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It’s been one of the most argued subjects in the world of soccer (or should we say, “football”) for the past few decades. It’s being constantly revised and rediscussed as time goes on and awards change. It’s the simple yet complex question of Messi or Ronaldo that has fans pulling out career details to advocate for their own G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) and argue against the other.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have long been considered rivals, having played on rival teams during their time in the Spanish League, La Liga. The FC Barcelona versus Real Madrid CF rivalry has calmed in the past few years since both Messi and Ronaldo’s departures, but in the past, their games — referred to as  “El Clásico” (The Classic) — would constantly spark both debate and deliberation among fans.

Every meeting the two have is exaggerated and glamorized by fans. The two are rather friendly towards each other, but their status and competition in the soccer world have caused this tension. Now being in post-World Cup era, there’s plenty more to compare: Messi fans showing his World Cup and Ronaldo fans attempting to undermine it.

A social media post on the video platform TikTok reflects this interaction of fans on a public forum. The post itself is rather unbiased, claiming the two stars are head-to-head in terms of stats. It shows a picture of each with the stats being listed below. The stats include number of games, goals and assists, Ballon D’ors, Golden Boots, trophies, FIFA Bests, and Playmakers. Minus the games and goals/assists, these are essentially all different awards given by different groups and organizations that recognize a “best player.”

While user @hakimi_footy7 may not have intended for this post to become a deliberation forum, it amassed 5.9 million views since November 26 and sparked some argument between both Messi and Ronaldo fans. The top comment from private user @emmettsteen says “Messi is just better it’s just the truth,” and was quickly met with responses from Ronaldo fans. Private user @bl4s3rr replied saying in short that Messi has natural talent while Ronaldo is a far harder worker, proving Ronaldo’s greater skill within the soccer field. This comment in particular is rather deliberative, providing new information regarding the two stars and responding to another opinion. This user was generally respectful to the original commenter and recognized his opinion in addition to providing another perspective of measurement.

The responses to that reply however were not quite as deliberative. User @edwin_g28 attempted to argue that both are naturally talented and work hard, but he started the response to @bl4s3rr with the phrase “this is the worst argument I’ve heard,” setting aside the deliberative tone and creating a more debate/argument style discussion. Had the user taken out this beginning phrase, perhaps the comments following could be more deliberative, in which both Messi and Ronaldo fans share different perspectives on athleticism. Instead, it caused for more users to reach out with deeply opinionated and close-minded responses, combined with insults to both the commenters and players.

Deliberation between fans on a social media platform is tricky, especially when those fans are so deeply opinionated towards one player over the other, sometimes refusing to consider other options. But Messi or Ronaldo will be a debate that continues to live on, even after both players retire from the captivating world of soccer.

link to Tiktok video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRGv6sBR/