Messi or Ronaldo? -Giannis Antetokounmpo weighs in.
I love that they always say “I identify with Cristiano because Messi is perfect”
Lebron probably relates more to Messi since both took Hgh
You think Giannis isn’t?
Many NBA players take HGH/peds but I assure you Giannis would look like Chet right now if he didn’t take some shh.
Giannis insides were like those of a 50 year old at 17, due to malnutrition and poor living conditions. If they gave him HGH, it was a medical decision by the team, the dude literally sent ALL OF HIS MONEY to his family in Greece during his rookie contract. He famously stole waters, only ate at team provided food or teammate sponsored food outings, ran home from the bank and got a ride from a fan, and lived in a tiny apartment. He wasn’t flying to Florida to get shots.
Your sentiment, while coy, carries the weight of malicious intent by him, and that’s just not the reality of his story.
What you said is true I heard the stories.
What is also true is that he takes HGH/Peds.
We can both be correct.
I imagine probably most pro athletes are taking them. I heard from a friend who went D1 that like all of AA baseball was on steroids. If that’s true there’s probably use everywhere
Your statement is conjecture, mines based on facts
So… you watched him steal bottles of water? With your own eyes?
On top of that, everything you said he did I did as well. Instead of my job giving me free food though I had to stand in lines at food banks, while actually having skills that help society, not play a children’s game. He’s not the only poor person on earth. Quit gassing him up especially since he’s a well known asshole and yes I’ve seen him be an asshole so that’s a fact.
We’ve all seen him steal bottles of water, it’s quite a documented thing
Everything he said is well-documented it’s not like he’s just making shit up lol.
Giannis almost definitely took steroids but I don’t think they were the anabolic kind. I think he took the recovery kind. Because the turnaround he had from injury during the championship run was simply unbelievable.
Giannis is jacked but he is a normal “insane athletic genetics” jacked. If he was taking steroids I think he’d be almost twice the size he is now. People severely underrate just how much they influence a physique. There are studies which show men taking steroids and not doing any form of resistance training gaining more muscle mass than men who didn’t take them and did have a resistance training regimen.
I wouldn’t completely doubt that he took anabolic steroids at some point, but if he did it was likely for a year or so, and then he cycled off of them and has maintained the gains.
I don’t think anyone will ever look like Chet…
Abraham Lincoln…
Between Ronaldo and Messi, Ronaldo looks way more like a guy on PEDs
Should ask the real questions. Fanduel or DraftKings?
Kalshi or Polymarket
backstreet boys, or N’sync?
FanDuel has better GUI and mostly better odds, but Draftkings has that injury protection through the 2Q, and they don’t do that bullshit where it’s just Defensive Touchdowns and not D/ST.
But I know that’s not the spirit of this comment, lol. Just saying, if you’re sitting in the bleachers of an AAU practice and your kids not out there at the moment, that’s where I fire off a bunch of bets.
This guy degens
Look if you get to a point in life where it’s draft kings or FanDuel, you’ve already won.
*Please gamble responsibly
Always great to see people say this stupid ass narrative that’s completely false
First off all Messi has incredible work ethic, second Ronaldo is one of the most talented players ever
Just stupid all around
Idc how “gifted” you are it is impossible reach those heights without being incredibly hard working.
I mean it goes hand in hand, can’t do one without the other, the reality is they both worked hard as hell and are unquestionably gifted at the sport.
and with hard work and discipline
Did you guys not watch the video? Giannis explicitly praises Messi’s work ethic.
Read about Hazard during training sessions then.
Hazard was an amazing player in his prime but Messi and Ronaldo are on a completely different planet in comparison
Hazard was nowhere near messi and cr7 heights, that’s like saying kyrie is on lebron/Jordan level
Know nothing about soccer, but based on that metaphor, how in the world did you think that was a valid argument u/Mean-Refuse3089 ?
You know nothing about soccer and then you just dismissed my argument?
Read or look up how Hazard trains. Does nothing during training, goes to practice without even lacing up his boots, and then is man of the match each Saturday.
This was a response to someone saying you couldn’t reach those heights without being incredibly hard-working. Hazard himself has said he’s not hard-working. At his peak, he was right below Ronaldo and Messi. You’ll also hear the same things from the Brazilian Ronaldo who was the best in the world at his peak.
At his peak he was still many levels below those two.. come on now
Youre exaggerating a bit i think. No he wasnt on Messi or Ronaldo level but no one is. At his best hazard was a top 5 player in the world. That man was special in his prime
At his peak, he was right below Ronaldo and Messi. You’ll also hear the same things from the Brazilian Ronaldo who was the best in the world at his peak.
