I'm old enough to remember the same type of heated debate over Maradona vs Platini (2 Scudettos + EC + 84 Euros). Then Maradona won the WC (on his own is unfair) and then dragged his dreadful team to the 90 final. The debate was settled. When you win a World Cup with all that's required, you are elevated to another level of greatness.
Righfully so, World Cup is the most prestige football tournament . Having it every 4 years really puts proper weight on it. Only the greatest teams have won it.
there was never a debate to begin with but the media need these debates to sell , Messi has always been the better PLAYER probably the greatest, CR7 is an all time great too NO DOUBT the greatest goalscorer but it's always been Messi
It's Ronaldo for me. I also disagree because I don't think you could say it was never a debate when it literally gets spoken about by fans every single day for over a decade. You will be at peace once you accept that not everyone will side with Messi just like not everyone will side with Ronaldo.
Messi was always my favourite but the fact that Ronaldo made this a viable debate speaks to his complete brilliance also. To win that many Ballon d'Or in the era of Messi is incredible. Two completely different players at the end of the day.
And at two opposites at the end when Ronaldo came into a Real Madrid team that were dropping players like Beckham, Kaka, Carlos and were building a new team vs Prime Barcelona then 2016 Barcelona started to slip and buy New Players and we saw two ends of the spectrum of how they player under new managers older, younger players and insane to see how they both dominated through all of those seasons unlike so many other players
Only if you are part of the media (like these guys are) that there has to be a viable debate in the first place. It brings in views and revenue to have an argument, see how even now they are using Messi v Ronaldo as clickbait to this video. But if you've really, truly watched both players at their peak, there should be no comparison. Messi as a footballer transcends trophies and statistics. He doesnt have to score a goal to be the best player on the pitch. And I cant tell you how many things Messi did that dont even end up on the highlight reel. In Zlatans word, Messi was never going against Ronaldo all those years, he was against RM and Perez. The fact that when Ronaldo left, only aplayers who won the Ballon Dor are both RM players should give you an idea.
ronaldo is a better player bdw...i know messi has won the WC with 5 penalties with argentina but Ronaldo's performances have been more clutch unfortunatly ronaldo never had the same quality at portugal. He had at this last WC but ronaldo was 38.
@@BruceLee1.0 this is why I love debating with Ronaldo fanboys, you legit have zero clue on actual stats. If you take away both Messi's and Ronaldo penalty goals, Messi would have the same amount of goals with Ronaldo with 140 less games played in his career. The fact you chose to start with pens is just so funny.. And clutch is winning the WC, winning the Copa, and winning more El Classicos in the times they played against each other in Spain, Oh btw, Ronaldo has only won La Liga twice in his 8 years at Madrid, so much for clutch right? Like I said, to anyone who really watched La Liga and football in general these are just stupid arguments.
I've always maintained Messi was the better player but have lots of respect for Ronaldo. He's one of the greatest athletes ever & I think he & Messi pushed each others limits
England is not light in the centre back area. We got tomori, dunk, ben white, stones, guehi, colwill. No need for maguire to start or even get called up.
Always a good laugh to help forget the world for half an hour. We are full of depressing stories, news, and fed up from work or school. Sometimes, people feel lonely. I do now and then. But since they started this podcast, it has been that little light of joy not just for me. But for many. We can only thank these three for the joy and laughter
Oh Gary, I LOVE your response to why you really haven't considered taking on a manager role. I think any team would be lucky to learn from you!! Loving every episode, the three of you are wonderful together! Micah's laugh makes me smile every time!!
Its very easy if people understand important aspects of football. Apart from defending, messi is goat tier level player in every important category Goalscoring Playmaking Assist Dribbling Passing Vision Free kicks Team Trophies Individual trohies While cr7 is among goat contender for goalscoring,team trophy & individual trophy. He isnt anyway near goat level in any other category. This doesn't mean he isn't good in passing, dribbling, assisting, playmaking but in comparison to goat level performer of that category, he isn't close to them in these Other than messi, only pele has goat level claim in all these category apart from free kicks. No other plsyer is near these 2 . Maradona, de stefano, Cruyff is closest to those 2
CR7 v Messi was never a real debate as Messi is much better. Every fan over 30 years old knows CR7 is not even the best Ronaldo in football. Zidane, Maradona and Ronaldinho clear of CR7 in my lifetime too. Others I could name but possibly more contentious (e.g. Nedved and Scholes).
Messi had 91 in a calendar year and then CR7 had 60+ for 4 straight years and then 50+ the year after that. They 2 are the 2 best ever and im glad to say I was around for it. Sadly I couldn’t watch the La Liga head to heads live as an American, but I could watch the highlights. I’m a biased UTD fan who fell in love with the game as a kid because of CR7 and Rooney so I side with CR7, but I hate when people down credit either to prop the other up. Messi is amazing and I have no issue with people who say he’s 1. He’s just not for me.
When people say Gareth has made England competitive, they tend to leave out how this is one of the weakest era's of the Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch and others for talent. While England having one of their strongest, on paper England probably are 2nd or 3rd in terms of talent right now. I think even Sven would've done a better job tbh.
I think Messi is a better footballer but I think Ronaldo is greater and I don’t think it’s even close tbh. With the scandal that Barca were paying the refs the whole time and the insanely dodgy decisions in the 2009 CL against Chelsea and the 2011 CL against Arsenal. Not to mention this past World Cup, the Netherlands game being the most obvious fixed game.
