Former Super Eagles defender Ifeanyi Udeze believes the debate on who’s the greatest player of all time between Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi would have continued had France won the 2022 World Cup.
Arguments and debates on who is the greatest of this generation, between the two footballers have gone on for years, with fans, pundits and football greats at loggerhead at every given opportunity.
Both players have won a lot with clubs and countries, but the only title missing from their trophy cabinets was FIFA World Cup.
Messi came close to winning the World Cup in 2014, losing a final to Germany, while Ronaldo is also part of the Portuguese side that reached the semi-final of the 2006 edition.
Lionel Messi however finally captured football’s greatest crown on Sunday, leading Argentina to 4-2 penalty shootout win over France after the final ended 3-3 in regulation time.
Messi left the pitch with player of the tournament award and five man of the match awards; most by any player in the history of the competition.
Now that he’s had an opportunity to lift the World Cup trophy, the soccer world is largely in agreement that Messi is the sport’s greatest player of all time.
“If Argentina had lost, two losing final medals for Messi wouldn’t have been enough to end the debate, because people will keep arguing that, they didn’t win the World Cup,” Udeze remarked.
“I think for now, the debate is over, but we have to give credit to Ronaldo for competing with this genius who is more naturally gifted.
“Ronaldo worked hard to get himself to the top, he’s a product of hard work, dedication, discipline and talent.
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