La Liga president, Javier Tebas, has weighed in on the debate surrounding Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, declaring Messi as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) during a recent interview.
For over 14 years, Messi and Ronaldo dominated football, clinching 13 out of 14 editions of the Ballon d’Or, with five awarded to Ronaldo and eight to Messi.
Their rivalry, particularly during their time in La Liga, Messi at Barcelona and Ronaldo at Real Madrid, sparked endless debates on who deserves the title of the greatest player.
Tebas acknowledged both players’ greatness but ultimately crowned the 36-year-old Argentine as the GOAT.
“Lionel and Cristiano are the best two players in history, with Messi as the first,” Tebas stated during his interview with Juan Jose Buscalia from DSports. “Trying to repeat it for so long, because Messi and Cristiano have been at the highest level since they were 18, it will never happen again, the stars have aligned.”
While Messi left FC Barcelona for Paris Saint Germain in 2021 due to financial constraints, Ronaldo departed Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018 before moving to Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League.
Despite concerns that La Liga would struggle to maintain relevance after their departure, Tebas emphasized the league’s resilience and growth.
“[Messi and Ronaldo leaving] didn’t cause any damage because we didn’t shrink, but with them, we would certainly have grown faster,” Tebas remarked. “The French league with Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe didn’t grow, Cristiano Ronaldo went to Italy and Italian football [revenue]has not improved, ours did even though we lost them both.”
Tebas also named English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund, as the current best player globally.
“Sponsors and audiovisual media, what they care most about is that the competition is economically sustainable, that seven years later it continues to be very competitive,” Tebas noted. “In Spain, there are always very good players, this year we have the best of the world, that is [Jude] Bellingham.”
