"GOAT goalscorer" - Fans engage in Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debates after Manchester United star's hat-trick against Tottenham
Football fans inevitably started comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after the Manchester United forward netted a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The 37-year-old forward scored his first hat-trick for the Red Devils since he re-signed for them back in the summer of 2021. The hat-trick also included a long range effort in the first half to give United the lead against Tottenham. Ralf Rangnick's side would go on to win the game 3-2 after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late header.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo's impressive display on Saturday, football fans on Twitter were yet again engaged in a debate on who is the greater of the two. Fans in favor of Ronaldo were quick to point out Lionel Messi's poor start to life as a PSG player.
Here are some tweets in that regard:
Ronaldo is the GOAT goalscorer. No debate. 37 and still capable. Messi's scoring is impressive but very system based.
Ronaldo scoring more league goals in a single game than Messi has all season… thats actually crazy 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Lewandowski, Benzema, Ronaldo, all fucking up Messi FC with hattricks this week 😭😭
Wish we signed Cristiano Ronaldo instead of Messi man he's so good
Messi is far and away the greatest footballer of all time but my goodness is Ronaldo inevitable, never seen a player with a mentality like his.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more Premier League goals today than Lionel Messi has scored all season in 15 starts in Ligue 1.
🤯
Prior to the game against Spurs, Cristiano Ronaldo was undergoing a barren run in front of goal. The 37-year-old forward had scored just once in his 10 outings for Manchester United across all competitions. However, Ronaldo put things right after scoring three at Old Trafford.
This takes the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's tally to 18 goals in 31 appearances for the Red Devils this season. 12 of those goals have come in the Premier League, which makes him the joint second-highest scorer in the league, behind Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. As things stand, Ronaldo is also Manchester United's leading goalscorer this season.
Following Ronaldo's hat-trick, the pressure will be on Lionel Messi when he faces FC Bordeaux in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The 34-year-old forward will be expected to perform well against a side who are currently bottom of the Ligue 1 standings.
Cristiano Ronaldo has flourished for Manchester United while Lionel Messi continues to be inconsistent at PSG
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo joined new sides in the summer of 2021. While Ronaldo has been among the goals for Manchester United, Messi has found it difficult to find consistent form for his new side PSG.
As things stand, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored five goals and provided 11 assists for PSG across all competitions. However, Messi has scored just twice in Ligue 1 so far this season.
Xavi: “Talking to Messi after PSG's UCL exit? Messi is my friend, but we did not talk. This is football, it’s the Champions League. Real Madrid came back after conceding, it’s a tournament where things like that happen all the time. It has happened to us, too.” https://t.co/f8KpBaiB8E
It looked like Lionel Messi had found his feet in France recently when he scored once and provided six assists in his last six league matches. However, the 34-year-old forward has since struggled and has seen his PSG side get knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.