Messi vs. Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World's Game

Essential World Cup Reading | Featured in The New York Times’ ‘What to Read During the World Cup’

Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg offer a deeply reported account of the intertwined sagas and legacies of two of the greatest soccer players of all time―Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo―examining how their rivalry has grown from a personal competition to a multi-billion-dollar industry, paralleling the stunning rise, overwhelming excesses, and uncertain future of modern international soccer.

For over fifteen years, almost any conversation about international soccer has always come back to two players―Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo―undoubtedly the greatest of their generation but with styles, attitudes, and fanbases that couldn’t be more different. For millions of people around the world "Messi or Ronaldo?" isn’t simply a barroom argument, or an affirmation of fandom, so much as a statement of philosophy, of values, of what global soccer is today and of what it will be tomorrow.

Now Wall Street Journal reporters and co-authors of The Club, Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, unite the stories of Messi and Ronaldo into a single modern epic of a global sports rivalry, detailing how one rivalry changed both the game and the business of international soccer―forever. Based on dozens of firsthand accounts and years of original reporting, Messi vs. Ronaldo weaves together the stakes, color, and characters at the heart of each man’s story, going inside the locker rooms and boardrooms where their legends were forged and revealing off-field drama as gripping as anything that happened on it. From their contrasting origin stories to their divergent career arcs and their conflicting reputations, these players have built their successes on opposite paths, yet each, in his own way, offers a riveting tale of triumph and excess. Taken together, their story embodies the astronomical growth of international soccer, how social media has revolutionized the power of sports celebrity, and how the desire to capitalize on the billions of dollars these players represent electrified some of the most storied clubs in Europe―Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United among them―and cost them almost everything.

With the 2022 World Cup almost certain to be the last for both of these figures, Messi vs. Ronaldo offers a deeply researched look at their legacy and grapples with the impact that their talents have had on the game for better and for worse. Much more than a retelling of the dual accomplishments of these great players, this definitive soccer biography is truly a biography of a rivalry, one that has become a crucial lens for understanding the past, present, and future of global soccer.

This definitive account of the modern game’s biggest sports rivalry explores:

• The GOAT Debate: Go beyond the barroom argument to see how the nonstop comparison between Messi and Ronaldo fueled their ambition, defined their legacies, and changed the conversation around international soccer.
• The Business of Soccer: A deeply reported look at how two players became a multi-billion-dollar industry, revolutionizing sports celebrity, and pushing storied clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid to the brink.
• Locker Rooms and Boardrooms: Based on years of original reporting, this book takes you inside the closed-door meetings and training ground clashes where their legends were forged.
• A Rivalry That Defined an Era: Uniting their contrasting origin stories and divergent careers, this is the complete biography of a rivalry that captured the world’s attention and transformed the global game forever.

Jonathan Clegg is an editor for The Wall Street Journal, and his work has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Independent (U.K.), and FourFourTwo magazine. 

They are the co-authors of The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Richest, Wildest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports; Messi vs. Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game; and The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport.

Joshua Robinson is the European sports correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated.