Is Lionel Messi Better Than Ronaldo?

With all due respect to all the fans of Ronaldo and Real Madrid( even Manchester United fans) in the forum, Messi is infinite times better player than Ronaldo. I am not comparing them on their hard work or the way they train. Purely on a footballing sense, Messi is just ridiculously superior. Just watch the matches of Madrid and Barca from a neutral point. Irrespective of the result of the game, Messi will amaze you in ways you can't explain.

Messi can play anywhere in the middle and in the front of the park and be decisive. The same cannot be said about Ronaldo. He is a great winger in his younger days and now Zidane has moulded him into a striker more or less. Even if you want to compare the stats, Messi would be better. I would post the links for stats below. But again I would suggest to watch Messi play rather than compare stats.

Here is one of my most favorite article I have ever read about Messi. This article is very comprehensive. Although it is 3–4 years old, it never fails to amaze me. Kudos to Benjamin Morris, the author of the article.

If you observe closely, Messi doesn't do great tricks like Ronaldo or Neymar. He excels at the basics of Football: passing, conception of space, positioning, understanding opponent tactics, dribbling, shot. That's the reason behind Messi's brilliance. Here is the analysis of the recent El Clasico from The Guardian:

Here is a tweet from the author of the article which explains about Messi:

@sidlowe: “Watching El Clásico again. The variety and sheer number of things Messi does is extraordinary.”

Again, I am not comparing their trophy haul. Both players have plenty in their cabinet. Both players had excellent team mates to help them win it as well.

I would like to finish it off with some quotes from Footballing greats:

If you aren't watching the Messi show, start now-we still have 3–4 years to come. You will be amazed. Here is a gif to get you excited.

Edit 1 (Messi vs Celta on 01/11): Messi did this a day after I wrote this answer! Just look at the below video! Messi takes out 9 opponent players out of the equation and leaves the team mate completely 1 on 1 with goalkeeper! The way he places the ball just between two players to a rushing team mate and the timing of the release of the pass to beat the offside as well! Freaking Genius! (Credit: Golazo TV)

As Pep once said:

“Don’t write about him. Don't try to describe him. Watch him”.

Lionel Andrés Messi !