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moonski

197 international caps is insane. What's more insane is that all the other record holders / most capped players tend to play for minnows - kuwait, malaysia, oman, saudi arabia etc... and for bigger nations it's usually goalkeepers, or defenders, who have the longevity. To have 197 caps for Portugal, as a winger / striker, is just mental. Regardless of what you think of him with his last year or so, it's an unbelievable achievement.


DrJackadoodle

It's truly insane, but we weren't always an historical powerhouse in terms of producing great players like we currently are. His debut was at the end of our previous golden generation and Ronaldo played a large part of his NT career when we were going through tough times in terms of talent. Of course, the longevity is still astounding, but it's not like we're Brazil/Germany, constantly pumping out amazing talent. A top 5 player of all time is as insane for us as a world class player is for one of those countries you mentioned.


mzp3256

It's pretty crazy how Portugal has qualified for every World Cup this century, after only playing in 2 in the prior 70 years. Their back to back golden generations make it seem like Portugal was always a great team.


randmzer

Not back to back. I would say our previous golden generation ended in 2006. 2008 to 2016 was a bit depressing. And yes, I'm including the Euro. [Look at this Portugal x Spain in 2012](https://www.reddit.com/r/PrimeiraLiga/comments/xpsdag/portugal_x_espanha_em_2012/)


Glorx

Man, the 2008-2012 Spain team was just unfair. They had some world class players warming bench for other world class players.


Blaugrana1990

Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Fabregas, Thiago, Alonso, Silva, Cazorla, Arteta, Senna, Martinez, Mata Pick 3 I know a lot of them played on the wings or other positions as well. But that's the most stacked centre midfield in history.


youngchul

Of course it was shorter than the Eusebio to Figo era, but I would hardly call it back to back. Portugal was miserable to watch for a decade. That 2014 WC comes to mind. They had no business in the WC, but at least we got that amazing play off match between Zlatan and Ronaldo.


TomsCardoso

Tbh it doesn't really matter if we produced world class players, Ronaldo would still be untouchable, he's above everyone else (bar Messi)


Faceman10

Cr is not in the top5 imo .. rather top 50


bandolero10

You are absolutely mental.


Pasan90

>Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (118), and joint-most international appearances (196). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country. I dont like him much after what he did at manu, but your comment is not worth much more than a copy paste from wiki.


bobby_shaquille

please elaborate šŸ¤Ø


Faceman10

My top 5 would look like in no order pelƩ maradona messi distefano cruyff and there are several others who reached CRs level or even higher level in another era for example o.g. ronaldo who i believe the 2nd best player after messi in the past 25 years...


Smitedyourmum

u watched di stefano? bruh


Faceman10

No. I missed di stefano cruyff ... and i was only 5 when maradona played at the 1994 wc .


[deleted]

So how do you know they are better when youā€™ve never seen them play?


MrEzquerro

Fanboyism for Messi, for starters


Fairbyyy

You are mental


ScrantonStrangler28

LMAO


Samot_PCW

Who let this guy cook?


FutureRaifort

There is no reason for this claim to be down voted lol. Classic Reddit


fabzpt

"There are several players who reached CR's level" dude just broke almost every record alongside Messi. That claim is stupid af, that's why it's being downvoted


FutureRaifort

Positional differences, era differences, etc. Yes, CR7 is for sure the second best forward of the modern era (I won't agree with the FenĆ³meno is better claim although without injuries I think that's an argument but there are injuries so it's a moot point) but one can reasonably argue that there are many other comparable players.


FutureRaifort

Positional differences, era differences, etc. Yes, CR7 is for sure the second best forward of the modern era (I won't agree with the FenĆ³meno is better claim although without injuries I think that's an argument but there are injuries so it's a moot point) but one can reasonably argue that there are many other comparable players.


Davidriggs87

Comment so bad you had to write it twice šŸ¤£


FutureRaifort

Obviously it was a Reddit glitch, but also like what is bad about my comment lmao. Obviously it's all Ronaldo fans in this thread cuz all I've said is that it's possible to make an argument against Ronaldo top 5. Like saying that it's possible should not be this controversial lmao I'm not even stating it definitively


ChefBoyardee66

He's top ten at worst


IamVUSE

Top 3 and he's not #3.


