While this book had admittedly been on my TBR pile for a few months, it turned out to be perfect timing when I picked it up. With one of the subjects playing in the World Cup final, what better time to post a review of "Messi vs. Ronaldo"?
Title/Author:
“Messi vs. Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs and the Era that Remade the World’s Game” by Jonathan Clegg and Joshua Robinson
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: Discussions and debates about the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of a particular sport are common today and in international soccer circles, that discussion today revolves around two players – Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Strong cases can be made for both players and this book, while very interesting, does not help someone make a case for one or the other to be considered better.
The first bit of advice for reading this book comes early – the authors state that this is not intended to be a dual biography of the two legends but instead a thorough look at their careers from playing the game early in life through their rise to their professional teams by examining the business side of international soccer and how it affected them. There is in-depth information on the two clubs that both players spent the bulk of their careers, and it is no coincidence that they are two of the most famous clubs in European soccer – Real Madrid (Ronaldo) and FC Barcelona (Messi). Because of both the celebrity of the players and the name recognition of their clubs, Messi and Ronaldo’s rise in fame also helped bring a revolution in the business of international soccer.
Of course, the authors write about other factors that brought this about such as social media and the influx of money, especially American money, that changed the economics for many of the “super clubs” forever, but no matter what business topic is discussed, the text will circle back to one of these two players. A reader who follows soccer leagues such as the Premier League (both players spent time with clubs in that circuit) or La Liga will find the business discussion quite interesting. One who may not follow this subject as closely may not be as engrossed but will still learn some very interesting facts on international soccer.
I will give an example of one that I learned about the Premier League. Its status as one of the most profitable leagues in the world started when it signed a lucrative television contract with a similarly struggling network at the time, Sky Sports, owned by Rupert Murdoch. Around the same time in the United States, another struggling Murdoch network, Fox, engaged in a similar contract with the National Football League. Both leagues and both networks were never the same again.
This is not to say there is no text on the accomplishments
on the field by Messi and Ronaldo – there is a good amount of that as
well. There certainly was jealousy
between the two in competition for individual awards. Even the most casual of
sports fans do realize the greatness of these two as their names are as recognizable
as ones like Pele and Beckenbauer for previous generations of soccer fans. If one wants to learn more about either the
business of international soccer or a little more on the two players, this is a
good source.
I wish to thank Mariner Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for
an honest review.
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