2015 The Showdown: Messi vs Ronaldo

[Lee-Roy]

Great work Dec, people on here are getting closer to convincing my to buy the editor and this is just another push.

I've already given you my idea but got the benefit of everyone here - send them both to Wales and find out if it improves the leagues reputation.

It does improve the league rep, I put a team of wonderkids and won won everything in 2 seasons including the champions league (cheating of course) and the rep went from 2 stars(85th I think) to 3 n a half stars (17th I belive) in 2 years

Wow. Is that save carrying on? I'm interested in seeing if they can attract the best players etc once they're in the top 5

[Dec]

Great work Dec, people on here are getting closer to convincing my to buy the editor and this is just another push.

I've already given you my idea but got the benefit of everyone here - send them both to Wales and find out if it improves the leagues reputation.

It does improve the league rep, I put a team of wonderkids and won won everything in 2 seasons including the champions league (cheating of course) and the rep went from 2 stars(85th I think) to 3 n a half stars (17th I belive) in 2 years

I tried it in Scotland, Ronaldo left after a year and a half (I was doing a 3 year test), I will probably try another one soon in Holland as the reputation is a bit better.

[Dec]

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Experiment 3: Cold Wednesday night in Stoke

The age old question of "How will he fare on a cold night in Stoke?" is often referred to as a point against Lionel Messi. Yet with Stoke never getting into the Champions League; and not looking likely too, it is possible that it will never be tested. Now it is time to use the magic of Football Manager Handheld to put this question to bed once and for all and find the victor.

For Messi and Ronaldo their journey at Stoke City was one that proved fruitful. Messi fired in an impressive 0.6 goals per game for The Potters equalling 45 games and 27 goals. His 8 assists were higher than Ronaldo's 6 in 40 games. Yet unlike the Portuguese forward Lionel Messi with his 5 games extra he could only manage a lower average rating and 2 less Player of the Match performances. While Messi worked well as a team player and influenced the team greatly it was Ronaldo who shone on his individuality with performances that merit being one of the best in the world.

Player	Played	Goals	Assists	Player of the Match	Average Rating
Lionel Messi	45	27	8	6	7.24
Cristiano Ronaldo	40	26	5	8	7.55

It was on the opposite in the league performance of Stoke City with each player. While Ronaldo's Stoke finished a respectable 9th (equalling their best in 2013/14 but bettering any points they've ever had in the Premier League) it was Messi who helped Stoke the most. His goals and assists led Stoke City to a 5th Place finish and 74 points. The position the team finished under Messi's guidance is just phenomenal and proves what a brilliant player Lionel Messi is.

Team	Position	Wins	Draws	Losses	Points
Lionel Messi	5th	23	11	6	74
Cristiano Ronaldo	9th	14	13	11	55

In the cups this is where Messi and Ronaldo drew blanks. Both suffered 3rd Round Exits in the FA Cup and Semi Final League Cup knock outs to teams that are arguably a lot stronger than The Potters. It wasn't a shock that they went out here with a lack of depth throughout their squad with a lot of fixtures, yet with two of the world's best perhaps an upset wasn't too far from the imagination. Yet the form of both players in the league more than makes up for this.

Team	FA Cup	League Cup
Lionel Messi	3rd Round (v Everton)	Semi Final (v Liverpool)
Cristiano Ronaldo	3rd Round (v Man City)	Semi Final (v Man City)

 

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi improved Stoke overall as a team as they finished a notable fifth place, however this wasn't about the team and in the games played Ronaldo performed far better with 5% more goals per game and 2 more players of the match in 5 less games. Despite Messi being a team player you can't ignore the average rating despite the more assists. This is a close one yet CR7 edges this one though the test did prove that both can perform at a great level on a cold night in Stoke. I think that is the real result in this.

Score: Lionel Messi 2 vs 1 Cristiano Ronaldo

[hr]

The Next Challenge: Versatility is key

Well we know that both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are excellent attackers, but how do they fair in other areas of the pitch? In this test I will be putting them as Central Defenders for their respective teams (Real Madrid/Barcelona) and seeing how their performances are in this position when controlled by the AI. Which player is the most "complete" of LM10 and CR7? This test will tell us.
 

Who will win? Cast your opinions below.

[Callum98]

Got to be Ronaldo at CB, Messi lacks the physicality of a central defender.

[Ashez]

Come on Ronnie lad!

[5H4K3]

Ronaldo FTW

[Dec]

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Experiment 4: Versatility is key

Putting the best attackers in the World in defence is ludicrious but when their positions are set to Central Defence the AI do that despite their attributes being suited more for a forward. Who will win this topsy turvy battle where their aim is performance in an unusual position? Let's find out...