3-peat and Portugal were equally dodgy and no evidence World Cup was fixed - unless you ignore a litany of decisions that went against Argentina. And if you think Perez and Ferguson are clean, you're being a tad naive (Nick Diaz wasn't wrong about steroids; PED's are everywhere). Football is corrupt, Barcelona are just bad at hiding it.
@@Wow91163 not as mad as trying to claim that Ronaldo wasn't talented. He worked harder than everybody else, became better than everybody else. That's what only matters, and that's what's said here.
Agreed...International football for near past decade has become so dull and slow and far far to tactical to the point that most teams are scared to attack first.
That's why the amount of goals increases year by year? It simply has become stronger, even countries like Georgia and Albania have strong dangerous players who are not afraid to score against big teams.
@@politicallyincorrect2564 yeah smaller teams are getting better because bigger teams seem to play with fear and tactically try kill the game off,small teams still have that fighting mentality of pressing to score...goals might have gone up but the style of football has become very dull
@@fearsome1376 well, no one cares about the quality of football in international level, winning is the most important thing. England played well in the Euro against Italy but Italy won. England played well against France in the world cup but France qualified.
The amount of people that have passed judgements in the last couple of years need to remind themselves thet ronaldo played at Juventus at messi's age and he was a thousand times better. Dont be ignorant
Here in Germany we have the same problem. The league is fun to watch but man the international games are really hard to watch especially when the games mean nothing cause there is no pressure for the team. Tonight when we play against France it could get ugly.but maybe we are lucky and they play their B-Squad
Ben White can play RB and CB. In this International break we could have moved Walker in CB and have White play RB given his understanding with Saka at club level.
I don't have a problem with maguire i was excited for him to join west ham but you just can't pick someone not playing it seems to go against the whole idea of being selected for your national side.
Gareth has done a great job of galvanising international football and the feeling of club football within the squad but his managerial abilities when the pressure comes on is very lacking. The achievements he has had with the squad can't be denied but I think it's time for a change. I also think England need to be careful who they select as the new manager but the manager needs to have managed in the PL at the highest level.
As englishmen, that would only really leave us with Howe and Potter at best. Doubt Pep or Klopp would do it. Wouldnt want another Italian, except Angelotti. Possibly Poch, or maybe someone like Zidane could work
Ive switched between Ronaldo and Messi over the years, there's not much in it and it also simply depends on preference; what do you want? Ronaldo was top for the longest time and Messi got some balon does that he really shouldn't have but, as it stands right now, I would edge Messi as the greatest of this generation, simply for his performances in that last world cup. GOAT is ridiculous because you cannot compare eras so easily in football. But, I could easily make arguments for ronaldo too. We've been blessed with these two.
Etoo did best when he went to Russia. He said "with 1 year's salary I can build schools and nurseries in my country." Also, the golden era of England had some quality managers and the biggest problem was ego and club rivalries. Liverpool lads didn't sit with Utd lads. When Capello tried to make them eat together, banned wags etc players threw a hissy fit.
Loving this podcast series. So much experience, knowledge and good humour across all 3 presenters. In this episode I really hope Alan is in a hotel because those curtains! Awful.
I'd love to see a midfield of Rice, Bellingham and Ward Prowse or something similar, we miss a dead ball specialist. Southgate has done a lot for this squad but some of his choices are bizarre, Madison playing on the wing, take off the most inform player we have in Bellingham and leave Henderson on, the subs as well, he needs to be makings subs 10/20 minutes sooner. France are the only team better than the England squad and we should be competing right to the final
Interesting aspect of the endless Messi/Ronaldo discussion that rarely gets talked about is Ronalo's impact on the next generation of players. If you see players like Mbappe, Haaland, Rashford, Vini Jr, Garnacho, etc, all of which said their idol was Ronaldo. I also share the same sentiment in which while I was in my teens watching them both play, I could always see that Messi was just a level ahead but I still gravitated towards Ronaldo.
Dear Editor.. I love the content, but can I just ask why the random dramatic zoom-in when Gary, Alan or Micah make a point? They emphasise their point sufficiently without the added post-edit sensationalism. Thanks for your hard work though everyone! Keep it coming!
The rivalry ended in 2015 in terms of football ability and skill, Messi's consistency week in week out prevailed while Ronaldo turned into a striker, while Messi remained a complete attacking midfielder and attacker
@@timthompson9782 Watch them play to open your mind Ronaldos ball control, passing and decision making fell off and Zidane used him as a ST, where his strengths were utilised - but his comparison to Messi stopped
@@oneofd.pieces Ronaldo merely changed positions hence his style changed, age, injuries happened, his numbers didn't, he became less about dribbling and more of a finisher. And if you look at the number of strikers right now who can score 50+ goals it's few to none. The man was a beast in 3-4 positions in his career,. And 2016-18 he was the best in the world.
Of note the 2 English CD that have the most wins in the Premier league are Gomez and Stones FYI And both have won everything and beat everyone, Mbappe, Benzema, Messi, Roanldo, Etc, etc, Etc,
Mourinho should be the next England manager. Amazing knock-out record, knows England and the players, will bring out the best and be able to choose the team he wants.
