The debate over who is the greatest soccer player of all time, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, has raged for nearly two decades. Now, with both legends in the twilight of their careers, the conversation is more intense than ever. And from his new home in MLS, Germany icon Thomas Muller has made it clear where he stands: Messi has the edge over Ronaldo.
After more than 20 years at Bayern Munich, spanning his youth career and first-team success, Muller has joined the Vancouver Whitecaps to close out his career. Having faced both Messi and Ronaldo countless times at the highest level in Europe, the German star finally offered his definitive take on the debate.
Speaking with MLS’s official channel, Muller was asked about his past battles with Messi. Instead of focusing only on tactics, he gave a candid answer: “In the end I don’t know how it worked so well. We had big defeats against Barcelona, in 2015 when they won the Champions League that was one of them, but in the end I don’t know how we did it. But to be honest, for me, Messi is the greatest player we’ve ever had in this sport.”
Muller has faced Messi 10 times across his career, with famous wins such as Germany’s triumphs at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and Bayern’s historic 8–2 thrashing of Barcelona. Despite holding the upper hand in their head-to-head record, Müller still declared the Argentine the winner in the GOAT conversation.
Thomas Muller of FC Bayern Munich and Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 leg.
When speaking directly about the rivalry with Ronaldo, Müller acknowledged both legends but pointed out a key difference. “We always have this Cristiano (Ronaldo) and Messi discussion, but they both are crazy. Yeah, but Messi was a little bit more elegant,” he added.
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A change of heart for Muller
Just a year ago, Muller admitted that Ronaldo was Bayern Munich’s biggest nemesis, as Real Madrid consistently came out on top against the German giants in Europe. In contrast, Muller himself holds a strong record over Messi, with seven wins compared to just three for the Argentine across club and international matches.
Despite this situation, Muller admitted that his view has shifted over time: “I think in my first 10 years as a professional player, I always went for Cristiano, if there’s the GOAT debate. But now I’m a little bit older, a little bit more romantic, and I go more for the style than only for the performance, the work ethic, and so on and so on.”
The German also admitted that Messi’s 2022 World Cup triumph tipped the scales. “And after Messi won the World Cup with Argentina, I go for him… But, I will hunt you again,” Muller joked, as one of Messi’s old foes now shares the MLS stage with him.