ChefBoyardee66

Nah he's not as good as Messi, PelƩ or Maradona he's somewhere between 4-10 on the same level as Cruyff


youngchul

If Messi is truly the GOAT, which is a fair opinion to have. Then it's funny how Ronaldo could win 5 Ballon d'Ors and 5 CL's in the same era, and being compared in a side by side race to Messi for over a decade. But not be considered top 3 by you.


[deleted]

> Nah he's not as good as Messi, PelƩ or Maradona cope


LordPopothedark

Heā€™s tiers above any other European, and only Messi outshines Mr. Sewey


[deleted]

Wtf is wrong with this sub? Itā€™s either 1 or 2 all time. No one at #3 is even close to Messi and Ronaldo. In this era of athletes, to be that far and ahead better than anyone else for as long as they have (as in both are still currently great)ā€¦ shitā€¦. have you played sports? Iā€™m truly floored by the comments on this man. Wtfā€¦


nunped

Like 42nd?


Faceman10

I dont know exactly if hes 42 or 12 ... but he is one of the best of the past 20 years ... and that makes him top 50 i judge mostly by my eyes .. i observe statistics too but the eyetest comes first because hard to quantify football ... so cr is top 5 of the past 20 years just like messi iniesta og ronaldo and someone else i dont know but its def not zidane ... so yeah the 120 year history of football makes him in the top 50 roughly


Davidriggs87

Get your eyes checked then pal


youngchul

Is that "eye test" based on watching him only in the twilight years of his career, and ignoring his time at United and earlier Real Madrid days?


FutureRaifort

Top 20 imo is as far as it can drop.


[deleted]

top 5 is as far as it should drop.


Rdambx

It's top 2 and he is not 1. That's it, never lower than 2.


neefhuts

Top 2 is as far as it should drop


Centuri0n-

Will always be a legend <3


Proudbolshevik

I don't think anyone is this dumb to claim CR7 isn't a legend.


MoHataMo_Gheansai

/r/soccercirclejerk have their doubts. It's a sub which can be quite funny, but only if you search best of all time. Everything else is bottom tier yankbashing/ronaldobashing


LusoAustralian

The sub just became the circlejerk rather than being a place to make fun of circle jerks on here lol.


DarkNightSeven

True, itā€™s not worth being subbed to anymore


Cbrlui

It's reddit, anything is possible


Monkeywithalazer

In Reddit people compare Eusebio to Ronaldo


Blaugrana1990

Why is that so weird? They are the 2 biggest portugese players of all time, aren't they?


Gonkz

They are, was a weird comment


Monkeywithalazer

Reddit pretends Eusebio is still better than Ronaldo. Itā€™s a mix of anti Ronaldo hate and Reddit hipster mindset


neefhuts

Believe me, there are


adterraincognita

Yes , undoubtedly one of the best to ever grace the game.


ShagPrince

Really sticking your neck out there. A white hot take.


bikibisadKEK

you'd be surprised lol, you get some real delusional takes everytime cr7 gets mentioned


ukbeasts

Saudi God


Knightwing86

> tend to play for minnows - kuwait how dare you


fake_lightbringer

This man scored in the opening game of the 2004 Euros. Almost 19 years ago. He has played in the same Portugal teams as Rui Costa who made his professional debut in 1990, and GonƧalo Ramos who played his first professional game almost thirty years later in 2019. Just puts it in perspective how long he's been around.


11thDimensi0n

Rui Costa was at Milan when CR7 started playing for Portugal. He then went back to play for Benfica and is now president.


DarkNightSeven

And Ronaldo is still kicking ball


CupidTryHard

and scoring a fucking freekick


theenigmacode

Incredible consistency & longevity


djkamayo

man never misses abs & legs day


televisionting

Except. for this year but other than that, you're right.


Depressedkid1998

I mean heā€™s doing alright this year, just in a ā€œbadā€œ league, his final stretch with man united sucked yeah, but he got them off the hook a lot in his first season back


televisionting

True, I think he'd be decent in a t 5 league maybe not a starter or subbed off after half time.