Micah has absolutely nailed it, every true football fan dreads the International breaks, I don't even watch the games anymore, it's abysmal. Can't stand it, Gareths own personal club for his mates, boils my blood. #Southgateout
Gareth has done a great job in taking us to a final and semi final but I do think he’s wasting the talent a little bit, we’ve got top players at top clubs and none of them really play in the system he’s playing, maybe if he played them in their correct positions we could go that step further
Thing with Gareth is that I believe he gets all of the credit he deserves, but rightfully so he gets all the criticism he deserves as well. Its okay to admit he's been good but also want somebody that can take this team even further than he did, because it hasn't been good enough yet
for the moment Gareth is in the position to dictate the tempo for the england team, the line will be drawn after Euro 2024, so there is a lot of time to finish and polish an idea of the direction of how england team will play at euro 2024.. for the moment he somehow already qualified the team so things look good atm.
Re Big Meeks comments about international football being stale and the point about strikers now scoring umpteen goals against lesser teams, would it not be a good idea to introduce a conference league or a separate qualifying league for the lesser nations such as Malta, San Marino et al? This would surely benefit them by playing more competitive games and it would improve the competitiveness of the qualifying too as bigger teams would play each other more often.
I think the unique rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo wasn't just confined to club football,it went beyond to when they played for their respective countries,both won a trophy with each one,can you imagine if only one of them had won something on the international tournament stage and the other hadn't.The irony it was against France in finals,Euro and WC that they lifted a trophy
Both are once lifetime talents ronaldo got hurt unfortunatley in euro final and didnt feature which is why hes still pushing so hard. He was incredible in 2012 the year the coach against sain put him last in shootout just a travesty and bruno hit post and fabregas converted so ronaldo never even shot. Spain destroyed italy in final. This portugal is most talented hes played on and they will gladly let him be captain and to his credit he sees leao, jota, felix, fernandes, silva, creating he can pick his spots and moments let the young guys run like argentina did. He could get another trophy and score goals albeit from slightly subdued role but for betterment if team. Messi just won copa against razil then finalissima against euro champs italy, and that masterful world cup he was motm or golde ballin evry match or tournament and hed already won everything else at juniors olymics, junior world cup so at club and country he literally had won everything and inleadership starring role in every chamionshi match. Not to mention another final and golden ball in 2014 rio. Im portuguese benfica fan love ronaldo think hes misunderstood sensitive guy messi is cut from different cloth than eeryone. To move across world as child to spain because at that age you already have confidence and self belief that hes that special and to not ever stop improving every year. Hes once a lifetime. Why hes so unshakableand confident in every moment or on any stage. Hes practiced hi whole life for this. Joao felix is fantastic he got homesick just driving 3 hours daily to go to sporting academy. Thats normal think of deep self belief messi had since childhood and how hes never relented. Its a totally unique level of abilities and production. Ronaldo lima had their level of prdigious skill and unfortunately only brifly impacted game at dominant level but wow he was so special. ronaldo plays direct like haaland or suarez ronaldo lima could shoot right or left like suarez or ronaldo but he could dribble you from deep and he could stop on dime even back or round keeper and tap it in such was his composure he was special too. all best qualities of slashing darting cagey prim suarez, shot physicality of prime cristiano and touch of to midfielder and genius of touch like messi. Hes one that bummed me out he was that good he belonged in a conversation his body wouldnt let him in
To state that Messi & Ronaldo are worlds apart these days is so common place but that's extremely pretentious. Ronaldo wasn't always an out & out #9 exclusively. The disrespect is egregious but not unsurprising.
@@yamkelamalala675 Never made the claim of superiority in his favour. Get of Messi's fallace for a moment. I challenged this recently popularised position that Ronaldo is dogshit in comparison. Ronaldo Nazario is #1 in my personal opinion, which is what these discussions tend to boil down to. Subjective opinion.
26:25 It should go to the candidate that is the most ready, willing and able at the time PERIOD and as they alluded to there are still no english managers that are currently world class.
Regarding Southgate... all 20 EPL clubs wouldn't have him as their coach, he cost us Euro 2021 final by having the team sit back after scoring in the 1st minute vs an ageing Italy who couldn't handle pace and intensity. Southgate for me is a nice guy who happened to come across an England generation where there aren't cliques because everyone knows each other through social media/growing up together vs the original top 4 cliques. On Maguire, he's been out of sorts for 3 years now and Southgate still persists despite Stones, White, Tomori, Guehi, Colwill, Dunk all being better but can't get a sniff. Same with Ramsdale over Pickford. Maguire cost us goals v France in the 2022 World Cup and Pickford is also England's most erratic GK whilst Ramsdale has the most potential. Southgate thinks his trust in these guys is going to push England over the line but if you're continuously selecting players who have proved they *cannot* cross the line against choosing better players who could raise the level, you will always fail. Southgate's pragmatism as a player made him average and he's the same as a coach. Another England generation will be wasted because of a coach who doesn't know what he's doing.
The problem with international football is that the players know they gonna qualify, so i do think they don't really wanna play international football, every fan says it is a honor to play for your country but i more and more think its more an inconveinice the an honor
Even the Spanish NT job will be available after euros 2024. If Pep did want to go into coaching national teams, I don't see why he wouldn't go for the Spanish NT over English NT
Look at Spain, Portugal, smashing teams and implementing youth and rotation. Real shame if we enter this tournament with the same crop of players, same system etc.
