Lionel Messi is now 34 years old after celebrating his latest birthday on June 24 and, sadly, we don’t have long left to appreciate arguably the greatest footballer of all time.Assuming Messi plays until he’s 40, at a push, that’s a maximum of six more years left to witness his greatness first-hand.After that, we’ll be left with countless unforgettable memories and hours upon hours of footage showcasing his genius. But football won’t be quite the same without him.
It’s the same case with Cristiano Ronaldo, who turns 37 next February.The legendary Portuguese forward keeps himself in such incredible condition, though, that you wouldn’t bet against him playing on for another five or six years either.
The debate over which superstar is the greatest of all time will rumble on for years, perhaps even decades, to come.Both Messi and Ronaldo are part of the GOAT conversation, alongside Pele and Diego Maradona, and that’s all they can really ask for. It’s down to people to decide where they rank on the pantheon of all-time greats.[gmsStartingEleven url="https://givemesport.starting11.co.uk/2019-06-29/"]
Twitter crowns Messi the GOAT
Twitter Sports (Twitter’s official sports account), however, have once again nailed their colours to the mast by declaring Messi the GOAT.
To celebrate the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s latest birthday on Thursday, @TwitterSports tweeted: “The [goat emoji] is 34 today.”
This delighted Messi fans…
Ronaldo fans react to Twitter calling Messi the GOAT
But was like a red rag to a bull for Ronaldo’s loyal supporters…
Twitter have previously crowned Messi the GOAT
This isn’t the first time that Twitter have officially crowned Messi the GOAT.
Back in 2019, after Goal suggested that both Messi and Ronaldo could be described as the GOAT, @TwitterSports appeared to disagree…
And after Ronaldo equalled Ali Daei’s international scoring record after netting his 109th goal for Portugal earlier this week, @TwitterSports tweeted: “109 goals is a lot” and that was it.
However, if Cristiano inspires Portugal to glory at Euro 2020 (he currently leads the tournament’s top scorer charts with five goals at the end of the group stages), then the number of football fans who believe that he deserves the GOAT title ahead of Messi will inevitably increase.
Latest transfer news including Jadon Sancho update (Football Terrace)
How much do you really know about Lionel Messi? [Quiz]