All this leads back to the signing of Ronaldo in 2009.
Although Ronaldo has become the face of Real Madrid and one of the important faces in soccer-he is a distinct physique based playing style. Ronaldo is a unique player that has molded himself into a dedicated hardworking player with a highly distinguished level of performance on the field. He will use his body to defend the ball and is not afraid to make contact with his opponents. He will charge at full speed towards goals when he has to and will shoot from 30 yards to score a goal (currently highest goal scorer in 2014 La Liga season). When Ronaldo does not have the ball at his feet, he can be found pressuring the opposing team and making runs to create goal scoring plays. Because of these attributes, Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world. However, if a soccer fan wants to witness a clever and highly ball control based player, Ronaldo may not be the player the fan wants to watch. .
In Spain a few cities from Madrid, Lionel Messi, is very similar to Ronaldo in revitalizing their teams Real Madrid (Ronaldo) and Barcelona (Messi). Like Ronaldo, Messi appeared in F.C. Barcelona when they needed him most. Barcelona was suffering because they lost many important players such as Ronaldinho and Deco. Barcelona was struggling to fill stadiums due to their poor performances in La Liga and Champions League. This was causing the F.C. Barcelona franchise to fall economically and morally. Just like Ronaldo, Messi lead his team to a golden age of soccer by winning La Liga, The Champions League, and Copa El Rey. Barcelona is currently credited as one of the highest grossing stadium ticket sellers. This can be traced back to the four time Balon D'or winner, Lionel Messi. .
Although Ronaldo and Messi share the same league and have similar popularity, they are very different when it comes to their style of playing. Messi likes to use his ball control, fast pace and agility to score.