At his peak he was in a tier below Ronaldo and Messi. His peak lasted 1 or 2 season at best. As I said, it’s like saying Kyrie was just below Jordan/Lebron. It’s hilarious at best
At his peak he was super duper below Messi and Ronaldo.
Only Neymar and bale at their peaks are below Messi and Ronaldo and even that is a huge stretch by me
You’re completely missing the point. This guy was a world class player. At his peak, he was a top three or top four player in the world. I am responding to someone saying that it is impossible for a player at that level to not work hard. I used Hazard as an example. I could also probably make a bigger argument with the Brazilian Ronaldo who was undoubtably at that level at his peak and famously fucked around every training session.
Hazard was insanely good on Chelsea and was one of the most fun players to watch of all time. It’s a shame he was lazy and became fat.
He was always lazy, but he said when he got to Madrid he tried to take training seriously and that is when he got injured.
Ronaldo Nazario proved this simply isn’t true. But that level of talent is seen once in a lifetime.
I think Messi is more talented than Ronaldo, and Ronaldo is more obsessive about his conditioning than Messi.
I agree that people stretch those two observations a bit too far. But it’s not all around stupid.
Yeah that’s it. Both are insanely talented and both worked their ass off but Messi is probably the most talented player ever, while Ronaldo is the most dedicated to his firness and conditioning.
Besides that it also doesn’t surprise me a power forward identifies more with Ronaldo as a player than Messi.
Ronaldo is also so much more public than Messi is. Ronaldo’s entire brand is around basically around his work ethic. PR works
His teammates have all come out to say that he’s especially obsessive about hard work and discipline. In the Kobe mould where of course there’s some PR but the obsession to preparation wasn’t made up.
Messi is easily the GOAT tho.
think Messi is more talented than Ronaldo, and Ronaldo is more obsessive about his conditioning than Messi.
Which is exactly what Giannis is saying, but people like /u/SloshaPacana have to jump in and “defend” Messi if you give a prefer even a single attribute of CR7 over Messi
Came in here to say this. C.Ronaldo is pure hard work, grind, with physical athletic gifts.
Messi is pure talent and wonder.
You don’t accomplish what Messi through talent and wonder only. Nobody is that gifted, not even Messi it requires a ridiculous amount of hard work and effort.
It’s frustrating to see/hear. The same people that’ll tell you Jokic doesn’t care about basketball. No grasp with reality
Jokic rushing to get back for MVP saying i don’t care about individual awards
Giannis saying i don’t care about MVP but yelling i’m MVP mid MVP debate and trying his little ass off to win it vs Harden and that entire beef
It’s just hilarious
Competitive mfs love trophies.. what else is new 😅
how is it stupid? he’s not saying Messi has poor work ethic or Ronaldo doesn’t have talent, he just says Messi has a lot more raw talent that a player like Ronaldo needs to work a lot more to get to his level, which is true. If that weren’t true the gap between them two would be a lot bigger that there wouldn’t even be a comparison.
It’s not true. Ronaldo has incredible talent for football and he has all the right physical attributes for it. He is fast, he can jump out of the building, he is strong, has a great kick and has great ball control ever since he started playing so he has natural talent for it. Messi IS more talented but that’s why he is better. Ronaldo did not get to the same level than Messi due to hard work, Ronaldo is less talented but he is also a worse player and honestly I don’t think hard work really matters all that much here, Ronaldo got to that level due to his talent too. They all work hard at that level. Messi is incredibly obsessive and competitive.
It is true tho. Ronaldo was a good athlete when he started playing but within 10 years (from 03 to 13) he became a super athlete (Djokovic/lebron level).
He went from a guy playing RM to someone who could play anywhere in the front 3, incredible with both feet and in the air. He then adapted massively after his knee injury.
Rooney was a better talent than Ronaldo, I know this because I watched both them week in week out in 2005. Ronaldo has worked at an unprecedented level to get to where he is today.
Both ronaldo and giannis grew up in absolute poverty. That’s probably what he means by relating to him.
And Messi didn’t?
Well it wasn’t absolute poverty but he is from a neighborhood in Rosario I doubt that’s much better than being poor in Europe.
yeah well both ronaldo and giannis were borderline homeless growing up. Ronaldo’s mom couldn’t even afford to get him 1 meal a day and he’d have to steal burgers from his local mcdonalds just to survive. Messi wasn’t rich by any means but he wasn’t in poverty for sure.