 

It is fair to say that this result wasn't expected at all. The AI gave them both appearances in DC consistently despite other options being better for that position and to even a great surprise both performed well. They were consistent throughout chipping in with goals and assists as well as always providing a solid average rating. Messi managed 5 goals and 2 assists for Barcelona as he transformed himself into a dependable centre back despite seemingly lacking all relevant attributes for the role. However, Ronaldo's 16 goals and 5 assists showed Messi up and he even managed to play in 5 extra games compared to the Argentinian. The average rating of Ronaldo has 0.04 better than his opponent as his overall game. Even though Ronaldo did get 5 yellow cards at Real Madrid compared to Messi's 2 this seemed a minor blemish on a very commendable record.

 

Player	Played	Goals	Assists	Yellow Cards	Red Cards	GK Conceded	Average Rating
Lionel Messi	55	5	2	2	0	53	7.21
Cristiano Ronaldo	60	16	5	5	0	68	7.25

 

Team results are obviously important, as seen above Ronaldo conceded 68 goals in his Real Madrid side compared to Messi's 53. Yet these record were still low compared to other Liga BBVA side (considering that these were including cups and European competitions!) When you put it into consideration Ronaldo's was just over 1 a game while Messi's was just under so the influence of the two forwards in the defence wasn't at all that major. This was further shown in the cups they won. Messi's Barcelona took the crowning glory over Ronaldo's Madrid side as they finished 1st in Liga BBVA but the runner's up had the last laugh as they beat Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Cup to make it two trophies in the year; they won the Club World Championship too. Not bad for having two forwards in defence!

 

Team	Trophies
Barcelona	Liga BBVA
Real Madrid	Spanish Cup, Club World Championship

 

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
In an unusual role both players surprised with their exceptional performances for their teams. Their regular inclusions at DC didn't hinder their side's performances much at all despite being naturally attacking players. Ronaldo's goals and general performance in particular were pleasing (despite quite a poor disciplinary record) and these goals helped his side lift two trophies to Messi's one; though that was the league. 16 goals from the heart of defence has to win this one though and a higher average rating just justifies the winner even more.

 

Score: Lionel Messi 2 vs 2 Cristiano Ronaldo

 
[hr]

The Next Challenge: Goals in Brazil

 
Fans of the 1000 goal challenge will be aware about how much even an average player can score in Brazil when you managed a Sao Paulo team. Well step up the World's best. How many will Mr Messi and Mr Ronaldo score in this poor defence, great attack league with many, many games? This is going to be a high scoring affair that is for sure.

 

Who will win? Cast your opinions below.

[JustM1kePlays]

Loving this series Dec. I say Messi for the next round

[DSW]

Hope Ronaldo wins. BTW a really awesome series, commendable creativty!

[BatiGoal]

Tough one.

Wouldn't want to bet against either one to be honest in the Brasil challenge.

 

Who will be the hattrick king?

Maybe a nice stat to include as well.

[Dec]

Tough one.

Wouldn't want to bet against either one to be honest in the Brasil challenge.

 

Who will be the hattrick king?

Maybe a nice stat to include as well.

That would mean going through 130 games. That's a lot to go through.

[Lee-Roy]

I'm really enjoying this, and it's tempting me to get the editor so much. As much as I'm not interested in it, this showdown shows a side that I'd love to get in on.

[shinichi85]

I think LM10 will reclaim his spot now..

[Dec]

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Experiment 5: Goals in Brazil

The Sao Paulo State Championship and Brazilian First Division is a lethal mixture of high scoring games and a lot of game time. With Ronaldo or Messi in this situation they will surely blitz it...shouldn't they? At Santos they are bound to be at one of the best attack's in the nation, so let's see how they fared.

 

The main event in this is goals. There's no doubt in who came out on top in this statistic, with over a goal per game Cristiano Ronaldo led the way with 74 in 70, where as Lionel Messi still got an impressive 60 in 66..not bad until you compare it to his rival's tally. With more goals and player of the match performances as well as an equal amount of assists in just 4 games more. Though Ronaldo's average rating was lower his goals more than made up for this as he blew Messi out of the water.

 

Player	Played	Goals	Assists	Player of the Match	Average Rating
Lionel Messi	66	60	14	22	7.89
Cristiano Ronaldo	70	74	14	23	7.78

 

Looking at the team's performances though it tells a different story. While Ronaldo's team were consistent 5th finishers in both competitions, while Messi enjoyed First Division success and 4th place in the Sao Paulo State Championship. Messi gave the team a better goal difference where as Ronaldo was more on the side of scoring goals. Yet it was Lionel's success in the competitions that edged past Ronaldo's as his Santos team were underwhelming during the season.

