at least in Spain, but grew even more globally. Ronaldo left Juventus for United. After that, he is now playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Messi left Barcelona and first went to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Then he went to America for Inter Miami.