In the aftermath of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fifth Ballon D’Or win, it was inevitable that we would be hearing that dreaded word – GOAT – again.

The animals, themselves, cute as they are, have become symptomatic of a much larger malaise that exists among sportswriters, that of assigning the tag to an athlete to elevate him or her above all else, to try and kick-start a comfortable cult for them to enforce self-serving rigidity on.

That there is a need to limit the avid sports enthusiast reader to a particular brand of greatness is troubling and indeed, to prevent a difference or furthering of opinion in the GOAT debate, to stay aloof to evolution and to undermine proof of sport’s continuous ability to churn out larger-than-life champions.

Ronaldo re-ignites debate

In this case, Ronaldo did ample to stoke the fire and reignite the debate, “People have the right to prefer Neymar or Messi. But I insist: There is no one more complete than me. ...”

The moment those words came out of his mouth, you could see the barrage of Messi v Ronaldo pieces, slew of social media battles and opinion mongering approaching. There was no way to avoid it, not after Cristiano himself had waded into the discussion.

As is their wont, it is reckless of writers to become unabashed fanboys without good reason or for them to treat the other side of the debate with indifference. David Foster Wallace in his seminal essay ‘Roger Federer as Religious Experience’ wrote, “A top athlete’s beauty is next to impossible to describe directly. Or to evoke.” Wallace tried, but even he could only have scratched the surface of Federer’s inner machinations.

Yet, there was a need to treat Ronaldo’s words with a certain sensitivity, to try and look beyond that smug, confident face and understand the exact origins of those sentiments. To simply dismiss his words as the ramblings of a man with a supposed Messi-size chip on his shoulder or to hail those phrases as that of a superstar who is right to anoint himself as footballer supreme, is further muddying of the waters.

Relief, manifested into praise

Today, football is a industry worth several billions and organisations devote precious man-hours to documenting and collating data around the game.

To have the privilege of sitting in the stands, sitting at home in this day and age watching football on our hi-definition televisions, being able to watch replays and highlights at the snap of a button and the services of the afore-mentioned data just to state that ‘X is better than Y’ is a sign of tedium.

How did spectators expect Ronaldo to react to his win? With humility? With a declaration that he was ‘honoured to receive the prestigious award’, cue cliche? This was Ronaldo drawing level with his long-time rival at the age of 32, having endured a rough first half of the season.

Some amount of relief, which was to be expected, manifested itself into self-affirmative praise and that is perfectly fine, really. It was a sign of defiance, a reply to his critics; the same defiance that we’ve seen and come to expect of him while ending up on the losing side of matches and tournaments.

A man who believes in his own abilities

For far too long, it has become customary to paint Ronaldo as the pantomine villain. He has been vilified for one too many ‘simulations’, for a certain brand of ‘selfish’ play, for his perceived arrogance and exuberance in victories and defeats.

The now-trademark ‘Siii!’ celebration with the bare muscle flexing is reflective of Ronaldo himself; a man who clearly believes in his own abilities and will not back down from showcasing that belief to anyone watching.

There is no shortage of pieces about Ronaldo; from his off-field persona to his fitness regime to his exploits on the pitch. Material in such abundance is proof that even if those even remotely invested in football don’t want to, they can’t help but talk about him.

As much as we love the showboating, whiplash-of-a-shot, physical specimen with gazelle-like strides that is Ronaldo,we can’t help but admire at the genius of Messi, the man who carries the ball on a string and whose every touch reminds us that our own two feet are merely mortal.

The need for more GOATs

Those of an older disposition will look beyond Ronaldo and Messi and recall the Portuguese’s current manager, Zinedine Zidane as one of the finest ever to step onto the hallowed green rectangular patch of land between the two goalframes.

And what about Diego Armando Maradona, the stocky man whose goal at the ‘86 World Cup is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon? What about Pele, who shone on the biggest stage as a 17-year-old? Surely Marta, five-time World Player of the Year and four-time runner-up, deserves a mention too?

It’s difficult to imagine any of these footballers as any greater or lesser than Ronaldo or Messi. We have cherished each one, drank in their outrageous skills and commiserated with their trials and tribulations.

Let us remind ourselves that realistically speaking, we have no idea of the efforts that go into every goal, pass, tackle or save. Numbers only tell half the story; the remaining half dictated by the happenings behind the scenes.

Sometimes, it’s good to sit on the fence and watch Ronaldo and Messi in action, week in, week out, delivering on the occasions big and small. Ronaldo is the GOAT, Messi is the GOAT. There are other GOATs. In reality, we want more GOATs to push the boundaries farther then before, and for us, the clueless viewer to marvel and feel honoured to spectate.