It is a wild world we live in. He's definitely not in the top 5 players of all time at all, that is totally overrating him. I have him about 9th and even then it feels like I am bowing to peer pressure.
The gen z types are pretty ignorant of past football and think everything of now is the best, hence them thinking Ronaldo is a top 2 player ever. That's a fucking wild opinion. Maradona especially had more ability in his little toe than Ronaldo has in his whole body.
He rides on Messi's coattails hugely in these all-time debates (though he's too stupid to realise it and actually thinks he is hard done by LOL). They are seen as a package deal for some reason. There was some Ronaldo fanboy on Redcafe who used to argue that they've been neck and neck so it makes no sense to have Messi 1st and Ronaldo 8th. Guys like him prove my point that Ronaldo is like a parasite feeding on Messi's genius.
If people are saying he's DEFINITELY a top five player of all time then he has to be up there as one of the most overrated players ever. I can just about handle top 10, but no fucking way is he top five. I don't think people realise just how greatly talented players of the past were in their rush to lick this guy's arsehole.
As well as riding Messi's coattails, a large part of this is his fame off the pitch. A lot of people are dumb and can't process that a world-famous 'superstar' of this generation who is constantly posing on instagram is inferior to some old guy they've never heard of like Platini or Zico. I have seen some morons use his twitter followers as evidence of him being better than other players, that's how fucked up this is.
But you see the myth he is in big games for Portugal and big CL Finals. You see how reliant he's always been on service and that his game is technically average relative to the best ever, and hugely relies on athleticism. Plenty of games you watch him and the truth is revealed and you can see the myth he is.
I actually think Xavi and Iniesta are more talented players than him, but that is an extremely unpopular opinion because - for some reason i really can't understand - the consensus is that he and Messi are miles better than everyone else in their generation. I think Xavi and Iniesta are much closer to him than he is to Messi. And certain players never achieved what he did but are miles more talented eg Ronaldinho, Neymar.
He very much represents this superficial stats and trophies over performances generation. I have never watched this guy and felt I am watching a genius. He's just a great goalscorer and athlete and that's it. A top five player ever would never have his knockout stage record at international level, or miss 89 out of 90 free kicks.
What I am saying is I am perplexed by the arse-licking he gets. He benefits from playing in an amazing team at club level. Messi does too but Messi offers far more in general play (which is why it's funny when clueless morons say Ronaldo 'carries' teams more than messi does).
I remember against Wolsfburg in 2016 he scored with a header put on a plate from an amazing Coentrao cross, and the fucking idiotic commentator was going on about him turning the tie 'all by himself' - when you rely on your team mates giving you great service it's the very antithesis of doing it on your own. And there's examples of that all across his career - him getting all the credit where his team mates, who do most of the hard work, are ignored.
I just can't understand how someone who shoots from everywhere, wastes so many moves, misses so many free kicks, and is technically mediocre and stiff looking as a player as he is (relative to the best ever) could be rated as high as he is.
The biggest trick this clown ever pulled was turning him and Messi into a goalscoring debate. As footballers he's so inferior it's amazing, like Grand Canyon gap inferior.
@soul24rage