I was talking about ability, not career. Valdes obviously has a much better Barca career than Bravo. But ability-wise, it's pretty close. Bravo captained Chile to 2 Copa America wins, so his NT career is much better than Valdes'.
I'd say they're close in ability, with Valdes having a longer and better career overall.
Bravo's peak in his ability lasted from 2014 to 2016.
Valdes did that for several years and is still performing at a high level. If you're going to compare their ability then you got to take longevity into account. And he had another great GK in Casillas ahead of him in the Spanish NT, who also played for Real Madrid.
You can have a freak two year, but you can't have that for more than five years. Valdes' has done that for a long time.
Which is why Messi is so special. There have been players who have been freakish ability wise for a year or two. Or even three years. Messi has been doing that for more than 10 years.
I hold longevity in a high regard.
Performing at a very high level for a long time is freakish. Which is why Buffon is the Greatest GK of All-Time for me. He's almost 40, but is still doing it. Some would argue Neuer had a better peak. But who cares? Let Neuer do that until he's 36 and then we'll compare them.
Just my line of thought.
At Bravo's peak though, I agree. He was as good as Valdes. Perhaps even better. But two years is not enough for me.
