Messi the new king of football

THE chances are that Barcelona’s Lionel Messi will take over from Cristiano Ronaldo as the world footballer of the year. That day cannot come soon enough.

Ronaldo is a fabulous footballer. He scores goals with feet and head, brings a crowd to its feet like no-one since George Best and the short backlift with which he despatches his long-distance strikes defies the laws of motion.

But being a star demands more than that. In everything on and off the pitch which surrounded the Champions League final Messi proved that he is the new king. He is the rightful number one. There is no desire here to kick a man when he is down and Ronaldo’s mood was certainly that after the 2-0 defeat by Barcelona.

The fact, however, is that with each week that passes the Portuguese winger becomes a greater caricature of the indulged footballer.

During the course of the final his mood swung from the early skirmishes when he seemed determined to give the virtuoso performance of an enthusiastic ballet star to one who pouts and strops like Amy Winehouse.

Why? Because he was not getting his own way. Because he was being outplayed by a sublime passing team and a man in Messi, in particular, who knows when to be gracious in losing and how to be humble in triumph.

Ronaldo could learn so much from the little Argentinian who came through Barcelona’s youth ranks and has learned how to behave at a club which puts a premium on doing things the right way. Note the ‘Unicef’ logo on their shirts, doing their own sponsorship bit for those not as privileged as footballers earning £150,000 (€171,400) per week.

Ronaldo could learn that football is not about allowing exasperation to erode influence, especially when you are your side’s best hope of rectifying an apparently hopeless position.

The glares which passed between Ronaldo and Alex Ferguson on the touchline at one stage in the Stadio Olimpico went unexplained, but the United boss at times must despair of the manner in which his most potent weapon allows himself to become distracted, allows himself to become involved in feuds such as that with Carles Puyol which saw him pick up an unnecessary yellow card.

The whistles and jeers from the Spanish supporters when Ronaldo went up for his loser’s medal told you of his standing in one region of Spain, not entirely unexpected considering his affection for Real Madrid.

It was the mutterings of a group of United supporters who trudged out into the Roman night with their dreams as shattered as the Eternal City’s countless relics which told a more pertinent story.

“We should have taken the money,” said one, referring to a Madrid reported offer of around £100million for Ronaldo last season. Not all think that way. Many doubtless are prepared to trade the baggage for the goals.

But they are becoming fewer in number. After Wednesday you suspect there are even some who might drive him to the airport if they could swap him for Messi.