"Ronaldo's playing so much better than Messi" - Piers Morgan and Gary Lineker accuse each other of 'a***licking' and 'fan-girl worship' in furious Twitter row
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are undoubtedly two of the greatest footballers of this generation. The debate as to who is better between the two has raged on for several years.
Piers Morgan and Gary Lineker engaged in an ugly spat on Twitter while choosing between the two attacking greats. Lineker is famously a Messi fan, while Morgan has publicly backed Ronaldo as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) plenty of times.
The exchange between Lineker and Morgan started when the former England international hit out at Sir Alex Ferguson's claims about Messi not being able to perform outside of Barcelona.
This is nonsensical. I know we don’t tend to look beyond these shores very much, and I’m sure Sir Alex is being supportive of one of his own, but even as recently as this summer, Messi almost single-handedly won the Copa America for Argentina. They’re both greats. twitter.com/sportbible/sta…
Morgan replied to Lineker's aforementioned tweet, saying:
. twitter.com/GaryLineker/st…It’s perfectly sensical, Jugs. Messi’s clearly lost his magic since leaving Barca. Ronaldo’s kept it at many clubs/countries incl back at United now.
That’s why he’s the 🐐. twitter.com/GaryLineker/st…
Lineker did not hold back and felt that Morgan was not showing enough respect to Messi:
He’s the 🐐 now? So you’re judging 2 of the greatest players of all-time on how they perform in their mid thirties when they’re both past their best. I don’t care who you or anyone else thinks is better, it’s not important, but a lack of respect for either is totally unwarranted twitter.com/piersmorgan/st…
Morgan responded by defending his stance on the Argentine not being comfortable outside of Barcelona:
Fergie wasn’t disrespectful, he just said Messi wouldn’t play as well outside of his Barcelona comfort zone, and as we can all now see, he doesn’t. twitter.com/garylineker/st…
Things became more heated when both Lineker and Morgan continued to argue passionately about Messi and Ronaldo:
Ronaldo’s 37 and still banging in wondrous hat-tricks. Messi’s 3yrs younger & fading faster than my taste buds after covid - because he’s not got his Barca support blanket. The 🐐 debate is over - it’s @Cristiano twitter.com/garylineker/st…
The former Good Morning Britain host also went on to say that Ronaldo was a better footballer than Maradona, placing the Argentine legend in second place on his all-time list.
Ooooohhhh, someone’s getting touchy! It’s not my fault Ronaldo’s playing so much better than Messi..
ps For the record, I think Maradona’s the 2nd best player ever - after @Cristiano twitter.com/garylineker/st…
The heated debate between the two soon took an ugly turn as both Lineker and Morgan resorted to some frankly immature insults on Twitter:
Watching the game, I think I may have just got a glimpse of your feet hanging from @Cristiano’s shorts. twitter.com/piersmorgan/st…
Mate, when it comes to sycophantic obsequious arse-licking, your fangirl worship of Messi even as he fades into mediocrity is in a class of its own! twitter.com/garylineker/st…
Both these legendary attackers have dominated the football world in the last 15 years. While the debate might rage on as to who is better between the two, there is no doubting that both players have cemented their legacy in football history.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both out of the UEFA Champions League this season
Manchester United were eliminated by Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate as Cristiano Ronaldo failed to get his name on the scoresheet at Old Trafford in the second leg. The Portuguese superstar came into the game on the back of a stunning hat-trick against Tottenham, but Los Rojiblancos held on firmly to deny both Ronaldo and United a goal in the second leg.
Lionel Messi's PSG, on the other hand, were eliminated by a Karim Benzema hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner looked a shadow of his old self as Real Madrid completed a stunning comeback to book their place in the quarter-finals.
This season could definitely mark the end of the Messi-Ronaldo era.