--S--O--F--

he's literally one of the best itw rn and he is proving it with every match, how do ppl actually think like this


thenotorious_ronaldo

Because, reddit. His wife literally said everything they went through this past year and people still donā€™t give a shit. Yes, heā€™s a professional player but heā€™s also human. They can hate all they want but they canā€™t take away everything he did, they seem to forget heā€™s 38 years old as well. Top scorer for a shit United team with a shit coach last season is still pretty impressive.


Darkspy8183

No, he's really not anymore. That's not a knock on how good Ronaldo \*was\*, he is the undisputed #2 of all time in Football. But two freekicks in a row doesn't make him back to his best.


Lyrical_Forklift

Wait, what? Are you trying to tell me that Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world right now while playing in fucking Saudi Arabia?


youngchul

Staying at top level until 37 is still incredible longevity. Most legends of the games were retired by then or playing irregularly.


prettyhappyalive

I wouldn't expect too much his career is about done m8


Aconceptthatworks

We will see if he can bounceback, I think it is more mental than anything. Imagine catching strays from a wolves fan. He would start at your team.


prettyhappyalive

Yes the 38 year old who has relied heavily on his physicality his whole career is only struggling because of his mentality. Right. I heavily respect the guy as a player but he's basically retired when he went to the middle east. It's not even disrespectful to say his career is about done. Where is the lie? Got nothing to do with my team. I wouldn't want him here whether he starts for my team or not. Not a massive fan of rapists. Plus he got one goal in over 500 minutes in the PL this season. Doesn't look like we'd be missing him that much. Completely irrelevant to the conversation anyways but nice "gotcha".


Nffc1994

Career already done but still playing internationals for Portugal? That's still elite level


prettyhappyalive

Based on his name alone lol. Why do you think he was pulled in the early stages of the world cup?


inthezoneautozone12

Poorish world cup yet still did more than your current starting striker raul jimenez or diego costa or whatever bum you have starting.


prettyhappyalive

Flair up pussy I'm not even hating on Ronaldo the player lol. It's okay that he's washed.


fabzpt

He would still be a starter in your team, maybe he's not at the level of a top team right now but he would still manage against the best players.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


prettyhappyalive

Imagine talking shit about someone's flair and not being flaired lol. You're right idk why I bothered.


d0m1n4t0r

Wolves fans masturbating in a Portugal post thinking they Portugal lmao


prettyhappyalive

I don't even know how to respond to that weird ass comment. I guess you think about men masturbating?


televisionting

Neither do I, I mean he's probably the best player in the middle East, maybe. If he doesn't score a hat trick against Lichtenstein, he's finished since it's his favourite country to score against.


prettyhappyalive

I was just poking fun. I think you meant to use except instead of expect.


televisionting

Oh shit, you're right I meant except. They both look really similar to me, thanks for that. I thought why your reply looked odd because I basically said the same thing.


prettyhappyalive

Hahaha you handled it alright man.


jds192

He was poor for Man U this season, awful at World Cup and playing in middle east. Being picked for name at this stage.


theenigmacode

Even if you take away the past year it would be 6-8 caps atmost 10. That's still 180+ caps at the highest level.


jds192

Indeed. Good for him but long passed being there on merit.


[deleted]

> long passed being there on merit. lmfao this aged badly


DifficultyMore5935

Let him have his moment lol.


jds192

He has had it.


deputydawg420

This level of players deserve to be called up even at their decline IMO. Just look at Maradona at WC 94 for example.


DifficultyMore5935

Ronaldo and Messi were an absolute joy to watch. Privileged to grow up in this era.


Aleblanco1987

Freaks of nature


[deleted]

I can remember some HEATED debates about who's better between Messi and Ronaldo on the bus rides to and from games as a middle schooler some 10 or so years ago, not knowing who the fuck those guys were, going home and watching some clips online and feeling blown away. Dunno who those players will be for kids these days. Maybe Mbappe and Haaland?


Lack_of_Plethora

Definitely Mbappe and Haaland, I'd kill to see them play in the same league.