I think Maddison, Bellingham and rice should play in midfield and foden should play in left side. Play tomori and John stones together then this England squad will be exciting to watch.
How many CL final games or PL title on the line games has Maddison been involved in??? Maddison is in good form, for spurs, and deserves to be in the squad. However, Foden is the player to build a team around, not Maddison. The midfield should be Rice, Bellingham and Foden when they're all fit/available. Rashford/Grealish should play on the left. Maddison is a brilliant option off the bench or to fill in.
@@NakulVarade Maddison doesn't do anything better than Foden. Maddison starts for Spurs regardless, because he doesn't have competition, and he plays with the pressure of spurs expectations. Do you want the guy sailing crusieships around the Caribbean or the guy working on warships in a battle???
@@chrismcgregor272I mean Foden hasn’t been involved in that many either given that he’s been at a club that is always competing, he would get left out when it matters a lot of the time
@@Chigz10 Did Foden not just play 54 mins of a CL final??? Foden is competing with KDB (best midfielder in the world) for that position. Idiots acting like Foden wouldn't start every week for any other team. What CL level team wanted Maddison??? If Maddison is so great, why didn't City or Utd or Liverpool or Arsenal want him???
Have you guys ever thought about doing a livestream on youtube? That way you could respond to people in the chat live on the different topics EG england squad and southgate.
They should put a player international cap cap on friendly internationals to make teams play fringe players it also gives the other internationals a rest
American here. Stunned at indecision about removing Southgate. England are strongest, deepest, most talented squad in the world and you might not win Euros because your manager is daft, but you're too polite to do anything about it.
The only Football podcast with reasonable and professional hosts in RUclips. I am enjoying it.
What about the sidemen?
Under the cosh
@@Chris-constructionsurely you’re trolling
@@Chris-construction sure, if you're about 12
@@Chris-constructionThey are also good in a different way
I can’t get enough of this podcast!. It’s absolutely brilliant. There’s nothing out there that comes even close
I'm loving it too!
I'm old enough to remember the same type of heated debate over Maradona vs Platini (2 Scudettos + EC + 84 Euros). Then Maradona won the WC (on his own is unfair) and then dragged his dreadful team to the 90 final. The debate was settled. When you win a World Cup with all that's required, you are elevated to another level of greatness.
This is such an interesting way to look at it I was born in ‘99 so I didn’t know this, thank you
Righfully so, World Cup is the most prestige football tournament . Having it every 4 years really puts proper weight on it. Only the greatest teams have won it.
The rivalry only went on for so long because of the amount of goals Ronaldo scored…Messi was always the better player!
there was never a debate to begin with but the media need these debates to sell , Messi has always been the better PLAYER probably the greatest, CR7 is an all time great too NO DOUBT the greatest goalscorer but it's always been Messi
Ronaldo has more assists than Xavi,pirlo, iniesta and Pirlo
@@ucheofili3123so what?
It's Ronaldo for me. I also disagree because I don't think you could say it was never a debate when it literally gets spoken about by fans every single day for over a decade. You will be at peace once you accept that not everyone will side with Messi just like not everyone will side with Ronaldo.
@@iscotty97It means he's not only a goal scorer
love this show, thank you Gary, Alan, Micah. Gary is like all of us. Gushing over leo Messi
Messi was always my favourite but the fact that Ronaldo made this a viable debate speaks to his complete brilliance also. To win that many Ballon d'Or in the era of Messi is incredible. Two completely different players at the end of the day.
And at two opposites at the end when Ronaldo came into a Real Madrid team that were dropping players like Beckham, Kaka, Carlos and were building a new team vs Prime Barcelona then 2016 Barcelona started to slip and buy New Players and we saw two ends of the spectrum of how they player under new managers older, younger players and insane to see how they both dominated through all of those seasons unlike so many other players
Only if you are part of the media (like these guys are) that there has to be a viable debate in the first place. It brings in views and revenue to have an argument, see how even now they are using Messi v Ronaldo as clickbait to this video. But if you've really, truly watched both players at their peak, there should be no comparison. Messi as a footballer transcends trophies and statistics. He doesnt have to score a goal to be the best player on the pitch. And I cant tell you how many things Messi did that dont even end up on the highlight reel. In Zlatans word, Messi was never going against Ronaldo all those years, he was against RM and Perez. The fact that when Ronaldo left, only aplayers who won the Ballon Dor are both RM players should give you an idea.
ronaldo is a better player bdw...i know messi has won the WC with 5 penalties with argentina but Ronaldo's performances have been more clutch unfortunatly ronaldo never had the same quality at portugal. He had at this last WC but ronaldo was 38.
@@BruceLee1.0 this is why I love debating with Ronaldo fanboys, you legit have zero clue on actual stats. If you take away both Messi's and Ronaldo penalty goals, Messi would have the same amount of goals with Ronaldo with 140 less games played in his career. The fact you chose to start with pens is just so funny.. And clutch is winning the WC, winning the Copa, and winning more El Classicos in the times they played against each other in Spain, Oh btw, Ronaldo has only won La Liga twice in his 8 years at Madrid, so much for clutch right? Like I said, to anyone who really watched La Liga and football in general these are just stupid arguments.
