"He hasn't taken them to that place" - Pundit explains why Cristiano Ronaldo is not spoken about in same context as Lionel Messi at World Cups

Pundit Craig Burley has explained why Cristiano Ronaldo is not mentioned in the same breath as Lionel Messi in terms of the World Cup. The latter played a key role in helping Argentina win the most coveted trophy in world football in 2022.

Messi also came agonizingly close to winning the FIFA World Cup in 2014 finishing runners-up behind Germany. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, only managed to reach the semi-final once in 2006.

The two iconic players are poised to make history next summer, becoming the first players ever to play in six World Cups. However, Craig Burley believes that the two players cannot be compared because of their overall involvement in the game.

The former Chelsea midfielder insisted that Messi affects games much more compared to his eternal rival. On ESPN, the host asked Burley:

"Is that why the conversation around Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup is different to Lionel Messi in the World Cup"

Burley replied:

"(Messi) still doing things that's affecting the game, even if he's not scoring even if he's not beating six or seven players leaving them on the backside and scoring this magnificent goal..... The French were more talented but the Argentinian side(2022 World Cup) was more built as a unit around Lionel Messi and he's still able to do stuff on the ball that affects the game."

The former Scotland international continued:

"So you're not looking so much at oh Messi never scored. Whereas for me you're looking at a number nine in Cristiano Ronaldo is well if he's not scoring goals what else is he doing. So I think that picture is slightly murkier. What we can't argue about is four years ago is Leo Messi helped take Argentina to the promised land, a land that you know the Diego Maradona's of this world once took Argentina."

He concluded:

"This discussion we're not having about Ronaldo, they beat uh France back in the day when Santos was the manager(Euro 2016), you know in Paris in a not very good game. I think Ronaldo may have been injured in that game and came off. So he hasn't taken them to that place that Messi has taken his team and I just think there's a big question."

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both boast incredible numbers over the years but Messi certainly is way ahead of his rival in the World Cup. The Argentine has 13 goals and eight assists in 26 World Cup games, whereas Ronaldo has eight goals and two assists in 22 games. Messi has won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball on two occasions while also holding the record for most appearances in the tournament.

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Cristiano Ronaldo overtakes Lionel Messi days after the Argentine matches his World Cup qualifier feat

Cristiano Ronaldo has overtaken Lionel Messi just two days after the latter matched his record in FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Messi scored a brace in a 3-0 win against Venezuela to go level with Ronaldo's 36 goals in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Ronaldo has now also scored a brace in a 5-0 win against Armenia on Saturday, September 6 to take his tally to 38. He now sits just one goal behind former Guatemala striker Carlos Ruiz, who scored 39 goals in 47 games.

Ronaldo boasts 38 goals in 48 games, averaging 0.79 goals per game, whereas Messi has 36 goals in 72 games, averaging 0.50 goals per game. Portugal absolutely demolished Armenia 5-0 on Saturday with Joao Felix also scoring a brace and Joao Cancelo scoring once.