Messi vs. Ronaldo: Rivalry Or Media Creation?

What makes a rivalry?  Does it have to be fueled by hate, or could a rivalry just be the acts of greatness shown by the two involved, where each pushes the other to reach heights they may have never achieved without that competitive adversary?  In the NBA, Magic Johnson had Larry Bird; in the NFL, Peyton Manning has Tom Brady; tennis has Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer. Right now in the world of soccer Lionel Messi has Cristiano Ronaldo.

Over the history of sports, rivalries have provided some memorable moments, from the historic 80’s showdowns between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA championship, to the epic Federer and Nadal battle in the 2008 Wimbledon Final, to the dragged out battles in the AFC playoffs between Manning and Brady.  These moments define what is great about rivalries, and as fans they are why we watch. They are why we love and want rivalries so bad. When the best are on the biggest stage in their sport we want to see what they do – how they match up against each other – so we can determine who will stand up as the greatest. It’s the drama, the excellence and the unbelievable skill and precision that these rare individuals can achieve that create these must see sports moments.  When it comes to Messi vs Ronaldo, Messi has been quoted as saying “There is no rivalry; it’s something the media invented. We both want to do well for our clubs, it is not Messi vs Ronaldo, it never has been.” The reality is that although this may be how Messi feels about the dynamic between he and Ronaldo, when their careers are compared to other great rivalries one would have to believe it is, in fact, a rivalry.     

So to start let’s talk head-to-head stats. First we will start with Messi vs Ronaldo: 

Manning vs Brady

Magic vs Bird

Federer vs Nadal

Along with the head to head battles you should also look at the accomplishments of these athletes as they compare to that of their rival and you will see that in the case of Messi vs Ronaldo it is similar to the other great sports rivalries.  In each case for a period of time these athletes were the two best in their sports, in most people’s opinions, not only at their positions, but across the board.   To list all the records of these superior athletes this articles length would start to resemble that of the novel War and Peace so I will spare you from having to cipher through all that but simply for the sake of argument I will list two; first will be the MVP or in the case of Messi and Ronaldo I will use the Ballon d’Or, and second we will look at Championships.  First up... 

Messi vs Ronaldo

Magic and Bird 

Manning vs Brady

Federer vs Nadal

When most sports fans discuss Federer vs Nadal, or Manning vs Brady, or Magic vs Bird there is no argument from anyone that it isn’t a rivalry. There is no argument about what it was or what it is currently. When these athletes met or meet there is always something on the line, whether it is records or MVPs or championships. They each stand in the path of what the other is working to achieve. When players meet once or twice in a career it’s hard to justify it as a rivalry, or that the other athlete is an adversary, but when you get up to 10, even 20 times as is the case above, they know each other so well that a rival is created whether they like it or not.

Some of the numbers are lopsided in favor of one of the competitors in the above head-to-head battles, but the fact remains no one is denying it isn’t or wasn’t a true rivalry for Magic vs Bird, or Manning vs Brady, or even Federer vs Nadal. When these athletes meet it's must see TV; it’s bigger than the game they are playing because they are bigger than the game or even sport they play. When their careers are done these moments can define the way they are looked at compared to their peers, because if one player didn’t beat the other how could that player be the best? It’s what separates good players from great players, and great players from legends. An anonymous person once said “Rivalry isn’t hate, it is a partner in disguise. If you want to give it your all and be your best, you need a rival. Without one you wouldn’t be your best, you wouldn’t give it your all.”

So Messi may say it is not a rivalry, that the media created all of this, and there may be other people who agree with Messi’ claims that this is a media driven creation but the simple fact is that when compared to these other rivalries across the sports world doesn’t this have to be?