I've always maintained Messi was the better player but have lots of respect for Ronaldo. He's one of the greatest athletes ever & I think he & Messi pushed each others limits
England is not light in the centre back area. We got tomori, dunk, ben white, stones, guehi, colwill. No need for maguire to start or even get called up.
Agreed. Loads more too playing week in week out in the prem. For example I’d have Ben Mee over Maguire any day of the week.
Colwill doesn’t start for his club either. Why should he be called up?
@@josh3306 colwill played well last season and he has good potential. I don't expect him to start for England. Stones and guehi should start.
Messi is a playmaking midfielder that has scored 800+ goals😭 that’s just impossible
hes a false 9 not a mid fielder
Cr7 started out as a wide midfielder.
Hello lads ! Just wanted to say - this is the best football podcast and favourite 30-45 min of my day. Your big fan from Slovakia
Much appreciated!
Glad to see the growth of this channel. Every football fan is lucky to have this podcast . Keep going..
Always a good laugh to help forget the world for half an hour. We are full of depressing stories, news, and fed up from work or school. Sometimes, people feel lonely. I do now and then. But since they started this podcast, it has been that little light of joy not just for me. But for many. We can only thank these three for the joy and laughter
Best part of my day! Keep it up lads ❤
Legend!
@@therestisfootball 🐐🐐
Nice to see the humourous side to Alan... what a legend.
So good this podcast. Keep it up lads. Best thing that’s been released in ages 👌🏻
This is one of the most exhilarating football podcasts I have come across, I am always waiting for a new episode to drop. Weldone, guys.
Oh Gary, I LOVE your response to why you really haven't considered taking on a manager role. I think any team would be lucky to learn from you!! Loving every episode, the three of you are wonderful together! Micah's laugh makes me smile every time!!
When big Meeks laughs there's no way you not gon laugh. He brings a different energy in the room.
Wordddd
Its very easy if people understand important aspects of football.
Apart from defending, messi is goat tier level player in every important category
Goalscoring
Playmaking
Assist
Dribbling
Passing
Vision
Free kicks
Team Trophies
Individual trohies
While cr7 is among goat contender for goalscoring,team trophy & individual trophy. He isnt anyway near goat level in any other category. This doesn't mean he isn't good in passing, dribbling, assisting, playmaking but in comparison to goat level performer of that category, he isn't close to them in these
Other than messi, only pele has goat level claim in all these category apart from free kicks. No other plsyer is near these 2 . Maradona, de stefano, Cruyff is closest to those 2
Cr7 is way better than pele or any other relic
Enjoying the show from Zimbabwe. Keep up the good work guys.
Love this show. It really is the end of an era. Messi will always be my favorite but what a time it’s been.
CR7 v Messi was never a real debate as Messi is much better. Every fan over 30 years old knows CR7 is not even the best Ronaldo in football. Zidane, Maradona and Ronaldinho clear of CR7 in my lifetime too. Others I could name but possibly more contentious (e.g. Nedved and Scholes).
Messi,pele,maradona then cr7..cannot discredit cr7..he just below level than this 3..
@@muadzabdulaziz1229 Did you watch Pele and Maradona play?
I just love this show, real football guys! Huge fan from the US!
Between Ange and You guys you have renewed my love of Football Thank-you.
You three are so amazing Words can't describe how I feel when I see the notification that a video is being uploaded.
Messi had 91 in a calendar year and then CR7 had 60+ for 4 straight years and then 50+ the year after that. They 2 are the 2 best ever and im glad to say I was around for it. Sadly I couldn’t watch the La Liga head to heads live as an American, but I could watch the highlights. I’m a biased UTD fan who fell in love with the game as a kid because of CR7 and Rooney so I side with CR7, but I hate when people down credit either to prop the other up. Messi is amazing and I have no issue with people who say he’s 1. He’s just not for me.
When people say Gareth has made England competitive, they tend to leave out how this is one of the weakest era's of the Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch and others for talent. While England having one of their strongest, on paper England probably are 2nd or 3rd in terms of talent right now. I think even Sven would've done a better job tbh.
This is a good point that I dont think many ppl remember or realise. The other international teams are weak compared to teams of the past
Top football podcast in the world. Millions subs for this please. Please bring more reputable guests to the show. Thanks.
I think Messi is a better footballer but I think Ronaldo is greater and I don’t think it’s even close tbh. With the scandal that Barca were paying the refs the whole time and the insanely dodgy decisions in the 2009 CL against Chelsea and the 2011 CL against Arsenal. Not to mention this past World Cup, the Netherlands game being the most obvious fixed game.
3-peat and Portugal were equally dodgy and no evidence World Cup was fixed - unless you ignore a litany of decisions that went against Argentina. And if you think Perez and Ferguson are clean, you're being a tad naive (Nick Diaz wasn't wrong about steroids; PED's are everywhere). Football is corrupt, Barcelona are just bad at hiding it.
Of course. Ronaldo with his hard work improved his abilities to be better than a pure talent like Messi. Some people just hate him, that's all.
@@claudecarlyle9284 I wasn't even replying to you.
@@Coach-rq6jxit’s so mad to claim that Messi doesn’t work hard or didn’t improve on his insane talent.
