ARSENE WENGER has tried to end the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo GOAT debate once and for all – by revealing that he thinks football is more tailored towards the Portuguese.
For the last 15 years, football fans have argued whether Ronaldo or Argentine master Messi are the greatest of all time.
And now former Arsenal boss Wenger has waded into the debate with his own verdict.
He thinks he knows why a certain type of person will prefer five-times Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo – and other, perhaps more cultured types will yearn for the creativity and football skills of a Messi, a Johan Cruyff or a Glenn Hoddle.
He told SoFoot.com: “I often say that Ronaldo is the athlete-footballer, and Messi, the exceptional artist, is the difference between the two.
“Afterwards, everyone prefers one or the other. When we like the game, we prefer the artist.
“The creative makes you discover things that you do not see, that you have not even considered from the stands.
“It’s finer, even if I don’t deny the quality of the Portuguese. I just believe that football has evolved into the Ronaldo style.
“This does not mean that we should eliminate the creative. The rules must evolve to make the game more spectacular, more beautiful to see.”
Wenger, 71, managed the Gunners for 22 years, winning the Double in 1998 and creating the Invincibles in 2003/04, who went through a season undefeated.
Perhaps the Frenchman knew in a title-winning or successful side you always needed both types of player – you needed the Patrick Vieiras, Emmanuel Petits and Martin Keowns to play alongside the Dennis Bergkamps and Thierry Henrys.
Wenger was speaking about his autobiography My Life in Red and White.
And because of his love for the art of football, he also indicated who was the greatest team he had seen.
He said: “Barca, at one point, had a team that almost reached perfection in their technical quality.”