Yes, I shake my head every time I hear this… Ronaldo was already a star at sporting when he was 17. Man Utd hired him after playing Sporting in their new stadium opening because it was so obvious how incredibly skilled he already was, not to mention his very obvious physical gifts. He was already so skilled as a kid that sporting brought him to Lisbon from Madeira when he was barely a teenager
It’s not stupid at all if you look at it with nuance. Messi is way more talented than Ronaldo and Ronaldo worked harder for him to become a top 3 player of all time even if he is second behind messi.
It is a very surface level take but at least giannis did mention Messi’s hardwork and dedication
Didn’t Messi get signed when he was just 13? I’m definitely sure that is because of talent
Every good footballer gets signed young, Ronaldo got signed for a youth team at age 9 and made his debut at age 17
Oh, forgot to say. It’s FC Barcelona for 10 years, you lazy ass who doesn’t know that internet has more thing than Reddit
Thats standard in europe
Also because Messi has the best ball control ever and is short and doesn’t look like a Greek sculpture a lot of people actually believe he is not super athletic.
His go to move is to sprint, slow down, let backpedaling defender get close and sprint again. And it worked at the highest level for over 15 years.
I actually like him, when he doesn’t advertise gambling, wich just makes it a bigger bummer.
I thought most people liked him already, don’t think the gambling sponsorship changed it that much. I always felt that Giannis was a good guy, also a funny ass dude who worked his ass off to get to this level.
it’s only a minority on internet that will be aware of that, I don’t think he’ll lose many fans over this
And I am not sure why he would, considering there are a lot of other players that have similar sponsorships that we don’t even hear about and especially when the league we are watching is filled with it
yeah the scrutiny on giannis for the kalshi thing is bizarre. lebron’s had draftkings commercials for years!
explained this in another comment but people are conflating two different things
there are two distinct positions here:
“gambling is an exploitative and manipulative industry and it is morally wrong for athletes to be promoting it to the masses” -> justifies criticism of Jokic, LeBron, Durant, Giannis, etc
“kalshi is an unregulated betting market and a player owning a stake of it is a huge conflict of interest and integrity concern for the league” -> justifies criticism for Giannis
the latter position has nothing to do with “gambling immoral.” it’s “this is like, bad for the national basketball association.”
Was there outrage and posts when KD became an investor in Kalshi, before Giannis? Doesn’t seem that way
the giannis thing is not a sponsorship. probably explains your confusion
He misread the vibe, thought he was just getting in on the next big thing. He’s gotta pay the piper regardless, sell his stake.
Man shut up, don’t nobody gaf about that gambling partnership but uptight crybabies like yourself
He drove the point home there at the end. Messi is better point blank but for Ronaldo to be his vegeta, is a win on itself
Nah Ronaldo is better than
In no world
Ronaldo has literally no argument over Messi.
But he sorta said that. On paper it’s Messi, but he better identifies with CR so that’s his guy.
Identifying better with a rapist is a choice
Guy is probably wearing his Kobe jersey while typing this lol
Rapenaldo fanboys out in full force downvoting you lol
The only argument is CL stats and awards (both personal and team level). And I guess total goals but that’s mostly PR at this point.
Messi has every other important counting stat, advanced stat, and team accolades. It’s not close
Over Messi no that debate is dead. He is probably the second greatest ever though. I see no argument for Maradona over Ronaldo for example.
This debate only exist in English media … Messi is head shoulders and fucking dick above anything this generation
Close thing to him is Maradona or Pele
It doesn’t exist in English media
It definitely stopped after 2022
For the 17 people in English media it mattered to
Fuck you mate
Also very like CR by being more of a drama seeker while wanting to appear as the good guy.
Messi is just… much more private.
bro both want attention and being the goat, messi is just not super extroverted. messi himself the same week ronaldo said he was mid said he was the goat at some random interview. both of them want to be the best, messi just is a diff type of personality, he doesnt know english and that’s the limiting factor in terms of interviews because so many non spanish speakers do not understand him whereas ronaldo is able to market himself more because he was able to learn english.
Lo no this is not true. Messi has never called himself the goat. He genuinely is a shy introvert who’d never talk himself up. He has an ego ofcourse, but this idea that every great player is secretly Michael Jordan and some just hide it better than others is nonsense.
Any Spanish speaker will tell you Messi really is just a supernaturally gifted but probably autistic little goblin.