 

Team	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals Scored	Goal Difference
Lionel Messi (Sao Paulo SC)	14	3	2	48	34
Lionel Messi (First Division)	26	8	4	69	46
Cristiano Ronaldo (Sao Paulo SC)	18	10	10	67	28
Cristiano Ronaldo (First Division)	18	10	10	67	28

 

It was the same story in the totals, Messi's team performed better yet Ronaldo's scored more. All in all it shows how outstanding the Santos team with Messi was and how much a player of his quality can influence and lead a team to be so great over so many games.

 

Team	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals Scored	Goal Difference
Lionel Messi (Total)	40	11	6	117	80
Cristiano Ronaldo (Total)	36	20	20	134	56

 

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
This challenge was about goals and Ronaldo had an abundance of them. With a better goal tally and goals per game ratio then he was really the only winner of this. While Messi did lead Sao Paulo to more glory and better goal difference Cristiano Ronaldo's side won more games as he contributed more to the side; despite the less of an average rating. When Ronaldo was on fire, he was on fire and easily won this experiment to make it 3 in a row for the Portuguese forward

 

Score: Lionel Messi 2 vs 3 Cristiano Ronaldo

 
[hr]

The Next Challenge: 50 years of hurt

 
When Euro 2016 rolls around England will be without a trophy in 50 years. This half a century has caused great pain for the nation that founded football. Will they be able to qualify and win the competition to end this drought with a certain Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Which player will have more of an influence on the 3 Lions?
 

Who will win? Cast your opinions below.

[BatiGoal]

Love reading all those stats.

Great stuff!

 

Since Messi seems to lift the team in previous challenges I think he's going to win the next challenge despite Ronaldo's better goal tally.

[Lee-Roy]

Tough one... I think Ron will get the most goals and the better performance with Leo as a close runner up.

[davak]

Bloody genius dec! Haha I'm loving this series so far

I think Ronaldo will win the next challenge

[corey]

Possible idea, maybe make them both 39/40? see who can produce the most still?

[Dec]

[center][size=6][b]vs[/b][/size][/center]

[center][size=6][b][color=#a9a9a9]Experiment 6:[/color] 50 years of hurt[/b][/size][/center]

With England having 50 trophyless years, they have called on an Alfredo Di Stefano situation as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo take to the stage to see if either can improve the team so they can finally end the drought for the founders of football.

 

The test was fairly surprising. Strangely enough none of the players were the first name on the team sheet despite being the World's best footballers and performing for their clubs as normal. Messi got dropped fairly often for non-key games and Ronaldo didn't even get picked at all! In 4 seperate tests with Cristiano Ronaldo Roy Hodgson didn't like the Portuguese-cum-English forward as he chose never to play him in his teams despite winning World Player of the Year awards...bonkers. As for Messi in the 14 competitive fixtures he only played 11 of them though did feature in all of the European Championship games. His record was outstanding though, 13 goals and 2 assists in just 11 games is a tally that is expected from him at Barcelona so to do that on the international stage finally proves he is a legend.  For this record his amount of "player of the match" awards and his overall was fairly low, it seems the FMH engine was fairly harsh on the forward for this.

 

Player	Played	Goals	Assists	Player of the Match	Average Rating
Lionel Messi	11	13	2	4	7.54

 

With Ronaldo a wipeout, there's nothing really to discuss on him, but how did England do with Lionel Messi leading the line? Well in qualifying they secured an easy, unbeaten group. With 27 goals in 10 games and only 1 draw as a blemish from a perfect clean sweep it all looked promising going into the competition. Despite a leaky defence it got off to a good start too. In the same group as Slovakia, Croatia and Portugal they won all games (3-1, 3-1, 2-1) as they topped what could have been a banana skin group. However it all went wrong from there, whether it was over-confidence or just luck Messi's goal against Greece in the Round of 16 wasn't good enough as they crashed out 2-1 to the Euro 2004 winners. England with Messi were still empty handed and disappointing when it came to the big stage, but at least their record was pretty good! Little comfort though to those expecting silverware from the side.

