Who is the GOAT?
Ask any football fan and chances are you’ll get one of two answers – Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Then, before you know it, the debate turns into an argument.
For years now, football fans have been fighting over who deserves to be called the Greatest of All Time. Social media is full of insults, memes and people putting down one player just to make the other look better.
Honestly, it’s getting tiring.
Somewhere along the way, many fans forgot that football is supposed to be enjoyed.
For me, there is no single GOAT.
Not because Messi or Ronaldo aren’t great players. They are. But calling one player the greatest ever also means ignoring so many legends who came before them.
How can we forget Pelé, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Zinedine Zidane, Garrincha or Ronaldinho?
Every generation has had players who changed football.
Every generation has had someone people believed would never be matched.
Our parents and grandparents probably thought nobody would ever reach the level of Pelé or Maradona.
Then along came Messi and Ronaldo.
Who’s to say another player won’t come along one day and be even better?
That’s the beauty of football. It keeps producing special players.
Instead of calling one player the GOAT, I think it’s fairer to say Messi and Ronaldo are the best players of our generation.
That alone is something truly special.
What makes them even more amazing is that they became great in different ways.
Messi is a natural talent. Watching him play looks so easy that sometimes it feels like the ball is glued to his feet. Some people say he was simply born with a gift.
Ronaldo’s story is different. He worked his way to the top through hard work, discipline, determination and the desire to keep improving every single year.
One is football’s natural genius.
The other is proof that hard work can take you to the very top.
Both deserve respect.
Sadly, many fans think praising one means they have to insult the other.
It doesn’t.
You can admire Messi without hating Ronaldo.
You can support Ronaldo without calling Messi overrated.
It’s really that simple.
I can understand Argentinians defending Messi.
I can understand Portuguese fans backing Ronaldo.
They’re supporting their own countrymen.
But seeing Malaysians arguing, insulting each other and even fighting over foreign footballers is something I just don’t understand.
At the end of the day, they’re not our players.
They’re footballers doing what they love.
Never seen or heard Malaysians arguing or fighting over Faisal Halim or Arif Aiman, so why do we need to fight over Messi or Ronaldo.
Another thing that has become common during this World Cup is people saying the tournament is rigged.
My view is simple.
If there’s no proof, then it’s just an opinion.
Yes, some referee decisions have looked like they favoured Argentina.
That’s something everyone can see and discuss.
But saying the whole tournament is fixed is a serious accusation. Without evidence, it’s unfair to make that claim.
The same goes for people saying Argentina had an easy route.
Argentina didn’t decide who they would play.
Other teams had their chances too. Uruguay didn’t make it through. Portugal couldn’t finish where they needed to. That’s football.
This morning Spain played brilliantly to shut out France in the first semifinal and will be waiting for the winners of England Vs Argentina in the final.
This is where the best teams prove themselves.
Personally, I thought France would win the World Cup but Spain showed why they belong at the summit of world football.
Now, it is difficult to predict the winner but I hope to watch a good final match no matter who Spain plays.
After beating France, Spain seems to have the favourites card on their chest.
That’s just my opinion. Others are free to disagree, and that’s perfectly fine.
That’s what football is about – different opinions, healthy debates and enjoying the game.
What worries me is when football becomes more than that.
Recently, we’ve seen reports of fights breaking out among fans after matches. No football game is worth getting into a fight over.
Football is meant to bring people together, not tear them apart.
Messi and Ronaldo won’t play forever.
One day they’ll retire, and another generation of stars will come along. Then the GOAT debate will start all over again.
So instead of spending our time arguing about who is greater, why not appreciate that we were lucky enough to watch two of the greatest players ever play at the same time?
Forget the GOAT debate.
Sit back.
Watch football.
Respect greatness.
And let the beautiful game stay beautiful
This is just my opinion and nobody needs to agree but respect each other’s opinion. – July 15, 2026
T. Vignesh is the Executive Editor of Scoop.my and the only GOAT that matters to him is the one on his banana leaf for lunch.