@@Wow91163 not as mad as trying to claim that Ronaldo wasn't talented. He worked harder than everybody else, became better than everybody else. That's what only matters, and that's what's said here.
Agreed...International football for near past decade has become so dull and slow and far far to tactical to the point that most teams are scared to attack first.
That's why the amount of goals increases year by year? It simply has become stronger, even countries like Georgia and Albania have strong dangerous players who are not afraid to score against big teams.
@@politicallyincorrect2564 yeah smaller teams are getting better because bigger teams seem to play with fear and tactically try kill the game off,small teams still have that fighting mentality of pressing to score...goals might have gone up but the style of football has become very dull
@@fearsome1376 well, no one cares about the quality of football in international level, winning is the most important thing. England played well in the Euro against Italy but Italy won. England played well against France in the world cup but France qualified.
@@politicallyincorrect2564 losing is not playing well...
@@fearsome1376 the opposite...playing well means nothing if you lose the game.
Quickly becoming my favourite podcast!
The amount of people that have passed judgements in the last couple of years need to remind themselves thet ronaldo played at Juventus at messi's age and he was a thousand times better. Dont be ignorant
Another great episode lads just keep ‘em coming 👏👍💪💥🥊
Another brilliant watch, love these guys banter.
My new favourite podcast! Keep it up, love the laughs, stories and smiles, brightens up my afternoon after work :)
This are real football people talking about football. I love listening to them
I love listening to this at work,makes my day go faster lol
Really enjoying these podcasts Gary could've been Aston Villa manager thanks for sharing that Gary.
Here in Germany we have the same problem. The league is fun to watch but man the international games are really hard to watch especially when the games mean nothing cause there is no pressure for the team. Tonight when we play against France it could get ugly.but maybe we are lucky and they play their B-Squad
None of us enjoy this international break. The league teams are just their rhythm and it's been taken away unnecessarily. Ten games in would be better
Ben White can play RB and CB. In this International break we could have moved Walker in CB and have White play RB given his understanding with Saka at club level.
I don't have a problem with maguire i was excited for him to join west ham but you just can't pick someone not playing it seems to go against the whole idea of being selected for your national side.
I always look forward to these podcasts! Keep up the good work lads.
Gary needs to do a Podcast on his career! As someone that never saw him play id like to hear some of his stories
Gareth has done a great job of galvanising international football and the feeling of club football within the squad but his managerial abilities when the pressure comes on is very lacking. The achievements he has had with the squad can't be denied but I think it's time for a change. I also think England need to be careful who they select as the new manager but the manager needs to have managed in the PL at the highest level.
The country loves the players who play for England not Gareth. There’s a reason why he hasn’t been successful at club level
@@222JT looking back on where we first met!
As englishmen, that would only really leave us with Howe and Potter at best. Doubt Pep or Klopp would do it. Wouldnt want another Italian, except Angelotti. Possibly Poch, or maybe someone like Zidane could work
@TheMatty109 you sound mental matt. Why on earth would Zidane or howe take one of the worst managerial jobs that exist?
@@hyywe240 its one of the highest paid manager jobs in the world
Ive switched between Ronaldo and Messi over the years, there's not much in it and it also simply depends on preference; what do you want? Ronaldo was top for the longest time and Messi got some balon does that he really shouldn't have but, as it stands right now, I would edge Messi as the greatest of this generation, simply for his performances in that last world cup. GOAT is ridiculous because you cannot compare eras so easily in football. But, I could easily make arguments for ronaldo too. We've been blessed with these two.
Etoo did best when he went to Russia. He said "with 1 year's salary I can build schools and nurseries in my country." Also, the golden era of England had some quality managers and the biggest problem was ego and club rivalries. Liverpool lads didn't sit with Utd lads. When Capello tried to make them eat together, banned wags etc players threw a hissy fit.
Hi Gary! Awesome podcast. Please keep it coming. Big fan from Malaysia.
30:00
That was over in 2019 when Messi won his 6th Balandor and cemented himself forever as the better player.
Big meeks laugh is just incredible I could listen to it all day
Top drawer as usual lads. Can’t wait for the next one 👏
No Micah, we are not in agreement with that. We don't all think Messi is better.
Loving this podcast series. So much experience, knowledge and good humour across all 3 presenters. In this episode I really hope Alan is in a hotel because those curtains! Awful.
I'd love to see a midfield of Rice, Bellingham and Ward Prowse or something similar, we miss a dead ball specialist. Southgate has done a lot for this squad but some of his choices are bizarre, Madison playing on the wing, take off the most inform player we have in Bellingham and leave Henderson on, the subs as well, he needs to be makings subs 10/20 minutes sooner. France are the only team better than the England squad and we should be competing right to the final
Interesting aspect of the endless Messi/Ronaldo discussion that rarely gets talked about is Ronalo's impact on the next generation of players. If you see players like Mbappe, Haaland, Rashford, Vini Jr, Garnacho, etc, all of which said their idol was Ronaldo. I also share the same sentiment in which while I was in my teens watching them both play, I could always see that Messi was just a level ahead but I still gravitated towards Ronaldo.
It's because no one can be messi but can be ronaldo
@@THEoneandonlystika No. It's because with hard work, Ronaldo showed he can be better than a pure talent like Messi.