I mean Messi is hyper competitive. He is just not an asshole about it.
theres literally an interview from a few months ago where he says hes the best and believes he was given the gift to be better than everyone in soccer. yea thats just the type of image his PR team wants him to have, realizing that celebs who are seen as cunning or egotistical are bad image wise. he knows whats up lol him and ronaldo both were competing for who can evade more taxes back in the 2010’s. at the end of the day both are good players, but dont act like messi is just better personality wise, when all u see is what his PR team wants you to see.
theres literally an interview from a few months ago where he says hes the best and believes he was given the gift to be better than everyone in soccer.
Lol. Link it.
[deleted]
Loool fucking hell this is shameless. You seriously just made that quote up. Nowhere does he say, or even imply, he’s the best ever.
He literally says “God gave me a gift. He chose me. And ever since I was a kid, I tried to make the best of it” and then he goes on to say he’s made sacrifices, and even then he puts that into perspective with the many other people in the world also making sacrifices for themselves. Zero talk about where he stands in the history of football. Like always.
Again, zero proof he’s secretly some MJ level psychopath. Any spanish speaker will tell you the same. Look up the countless interviews given by former coaches and teammates.
because i can’t find the full intevirw again google is a thing. on tiktok there was the full intevirw. he even later said that no player is like him.
Link one if it’s so easy to find haha
was he also asking his neighbors for water to prepare his mate tea during that interview?
Lol where is this interview? Messi even gave penalties away during the peak Messi v Ronaldo days to Zlatan, Suarez and Neymar. He was never obsessed about his stats as Ronaldo was. He just cared less about things like that. Its okay
I dont believe i have seen Giannis in any drama off the court.
He does what he does to further his bball career and his wealth. No night life or family drama, no politics, no questionable behavior.
People think its their business what he does with his life. Its called parasocial relarionship and they should seek help, at the very least get off the internet for a while.
It’s always amusing ppl thinking Messi isn’t putting on an image either. Ronaldo is actually much more honest while all you’ll get from Messi is curated bullshit.
Messi ex teammates all said that in privates he is very confident about his abilities, Iniesta even said that he used to ask how many goals Madrid scored and Ronaldo before their games, Messi is just more reserved but you NEVER reach that level of you dont care or think you are the best.
Yeah, it’s really how people treat Jokic. They think he doesn’t care about being the best just because they see clips of him enjoying his horses. You cannot really be good at this for this long without having that competitive fire. And especially, you cannot be the best while treating it as a part time endeavor.
“Hardworking, consistent, doesn’t take no for an answer - he reminds me of Kobe”
She got paid off twice…
The Messi v CR7 debate is like the LeBron vs Kobe debate, it’s not real.
More like the Jordan vs lebron debate. Nobody really debates Lebron vs kobe seriously.
Thats his point? lol
But people actually do debate cr7 and messi still just like they try to debate Lebron vs Jordan. Kobe vs lebron is never even debated.
Messi is less physically gifted than ronaldo, had better work ethic and made his teammates better rather than play selfishly
Messi also has more natural innate gifts like his balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and vision.
You can’t become the both the best dribbler and passer in history without those natural gifts no matter how hard you work.
Saying Messi is the best passer and dribbler in history is bonkers hahah. He wasn’t even the best dribbler in his team (ronaldinho was always better) and saying he was better passer than xavi or iniesta just tells me you are probably like 12 years old lol.
Username checks out
He easily was the best dribbler and passer in the world during his prime.
He has better work ethic? Based on what exactly because anyone that played with Ronaldo keeps going on about how this guy is a total lunatic in terms of how hard he works and its obvious from the outside as well. Don’t think we hear nearly as much about Messi’s work ethic, some players say he is so good that he doesn’t even try that hard in training.
Messi is better, but no need to make stuff up
Messi is physically much more gifted then Ronaldo. From being almost never injured while enduring far more fouls. His explosivness and centered mass is at far better level then Ronaldo. Ronaldo only advantage is how consistent his body is, but it all comes how well you care about yourself since the start of you career. Benzena and Modric used the same diets and trainings and are/were still almost ballon dor competitive while being beyond the avrege retiring years.
They playing soccer in my backyard, I think I see Messi.
Downvoted because it’s posted by MrBabyKiller.
Ironic coming from Mrnativeamericangenocide
Messi 🌎🏆
Ronaldo —
World Cup AND 2 Copa Americas all in a row.
He could’ve saved all those sentences and just say Messi.
