It is the 21st century and if you watch football a lot then you might be interested to know who the FIFA player of the century is? Is he Ronaldo or Messi? Have a look at our thoughts below.
Well, the 20th century FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA to decide the greatest football player. It was held in Rome on 11 December 2000 at the annual FIFA World gala and Diego Maradona and Pelé were joint winners of the award.
Who would be the 21st fifa player of the century
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo is often considered the best soccer player in the world and is frequently compared to Lionel Messi. He has won five Ballon d’Or awards, four European Golden Shoes, and three FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He is the first player in history to win all three main individual awards in a single season.
In addition, Ronaldo holds the records for most goals scored in a UEFA Champions League season (17) and a La Liga season (41). With over 600 career goals, he is also the second-highest scorer of all time in Portugal’s national team.
Ronaldo began his professional career with Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United in 2003. At United, he won three Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League title, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
In 2009, he moved to Real Madrid for a world record fee of £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). There, Ronaldo won two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, four UEFA Champions League titles, and three FIFA Club World Cups. He became the fastest player to score 200 goals in La Liga, which he accomplished in his 178th La Liga game.
He is one of the few recorded players to have made more than 1,000 professional career appearances and has scored over 750 senior career goals for club and country.
Ronaldo was born in Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal on February 5, 1985. He is the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener.
His second given name, “Ronaldo”, was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father’s favorite actor. As a child, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha from 1992 to 1995, where his father was the kit man, and later spent two years with Nacional. In 1997, aged 12, he began his career at Sporting CP as a Youth Academy player. Manchester United signed him in 2003 for £12.24 million (€15 million).
In 2006, he became captain of Portugal after Luís Figo retired from international football. Ronaldo led Portugal to the semi-finals of Euro 2004, where they were defeated by the eventual winners Greece.
He took over full captaincy in July 2008, leading Portugal to their first-ever triumph in a major tournament by winning Euro 2016. Ronaldo scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Spain in the final.
He has made 164 appearances for Portugal, scoring 99 goals, and is the nation’s most capped player and all-time top goalscorer. Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in international football as he scored three times against Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifier on October 8, 2019.
In March 2021, Ronaldo surpassed Pele’s record for most career goals with his 760th goal across all club competitions. He currently plays for Italian club Juventus and is the captain of the Portugal national team.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi has won a record-tying five Ballon d’Or awards, four of which he won consecutively, and a record six European Golden Shoes.
He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won 32 trophies, including nine La Liga titles, six Copas del Rey, seven Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two Club World Cups, and an unprecedented four consecutive Copas del Rey.
Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (437), a La Liga season (50) as well as those for most assists in La Liga (188) and the Copa América (12). He has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country.Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 24, 1987. At the age of 13, he relocated to Europe to join Barcelona after the club agreed to pay for his medical treatment.
In Barcelona’s youth academy, he helped lead the team to victory in multiple tournaments. His first-team debut came in October 2004 against Espanyol, and he has not missed a season since. Throughout his career, Messi has been awarded six Player of the Year awards, an all-time record.
In 2012, he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself as Barcelona’s all-time top scorer. The following year, Messi surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season. By scoring his 73rd goal for Barcelona against Real Madrid on March 23, 2014, Messi became the club’s all-time top goalscorer across all competitions.
Conclusion
So, if you vote for who is the FIFA player of the century then it would be Ronaldo and Messi. Still there is too much time to get the final results but if you vote now then sure sure they best player would be Ronaldo and Messi!
So guys what do you think? Who could be the next FIFA player of the century? Please share your valuable feedback in the comment section below and don’t forget to spread it on social media platforms.