@@THEoneandonlystikano one can take performance enhancing drugs like messi and not get caught
Ronaldinho had pure talent .... what has he done compared to Messi
In their peak in a final you would take Ronaldo
The one England manager that the FA didn’t give the job too and should have was Clough??? Says it all really
34:05 the best part of this one
What a fantastic podcast this is. 🎉
This is my new favourite thing. Love it
Gets me every time they mention Le Tournoi 😂.
Another great pod keep it up lads👏🏾👏🏾
Shoutout to Cristiano for winning 5 Balandor in the MESSI era!
Best football pod on the internet. Love it!
Dear Editor.. I love the content, but can I just ask why the random dramatic zoom-in when Gary, Alan or Micah make a point? They emphasise their point sufficiently without the added post-edit sensationalism. Thanks for your hard work though everyone! Keep it coming!
Love the Pod! Has become an essential!
The rivalry ended in 2015 in terms of football ability and skill, Messi's consistency week in week out prevailed while Ronaldo turned into a striker, while Messi remained a complete attacking midfielder and attacker
deluded
@@timthompson9782 Watch them play to open your mind Ronaldos ball control, passing and decision making fell off and Zidane used him as a ST, where his strengths were utilised - but his comparison to Messi stopped
@@oneofd.pieces Ronaldo merely changed positions hence his style changed, age, injuries happened, his numbers didn't, he became less about dribbling and more of a finisher. And if you look at the number of strikers right now who can score 50+ goals it's few to none. The man was a beast in 3-4 positions in his career,. And 2016-18 he was the best in the world.
Of note the 2 English CD that have the most wins in the Premier league are Gomez and Stones FYI
And both have won everything and beat everyone, Mbappe, Benzema, Messi, Roanldo, Etc, etc, Etc,
Ronaldo is the undisputed goat for me. But you can still respect both. only kids would insult one of them.
Absolutely live for this show fam!
Im sorry fellas but saying that Henderson has gone to Saudi to top up his pension pot its shite as hes earnt around £50-£55m over 8 seasons .
And he'll double that in less than half the time. Why wouldn't he? He's not going there to harbor ambition to win Saudi cups mate lol.
I love this podcast and I love you guys❤
Mourinho should be the next England manager. Amazing knock-out record, knows England and the players, will bring out the best and be able to choose the team he wants.
Noooooooooooo
Love the show , do more sessions like this ❤❤❤❤
No missed an episode give it a few years n be the biggest footie podcast in Britain 100% it's they bounce if each other
Micah has absolutely nailed it, every true football fan dreads the International breaks, I don't even watch the games anymore, it's abysmal. Can't stand it, Gareths own personal club for his mates, boils my blood. #Southgateout
Gareth has done a great job in taking us to a final and semi final but I do think he’s wasting the talent a little bit, we’ve got top players at top clubs and none of them really play in the system he’s playing, maybe if he played them in their correct positions we could go that step further
Thing with Gareth is that I believe he gets all of the credit he deserves, but rightfully so he gets all the criticism he deserves as well. Its okay to admit he's been good but also want somebody that can take this team even further than he did, because it hasn't been good enough yet
Boom, best pod on earth he RUclips’s right now
for the moment Gareth is in the position to dictate the tempo for the england team, the line will be drawn after Euro 2024, so there is a lot of time to finish and polish an idea of the direction of how england team will play at euro 2024.. for the moment he somehow already qualified the team so things look good atm.
Re Big Meeks comments about international football being stale and the point about strikers now scoring umpteen goals against lesser teams, would it not be a good idea to introduce a conference league or a separate qualifying league for the lesser nations such as Malta, San Marino et al? This would surely benefit them by playing more competitive games and it would improve the competitiveness of the qualifying too as bigger teams would play each other more often.
I think the unique rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo wasn't just confined to club football,it went beyond to when they played for their respective countries,both won a trophy with each one,can you imagine if only one of them had won something on the international tournament stage and the other hadn't.The irony it was against France in finals,Euro and WC that they lifted a trophy
You are in denial. Messi won Copa America, Olympics and World Cup. Keep denying facts.
Both are once lifetime talents ronaldo got hurt unfortunatley in euro final and didnt feature which is why hes still pushing so hard. He was incredible in 2012 the year the coach against sain put him last in shootout just a travesty and bruno hit post and fabregas converted so ronaldo never even shot. Spain destroyed italy in final. This portugal is most talented hes played on and they will gladly let him be captain and to his credit he sees leao, jota, felix, fernandes, silva, creating he can pick his spots and moments let the young guys run like argentina did. He could get another trophy and score goals albeit from slightly subdued role but for betterment if team. Messi just won copa against razil then finalissima against euro champs italy, and that masterful world cup he was motm or golde ballin evry match or tournament and hed already won everything else at juniors olymics, junior world cup so at club and country he literally had won everything and inleadership starring role in every chamionshi match. Not to mention another final and golden ball in 2014 rio. Im portuguese benfica fan love ronaldo think hes misunderstood sensitive guy messi is cut from different cloth than eeryone.
