In Manchester United's match against Tottenham Hotspur, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to become the all-time top scorer with 807 goals. As a friend of Ronaldo, Pierce Morgan said in a column for The Sun that Ronaldo has become the best player of all time, and the following is a full translation.
Two years ago, I had dinner with Cristiano Ronaldo, who was then playing for Juve, at one of his favorite Turin restaurants. I told him a story about swimmer Michael Phillips, and when he heard that story, he was amazed.
The undisputed best swimmer of all time, Phillips, who won 23 Olympic gold medals, once revealed to me that he hadn't had a day off for five years in a row. When I asked him why he did it, he replied, "To be the best athlete, you have to do what other people don't want to do." ”
"I think because my opponents train 6 days a week, if I train 7 days a week, then I will train 52 more days a year than others. So in 5 years, I'll train for 260 more days."
Cristiano loved the story because he immediately realized the strong willpower you need when you were so obsessed with victory.
He said to me, "My main strength lies in my mind. I think it's my strength, talent alone is not enough, if you don't put in 100% effort, then you can't get to the level you want. ”
"Sometimes, if I'm a little lazy, like playing with kids or something. Well, I have to go to the gym for at least 40 minutes afterwards, because it will have an impact at the end of the day. If you don't do that, then you're not going to be the number one star. ”
After seeing Cristiano Ronaldo complete his hat-trick, I was reminded of this conversation between us.
Over the past few weeks, Ronaldo has been the object of ridicule from everyone, who seem to know very well that he is finished, that his magic has disappeared, that the magical goalscoring machine has broken down, that he is too old and too slow.
Clearly, he became a "problem" for United, not a shocking defensive loophole or a mediocre midfielder.
I watched it all with a wry smile, because if my Portuguese friend was better at anything compared to scoring goals, it was only for the critics to break their word.
In the first game against Tottenham, he shoved those taunts back into the throats of his critics at Old Trafford.
It was his 59th hat-trick and his best, including a long-range shot like lightning from 25 yards away, a push in front of goal that relied on keen awareness and movement, and a shot that bounced out of his chest.
Those who think Ronaldo is proving himself again sounds ridiculous because he hardly needs to prove his abilities to anyone.
However, the real significance of scoring career goals of 805, 806 and 807 is that Cristiano Ronaldo is now the undisputed greatest player of all time.
Over the past few years, I've been arguing about this with die-hard Messi fans like Reinkel, who refuse to accept any perception that Messi is not the best player of all time.
But, frankly, as the season progresses, such an argument is sure to end.
Consider the amazing fact that in this season's Premier League, only one player has scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo, while in Ligue 1, 91 players have scored more goals than Messi.
In 18 Ligue 1 games, Messi scored just two goals, the worst season of his capricious career. However, his painful struggles in Paris perfectly illustrate why Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player of all time.
I think, at the end of the day: there's no doubt that Messi is a talented player, but I've always suspected that he's the kind of player who only bullies.
For the first 17 years of his career, he played for only one club, Barca, where he was always surrounded by world-class players.
From the moment he left Spain and left his tightly protected comfort zone, after I contracted the coronavirus, his strength declined faster than the speed at which my taste buds disappeared.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo is constantly rising to new challenges, from Portugal to England, from Spain to Italy. Wherever he went, he won important titles and broke more goalscoring records.
Even at the age of 36, even when he could have gone to the United States in semi-retirement and easily paid a good salary, he chose a big gamble and returned to a Manchester United team that had never recovered from Ferguson's departure.
Unlike Messi, he deliberately pulled himself out of his comfort zone again and again.
Compared to Messi, who is 3 years younger, Ronaldo, 37, is challenging all age limits and continuing to work wonders in the toughest leagues.
Statistics don't lie: Cristiano Ronaldo is now the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League, the greatest goalscorer of the national team and the greatest scorer of all time.
This is not because his talent is better than Messi's, nor because his talent is better than Xiao Luo and Best, but because he has super mental strength and resilience.
As Phillips proves in the pool, as Tiger Woods proves on the golf course, that's what makes them the best athletes of all time.
One of my favorite videos is when countless critics thought Woods, who had experienced scandals and injuries, wouldn't make it into the top 1,000, made a comeback and won the 2019 Masters, and those who had to admit he was once again a top golfer.
Brutal criticism motivates him, just as Ronaldo is now amused when he sees the media that criticizes him praise him again.
I think another reason for Cristiano Ronaldo to be the best player of all time is his strong self-confidence. He explained to me, "If you don't think you're the best at work, then I don't think you're right. ”
When we were finishing that dinner in Turin, I asked Ronaldo what he wanted to write on his tombstone. He smiled and replied, "It's NO1, not NO7, it's N01!" ”
Today, I texted him and asked him to sum up in one word why he became the best player of all time.
He replied, "I need three words." Not just the special one, I was the only one. ”
However, he sent two smiling symbols. I could almost hear his laughter from my phone.
But, he was right.
Like we saw yesterday, Ronaldo has now become the greatest footballer of all time.
Top 10 players I've seen in my life:
1. C Luo
2. Maradona
3. Messi
4. Xiao Luo
5. Ronaldo
6. Best
7. Bailey
8. Henry
9. Zidane
10. Maldini