 

Competition	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goal Difference
Qualifying	9	1	0	27	21
Championship	3	0	1	9	4

 

[center][size=6][b][color=#a9a9a9]Winner:[/color] Lionel Messi[/b][/size]

[i]It was fairly surprising to see Roy Hodgson in 4 separate simulations pick Raheem Sterling over Cristiano Ronaldo yet such is the way of football that this happens. This made the choice very easy to decide. Messi actually played for England so therefore he won, though they didn't even get close to the crowning prize as they ended prematurely to Greece. Sorry England fans, no trophy for you...this time.[/i][/center]

[center] [/center]

[center][size=5][b][color=#a9a9a9]Score:[/color] [/b][b][color=#000080]Lionel Messi 3[/color] vs [color=#ff3399]3 Cristiano Ronaldo[/color][/b][/size][/center]

 

[hr]

[center][size=6][b][color=#a9a9a9]The Next Challenge:[/color] Back Home...but wanting a move[/b][/size][/center]

 

Messi and Ronaldo have been moved to similar reputation clubs in their home land. While Messi is back in Argentina at Boca, Ronaldo is playing his trade at Braga in Portugal. Both have got 1 year contracts worth £10 a week and have been demoralised. Who will get a bigger move after the season?

 

[center][b]Who will win? Cast your opinions below.[/b][/center]

[Lee-Roy]

Sad to see Roy destroy your plans but the next rest is really exciting, probably the one I've anticipated the most.

I really love this, I hope we get to see more of this around.

[DanTheStripe]

This is fantastic. More, more! I reckon Ronny will get the bigger move, maybe because he's in Europe? Just a guess.

[Ashez]

Poor Ronaldo

[BatiGoal]

Ronaldo didn't even touch a ball?

I want to see Hodgson's head rolling!

[Godric]

I'm lovin this.

Great Work Dec.

 

MESSI FTW!!!

 

MOAR!!!!

[Thepremiermanager]

Given the obvious oddities in the game this is pretty hard to guess!

I'm going for Messi with a transfer to Spain. Can see Boca performing better during the season and helping the Messi jump.

[samhardy]

Great write ups Dec. Most of my guesses have been wrong so far but I'll go for Ronaldo to win this one.

[Archie Graveluth]

This is a great and fun idea, Dec. 

 

Can anyone tell me (can't check right now) what is Messi's natural position in the game? Would be fun to see how both would do while being only natural stikers.

[samhardy]

This is a great and fun idea, Dec. 

 

Can anyone tell me (can't check right now) what is Messi's natural position in the game? Would be fun to see how both would do while being only natural stikers.

His natural position is a striker.

[Godric]

Vote for Messi for the Next one! 

[Dec]

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Experiment 7: Back Home...but wanting a move

Put Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at similar reputation clubs back in their homes and you get Messi at Boca and Ronaldo at Braga. But how long will the world beaters stay there? On year contracts that everytime they renew they get expired the next day and no morale surely a team must snap up the players? With an experiment up until September 2015 this should be guaranteed...right?
 
But what happened...well despite being persistent originally Lionel Messi finally signed on a Bosman for Borussia Dortmund in June 2015. A £100k a week deal and a value of £60m was high and above his original £10 starting wage at Boca.However Ronaldo wasn't as lucky, his loyalty shone through as despite both enjoying successful seasons back home Ronaldo didn't want to leave and kept signing new contracts until his time ran out with the experiment. The Portuguese player stayed at Braga for the entire challenge on £100 a week. How disappointing.
 

Player	Club	Reputation	Wage (per week)
Lionel Messi	Borussia Dortmund	8350	100,000
Cristiano Ronaldo	Braga	7100	100

 

Winner: Lionel Messi

Huge shocks were had as Ronaldo's persistence meant he kept signing a new contract at Braga and after the transfer window past the Portuguese's time ran out. However Messi went from £10 a week to a new contract at Boca on £30 a week then forcing that to expire; as I did with Ronaldo, led him to Bosman at Dortmund on £100k a week! What a raise and a coup.for Dortmund as his value rocketed back to £60m too. A winner by a clear mile over Ronaldo and his Braga team. A shame for the Portuguese forward to fail yet another challenge though.
 
 

Score: Lionel Messi 4 vs 3 Cristiano Ronaldo

 
 
[hr]
 

Winner: Lionel Messi

 
 Final Score: Lionel Messi 4 vs 3 Cristiano Ronaldo

 
While the players bounced backwards and forwards between winning Lionel Messi took the crown after Ronaldo failed to show up for the last two challenges. However in general this proved how great and stand out both these players are, they were equally as impressive with all challenges and during these experiments proved they were head and shoulders above the rest of the Footballing world. So despite Messi edging it in 7 this could have easily gone a different way. Well played to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, this was very enjoyable to watch. Now where's the real life football editor?

 

[hr]

 

Thank You For Reading

Thank you very much for reading this "The Showdown" idea in which I hoped to prove to you the editor can be fun as well as cheaty at times. My aim was to inspire and entertain you and I really hope I managed to do that through this journey and I want to thank you all who left lovely comments. It was very nice to see so many of them. Thanks for reading.
- Dec