jones wrote:
You mean when James Honest Milner clattered him a good minute after the ball was out of play?
[Twitter]
It's a bit of a push and shoulder barge. It's a laughable reaction from Messi. It's pure unadulterated cheating.
goon wrote:
Neymar and Ronaldo are also egotistical pricks.
Has nothing to do with being Mr Nice Guy. Henry had a huge ego and was hugely driven, but you never once got the impression that it was all about him. What guys like Neymar, Ronaldo and seemingly Mbappe do on and off the pitch is dressed up as being driven and simply a trait of the best players but that's simply not true. They're dicks who have no concept of humility.
It's interesting that you say the guy that played for Arsenal was similarly driven, with the same mammoth ego; only in a nice, non-douchebag way. Ask United, Spurs or Real Madrid fans (or any football loving Irishman for that matter) what they think of our iconic Frenchman and they might say differently.
We don't know these guys personally, so analysis on that level is baseless. What we can judge is what they do on the pitch and what they achieve in their careers. Cristiano Ronaldo has become one of the greatest players to ever play the game because of who he is: In training, at home, on the pitch. Maybe that makes him selfish or arrogant in his personal relationships, but who the hell knows, and, more importantly, who the hell cares?
There are character traits that are exhibited by every person that achieves greatness and surpasses previous levels of excellence, in sport, and in life: Relentlessly pursuing their goals, single-mindedness to the point of obsession, ambition that knows no bounds, and work, work, work, work, work.
Why is then humility important? What's wrong with egoism? Ronaldo didn't need anyone else to fail in order to achieve what he has. No one else had to be climbed over on the way to the top. Being the best ever is the only thing that has mattered. Shouldn't he be respected for what he has achieved? Or does the fact that he doesn't say the right things or smile in the right moments preclude that?
I speculate that Mbappe wants to go Real Madrid and outscore Ronaldo, win more trophies than Ronaldo, set new records, win more Ballon d'Ors, go down as the greatest of all time. How many players are getting up in the morning and thinking that way? After the season PSG have had, I'd question Mbappe's drive and ambition if he wasn't, at a bare mininum, pushing the club for more, and demanding to move on to a better League and a bigger club if they do not comply.
jones wrote:
Cristiano on the other hand has always been a giant self serving piece of shit who would pout when a team mate who hasn't scored in five years gets a tap in ahead of him. Then that embarrassing interview "I'm the best of all time passing scoring etc". He stays in good shape and has great work rate off the pitch so fucking what, Mao Zedong and Hitler had great work rate too.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Chairman Mao and Adolf Hitler. One of these does not belong! 😆
I'm sure his team mates got over it pretty quickly when they were celebrating winning yet another Champions League or when he banged in 50+ goals yet again to clinch another League title.