How many Euros have Messi won? Because Ronaldo have 1. Case closed. This is also why both Laudrups were better than Haaland
Nike athletes gotta stick together
Americans will not understand the work Ronaldo put to be like he is now… even on physical level . Since Messi move to USA its easy to see that bring a lot of new fans to football and new Messi stans
Jordan
“second best”
No way it’s TRUE 🤣. Giannis is more down to earth than Ronaldo. Also a one girl man.
Giannis is an owner of Nashville SC and as an NSC fan I’m offended he didn’t say 2023 MVP Hany Muhktar.
Even Sam Surridge cameclose to winning the golden boot this year.
Although Messi and Miami have been NSCs kryptonite for sure
kalshi
What type of bs did i just hear..
Hard work? Take care of your body? Little do some folks know there was a time in Young Messis life where he had growth hormone disorder. Led to him getting injections every night. Imagine the toll it takes on a 11 year old body…. If thats not hard work getting him to the stage of GOAT talks, idk what is.
But CR7 is a class act on and off the pitch. I grew up a Messi fan but CR7s off pitch aura (not supporting soda, supporting Palestine) made him a better role model for me.
We are blessed to have watched a rivalry such as this in our generation. There may never be another time for sports like this.
This is actually pretty apt. In the sense that Gianni’s a freak of nature with the perfect body for basketball considers himself “hard work over talent” same as Ronaldo who is 6’0, extremely athletic and with all the right physical conditions to play football but also considers himself “hard work”. It’s ridiculous how the narrative of Ronaldo being hard work and Messi being talented imposed itself. Messi has a lot more disadvantages generically speaking than Ronaldo does, plays football non-stop since he is like 2 years old but yet everyone talks about how it’s all about his talent.
He gets it lmao
This was the Lionel Messi of explanation
Love the end there, it’s a win in itself to be in the conversation with those all time greats.
at Messi’s age CR7 went back to the prem and became the best player on the pitch. Messi would rather be uncompetitive and waste the rest of his career in a unserious league in the MLS. i will always respect CR7
Messi won literally everything there is to win. What does he have to prove?
TIL Saudi Arabia was a competitive league.
Giannis knows ball
I relate to people who are great like me
Nobody is saying Jordan or Giannis.
This is dumb af, messi had to overcome a lot of challenges too. They’re both a huge mix of talent and work ethic. I do find it funny that people say that Messi was given more talent given that his has a miniscule stature compared to Ronaldo. I guess there are natural advantages to having a supercomputer for a brain tho.
being short isnt really a disadvantage in soccer depending on your position
True, due to the advantage of having a lower centre of gravity. I would still say that Ronaldo has a physical advantage over Messi. If they were to switch bodies, I still see Messi as one of the best players of all time, I see Ronaldo falling down a notch or two.
The rapist? You mean Ronaldo the rapist? That’s who you want to say your mindset is closest to?
Damn I had Messi on kalshi
Yeah i don’t Giannis anymore…pass
Who cares what this scumbag thinks
Choosing Ronaldo over Messi explains his investment choices: he’s an idiot
Tbf he basically said he agrees Messi is the better player who’s accomplished more, just that he personally relates to Ronaldo closer. He gave a pretty good answer.
I know, but I disagree, so I thought id make a joke about it
Did you listen to what he said or you’re just choosing to be upset
Definitely listened, he mentioned hard work and discipline for both players except for Messi who has pure talent.
Edit: not upset, Im taking a shit at the moment, its delightful
He says Ronaldo is similar to him and that’s why he picked him but he said Messi has the better accomplishments in his career. Not sure what’s egregious about that
Egregious? Calm down
You called him an idiot.
Im so so so sorry man. Also, didnt this idiot invest in a gambling company that made a ton of profit on something he had direct influence on?
Nah, hes making fat money.
Just dont speak, go back to shitting delightfully, its what you were made for.
That’s what everyone is made to do, eating, shitting, breathing, fucking and dying. Not being shifty while you make millions playing ball
But which one should I bet my kids college fund on, scum? I can’t believe people ever mention this guy in the same sentence as Jokic.
Lmfaooo its funny he doesn’t know this
My guy, Jokic literally likes the Serbian government. There are no good guys here
Being brought up in a society with a government in place that you have to deal with is way different than specifically buying into some cancerous betting app.
Jokic (superbet ambassador) and Bron have both betting sponsorship and promotions for example, the moment nba allowed it the pandora box was open
So clueless. Remind Jokic to use protection next time you meet.