To move across world as child to spain because at that age you already have confidence and self belief that hes that special and to not ever stop improving every year. Hes once a lifetime. Why hes so unshakableand confident in every moment or on any stage. Hes practiced hi whole life for this. Joao felix is fantastic he got homesick just driving 3 hours daily to go to sporting academy. Thats normal think of deep self belief messi had since childhood and how hes never relented. Its a totally unique level of abilities and production. Ronaldo lima had their level of prdigious skill and unfortunately only brifly impacted game at dominant level but wow he was so special. ronaldo plays direct like haaland or suarez ronaldo lima could shoot right or left like suarez or ronaldo but he could dribble you from deep and he could stop on dime even back or round keeper and tap it in such was his composure he was special too. all best qualities of slashing darting cagey prim suarez, shot physicality of prime cristiano and touch of to midfielder and genius of touch like messi. Hes one that bummed me out he was that good he belonged in a conversation his body wouldnt let him in
To state that Messi & Ronaldo are worlds apart these days is so common place but that's extremely pretentious.
Ronaldo wasn't always an out & out #9 exclusively. The disrespect is egregious but not unsurprising.
They are envious of the m😂.
even when he wasn't a 9 he never reached the levels Messi did. It's not disrespect to put Ronaldo number 2 or 3 in all times list.
@@yamkelamalala675 Never made the claim of superiority in his favour. Get of Messi's fallace for a moment.
I challenged this recently popularised position that Ronaldo is dogshit in comparison.
Ronaldo Nazario is #1 in my personal opinion, which is what these discussions tend to boil down to. Subjective opinion.
@@Deencat_ I HEAVILY respect this point of view.
26:25 It should go to the candidate that is the most ready, willing and able at the time PERIOD and as they alluded to there are still no english managers that are currently world class.
Great job lads!
Lewis dunk has experience and is way better than Harry Maguire
Regarding Southgate... all 20 EPL clubs wouldn't have him as their coach, he cost us Euro 2021 final by having the team sit back after scoring in the 1st minute vs an ageing Italy who couldn't handle pace and intensity. Southgate for me is a nice guy who happened to come across an England generation where there aren't cliques because everyone knows each other through social media/growing up together vs the original top 4 cliques. On Maguire, he's been out of sorts for 3 years now and Southgate still persists despite Stones, White, Tomori, Guehi, Colwill, Dunk all being better but can't get a sniff. Same with Ramsdale over Pickford. Maguire cost us goals v France in the 2022 World Cup and Pickford is also England's most erratic GK whilst Ramsdale has the most potential. Southgate thinks his trust in these guys is going to push England over the line but if you're continuously selecting players who have proved they *cannot* cross the line against choosing better players who could raise the level, you will always fail. Southgate's pragmatism as a player made him average and he's the same as a coach. Another England generation will be wasted because of a coach who doesn't know what he's doing.
The problem with international football is that the players know they gonna qualify, so i do think they don't really wanna play international football, every fan says it is a honor to play for your country but i more and more think its more an inconveinice the an honor
Some people don’t remember or realise but McTominay actually started his career as a Striker, crazy
Even the Spanish NT job will be available after euros 2024. If Pep did want to go into coaching national teams, I don't see why he wouldn't go for the Spanish NT over English NT
Look at Spain, Portugal, smashing teams and implementing youth and rotation. Real shame if we enter this tournament with the same crop of players, same system etc.
Ronaldo was my childhood player but Messi was a different class no one will never touch prime Messi no one at all🔝🤣
I think Maddison, Bellingham and rice should play in midfield and foden should play in left side. Play tomori and John stones together then this England squad will be exciting to watch.
How many CL final games or PL title on the line games has Maddison been involved in??? Maddison is in good form, for spurs, and deserves to be in the squad. However, Foden is the player to build a team around, not Maddison. The midfield should be Rice, Bellingham and Foden when they're all fit/available. Rashford/Grealish should play on the left. Maddison is a brilliant option off the bench or to fill in.
@@chrismcgregor272 Maddison gives England team extra runs from midfield. Which would make them extra dangerous
@@NakulVarade Maddison doesn't do anything better than Foden. Maddison starts for Spurs regardless, because he doesn't have competition, and he plays with the pressure of spurs expectations.
Do you want the guy sailing crusieships around the Caribbean or the guy working on warships in a battle???
@@chrismcgregor272I mean Foden hasn’t been involved in that many either given that he’s been at a club that is always competing, he would get left out when it matters a lot of the time
@@Chigz10 Did Foden not just play 54 mins of a CL final??? Foden is competing with KDB (best midfielder in the world) for that position. Idiots acting like Foden wouldn't start every week for any other team. What CL level team wanted Maddison??? If Maddison is so great, why didn't City or Utd or Liverpool or Arsenal want him???
Have you guys ever thought about doing a livestream on youtube? That way you could respond to people in the chat live on the different topics EG england squad and southgate.
They should put a player international cap cap on friendly internationals to make teams play fringe players it also gives the other internationals a rest
Great idea
There is no rivalry.
Messi is better, end of.
Nice curtains Alan!
Two greatests of the game... respect to both legends but handa down the little boy from Rosario is the greatest of all time
Said we should of got howe years back
American here. Stunned at indecision about removing Southgate. England are strongest, deepest, most talented squad in the world and you might not win Euros because your manager is daft, but you're too polite to do anything about it.
Great podcast guys. Would you consider bringing guests on in the future (wrighty 👀)
Amazing podcast guys! Sending lots of positive vibes from Malaysia. By the way, how do I get my question in for the podcast?
Great podcast boys❤️