It’s getting ridiculous.
As much as I applaud and gawk at everything Lionel Messi as well as Cristiano Ronaldo are achieving; every record they’re breaking and milestone they’re surpassing, surely someone can see that they’re also mocking the Spanish La Liga?
Ronaldo’s records, so far, reads as follows – most hattricks in La Liga, fastest person to 200 league goals, first footballer to score against all teams in a single league season, best scoring start in a Spanish league season, most goals scored in a single La Liga season for Real Madrid, most goals scored in 7 consecutive league matches, 201 goals in 178 La Liga matches and he also has 150 goals in 132 games at the Santiago Bernabeu.
As for Leo, he is the all-time La Liga top scorer, a record he bested in November of this year. He also has the most goals ever for Barcelona and in El Clasico and for a single club and in a single season for Barca. He tops the most away goals scored in La Liga, most hattricks in El Clasico, most hattricks in a season, scoring in consecutive La Liga matches and for being the youngest player to net 200 goals in La Liga.
What does it say about the competition in Spain though?
There is no also equivalent in the other European leagues at the moment, no Messi replica in Germany, no Ronaldo-esque over-achiever in England, Italy or France. And that keeps the leagues healthy right? Bayern Munich may be dominating the table but it’s an Eintracht Frankfurt player who’s currently the top scorer. And Kevin De Bruyne of Wolfsburg is at the top of the Bundesliga assist charts to-date.
It’s the same case in England, arguably deemed the most exciting league in Europe for sometime now. We either cheer for Sergio Aguero, Cesc Fabregas, Angel Di Maria or even Graziano Pelle on a weekly basis. But you see the share of plaudits spread over the team that’s in-form. It could be Chelsea or Manchester City or Arsenal, Liverpool or Southampton. And that keeps the fans tuned in. Ask any footie fan worth their salt about La Liga and not many can name the top 5 teams in the league table at the moment, beyond Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid!
And that’s how both these prolific players are ruining the Spanish league’s reputation. We thought it was bad when Barca and Real were forces to be reckoned with in the league. When Atleti came along to win La Liga, neutrals heaved a sigh of relief at having an outsider break the monotony. This season, we even have Sevilla and Valencia putting in a bit of a challenge for an automatic spot in Europe next season if not a sliver of a chance at the league title. That should keep supporters of the underdog team content.
Now, this.
It’s fantastic to be able to witness such fearsome competition between two formidable athletes of the sport. Kudos to them for keeping it neck and neck, toe to toe, head to head. But it’s getting boring now. And it tells us why the Spanish league is constantly under threat of becoming even more lopsided than the German Bundesliga, accused of such because of Bayern’s strength.
This has been going on for almost 5 seasons now. The question needs to be asked, why isn’t there anyone else in Spain’s top tier, worthy of challenging these 2 players even if it’s for accolades each season? Surely they’re easier targets to match, as opposed to all-time statistics.
Is the league that devoid of competition? What happens then, when Ronaldo and Messi cross the pond to seek bigger challenges? Former Manchester United midfield maestro Paul Scholes has even described Messi as looking ‘bored’ in the match against Valencia.
As much as the world of football looks forward to another record, statistic or landmark accomplishment by Ronaldo or Messi, it’s simply becoming absurd how everything seems too simple and easy for them. Laughable. It shouldn’t be that way. A top tier national competition should be a whole lot tougher as a reflection of some contest. It should not take only 2 men to run rings around it.
Otherwise, what’s the point?
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