If humans can't pick who is the GOAT between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, a supercomputer will only be too happy to do the job for them. From the data processed during the La Liga rivalry of the two superstars, the computer decided that the Barcelona captain has the edge and Messi is in fact two times better during action on the pitch.
Data scientists from SciSports and Jesse Davis, professor at the KU Leuven University, have decided to answer the question that long-baffled the modern generation football. The team analyzed the data that was gathered between 2013 and 2018 or the stretch of the period when Ronaldo was still with Real Madrid and waging his battle for supremacy against Barca's Messi.
Davis said the analysis factored in all the observable actions, estimated to be around 1,600, during a match such as shots, passes, dribbles, and tackles then calculated the accumulated resulted that the group labeled as Valuing Actions by Estimating Probabilities or VAEP.
The comparison, per the report by The Sun, that spanned five seasons saw the Barcelona superstar getting the better of his Real rival. The result said Messi garnered a VAEP score of 1.2 while Ronaldo's data returned a score of 0.61.
The computer suggested that during the La Liga competition of the two football greats, the Argentine performed nearly twice as better as his Portuguese counterpart.
The processed data characterized Ronaldo as a top-notch striker who is less likely to hit the ball but when he does, he will certainly create a huge impact. However, the findings on Messi is nothing short of outstanding.
"Messi is exceptional in this area. He has a very high number of actions and they also have a high value," the research group reported.
To put it into perspective, Ronaldo while excellent can be comparable to other goalscorers like Paul Pogba, Harry Kane, and Mohamed Salah. But Messi is a cut above the rest and the computer seemed to support the assertion by many that he is the rightful GOAT as far as the game is concerned.
That being the case, the Barcelona skipper appeared all set to flex his muscle and continue to make the case that he is the best that football has seen so far. AS English said the Barca marksman has reported back to training on Monday and should be ready to play for the club's match against Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Before joining the team training, Messi was forced to train on his own due to injury concerns, which turned to be a non-issue. The update from Barcelona said the star forward is raring to play for the resumption of La Liga with no worries about his form at all.
