Across the sports world, one question is contested everywhere you go: Who is the greatest of all time? This is judged by many factors such as the number of trophies, MVPs, goals, and overall abilities of the athlete. Based on these factors,  Messi is the best player to play the game.

For the past fifteen years, the game of soccer has been divided into two groups: Messi and Ronaldo. These two groups have continued to try to prove why their player is the best ever and why the opposing group is wrong. Personally, I have always aligned myself with the Messi side of the argument purely by watching both athletes and seeing that Messi has more overall talent than Ronaldo.

Ever since his debut for the Barcelona first team, he has been a pleasure to observe. His ball skills are not comparable to anyone else, which is the reason why he is the best player ever. Not only are his foot skills good, but when he explodes with the ball at his feet, no one can stop him. The are numerous clips of Messi weaving through defenders and then proceeding to score after beating the entire defensive line, but that’s not the only way he can score. Messi is known for scoring free kicks, his most famous being against Liverpool in the Champions League. His ability to bend the ball in any way he chooses makes him so good at free kicks.

Although ability is a huge factor in whether or not a player is the best ever, I think that trophies mean the same, if not more. In my opinion, the most important trophy in all of soccer is the Ballon d’Or, which is basically the MVP of global soccer.

Because he is the greatest to ever play the game, Messi has the most Ballon d’Ors with 7 total and an opportunity to win an 8th this year. One of the other important trophies that Messi has won is the World Cup this year. In years prior, Messi has made subpar Argentine teams great, such as the one in 2014 that lost in the final.

This year, he finally had some decent players alongside him to assist in winning the tournament. Not only did Messi win the World Cup, but he got MVP of the tournament for the second time in his career, which no one else has done. He also narrowly lost the Golden boot race. He also has won many club titles with Barcelona and PSG. He has won a total of 4 champions leagues and 11 league titles between the Spanish and French Leagues. This expansive trophy case also adds to why he is better than everyone.

While the debate will continue, my mind will never change. I firmly believe that Messi is the best player to ever play soccer.