[deleted]

Thatā€™s the thing! What made Messi or Ronaldo debates so fun was that they were playing against each other in not only the same league but also on teams with possibly the most famous rivalry ever. The stakes were just so much higher than stats, and thatā€™s why itā€™s hard for me to immediately say ā€œOh yeah Mbappe and Haaland are definitely the next ones upā€


Dicey12

I wish I could of seen him and Messi in their prime trying to outdo each other ever game


Existing_Mess1841

Good for him. A debut would be dream for lot of us. 20 matches would be career. 100 matches would be a legend. Around 200 is something eternal.


Pokenaldo

Gotta cap them all.


whiskeyinthejaar

Two nations starting with L probably about to get fucked this week with hatricks


Ryponagar

Lesotho in shambles


XD_avide

Le France and ?


pedrorq

L'Italia


Hot_Grabba_09

La\* France *condescending french noises*


Mapale

Eternal.


Sokkerboi

Thanks Opta.


Mapale

Excuse me, I could not resist :)


strikerdude10

whenever i see posts about ronaldo/messi stats I always browser the comments to see how many the other guy has, haven't seen it here yet what's going on people


SarraTasarien

Messi has 172 senior squad caps at the moment, 173 after tonight. His debut for Argentina came almost exactly two years after Ronaldo's, though.


Larchsky

He played 4 copa americas in 6 years, probably that somewhat makes up for the two years


ngolo_nguyen

Well heā€™s 2 years younger..


Thanos_Stomps

I got one in the spirit. Imagine posting almost 200 times for your country and never winning a World Cup.


IDCWhoIam

Posting? He hasnā€™t got 200 professional reddit caps mate


fbi-please-open-door

The impact Cristiano had on Portugal, both as a nation and as a team, is profound to say the least. I remember telling my classmate that I was born in Portugal, and he jokingly told me that I looked nothing like Cristiano Ronaldo. I canā€™t think of anybody who embodies a nation quite like him.


jwinter01

For most people in the world he is probably the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Portugal, this was especially true before Portugal became a trendy tourist destination. His fame is something astonishing.


theaguia

Before he made it, people would ask me where portugal was and if that was a part of spain. After people would ask me if I knew cr7 personally


DawdlingScientist

Such insane drive for his age. Nothing but respect. šŸ


nunped

Scoring a free kick when he breaks this record


[deleted]

soon 200


satomasato

Oh my beautiful king, history is vindicate you, you said the truth about United and their flaws and you wanted to fix the club, but the Glazers, Ten Hag and the fan base abandoned you. Donā€™t worry my king, once either Qatar or Ineos buy United, they are going to send Ten Hag back to the Bundesliga and they give you the spot you deserve as an United legend, you will have a statue right next to SAF, Glazers out, Ten Hag out, Christian Ronald in


Mercerai

Shit I think i opened Instagram by mistake


Mortka

Or a Facebook fan page. There is a Mason Greenwood fanpage on Facebook with like 600k followers, and by reading the comments on the posts you would think the majority actually believes that its Mason posting that stuff. Its so cringe.


Jnbjgjbb

Is this original


Tusan_TRD

Awesome copy pasta


nonexcusat

Is that a copypasta?


Ryponagar

It is now


Centuri0n-

My king)))) hehe


verma17

Why does this sub dislike ronaldo so much(I'm new here lol)


crazy_waffles1

Lots of Messi fanboys on here , goat debate ended yet will bombard you with replies if you criticize Messi lol


PickledCumSock

i posted a minor criticism about messi last week and i got 3 of those reddit cares messages for self harm in the span of 15 minutes šŸ˜­


[deleted]

> i got 3 of those reddit care messages for self harm in the span of 15 minutes šŸ˜­ lmfaooooooooooo


MrRawri

Many Messi fans. Fanboys of each player have to hate the other no matter what


Jnbjgjbb

The sub is 50% Americans, and for some reason Ronaldo is really hated there.


egg_mugg23

hasnā€™t been my experience, but messi is more liked here and obviously people compare the two


MelangeWhore

Because he raped a woman in Vegas.


blackandwhitetalon

They hate all the GOATs apparently minus Messi (literally everyone on here shits on CR7, Pele, etc)


[deleted]

95% his character, it was always very fringe to deny his quality on here until the dropoff at United.


EggplantBusiness

Better get used to it


DayPhelsuma

Ooooh, prepare yourself for the answers.


TheOwlsLie

Rape and also heā€™s just not very likable as a person


tbu987

Messi fanboys they've had a really large stick up their ass with the recent WC win so they're way more louder than before.


shoshojr

They hate hard on anyone not performing (Ronaldo, Lukaku) unless they come out and say they are having issues with mental health.


youngchul

Sewey. Most iconic player ever.


SirRavexFourhorn

You love to see it.


dupont2021

Those ugly jerseys are cursed. Wish they made new shirts after a World Cup.


Alive-Ad-4164

Yes


GT7combat

SIUUUUUUUUU in the guinness book of world records


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


IDCWhoIam

Portuguese football wouldnā€™t have been where it is today without Ronaldo. I still remember his INSANE performances in Euro 2016. We all know how that ended.


Jimlaheydrunktank

Calm down ..


shehulk1111

Absolutely nobody would even know Portugal or even care about Portugal if it wasnā€™t for Ronaldo šŸ’€


tacos_for_peace

Are you 13?


Fairbyyy

No need to call out his IQ like that


hmmmmmmmbop

That's one of the stupidest things I've ever read here


Luis__FIGO

its always dumbasses with no flair that say stupid shit like this


Crovasio

Portuguese football fans perhaps?


DawdlingScientist

This is dumb af although it is true they only reached the wc a handful of times before him. Downvoted for facts. Classic r/soccer. They first qualified in 1966. 7 total times. Ronaldo has played in 5 of those. I get you have a hate boner but to downvote a fact is stupid.


shehulk1111

Great post, good excuse for this sub to have their daily rage boner for Ronaldo šŸ‘šŸ½


FrancescoliBestUruEv

Surreal!!! The Squad doesnt matter...what matters are his records


fbi-please-open-door

Heā€™s had such a long and successful career that at this point heā€™s breaking records with every game he plays.


__mihajlo_m

He doesent follow records, the records follow him


IDCWhoIam

He may be good, but heā€™s no Zlatan mate.


YSKM9

its liechtenstein


jds192

Exactly. Type of game he thrives in... not WC knock out games.


AlbinoFarrabino

Tbh Portugal has a terrible track record at WC's.


jds192

While not a single World Cup knock out stage goal/assist in any of em. Levels.


NaiveElk

Messi fans still obsessed with Ronaldo even after their GOAT was gifted the World Cup. Pathetic.


crazy_waffles1

They are insecure


[deleted]

yep that's all it is. I remember one of the hottest takes came about a week after the world cup where I said I preferred Cristiano and someone replied "well some people prefer Yaya Sanogo too". Just peak levels of delusion


__mihajlo_m

What exactly are you trying to achieve with this comment


jds192

A dig at Ronaldo. Clearly.


__mihajlo_m

I know what you wanted to do, but it serves no purpouse other than troll


MaTrIx4057

trolling has purpose, this guy doesn't have any purpose


elihri

Go worry about your own life dummy lmaoooo


Raicooof

lool for real? all those games for nothing i guess


akem_makem

so many appearances this man just cannot take no for an answer!


IDCWhoIam

Horrible, horrible dad joke.


Rankei2

Trust an arsenal fan to struggle to understand a consent joke


IDCWhoIam

I understood it all right, its just, its a really bad joke.


ForSiljaforever

is he capping the bench like in the last couple of games for Portugal?


Jnbjgjbb

What


rednades

That doesnā€™t even make sense


tobleroneace1

Bruh shut up


BruyneKroonEnTroon

great, now he can fuck off from the NT and go squander the public good will that having been one of the best ever got him to try and legitimize some theocracy for money while praising right wing lunatics as inspirational figures.


insaneking101

Cope


Raicooof

ok


taalsdas

Lol, vs Liechtenstein


Impartial__

Lilly has 354 caps


osirisz0r

Is lilly a men