Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo: football’s greatest legends deserve more than mockery

You do not have to like a player, agree with his choices or support everything he says and does. Nor are you expected to display his picture, defend him whenever he is criticised or treat him as beyond question.

But there are limits. They matter especially when discussing a player who has become more than a name in football’s record books and now forms part of the memories of entire generations.

A brief setback, painful defeat or disappointing performance should not be allowed to erase years of achievement. Nor should an exceptional career be reduced to a single moment.

Can years of brilliance, extraordinary numbers and the occasions that kept millions watching television screens really be ignored? How can all of those accomplishments become the subject of ridicule?

That is not an argument against criticism. Everyone has the right to discuss a player’s level, assess his performances towards the end of his career, say that he is no longer the player he once was and debate his decision over international retirement. Football gives no one immunity from scrutiny, however great they may be.

The problem begins when criticism turns into gloating, when every mistake becomes an opportunity to celebrate another person’s pain and when an entire career is treated as though it can simply be thrown away. At that point, the issue goes beyond football.

Perhaps the deeper problem is that supporting our own players is no longer enough. Increasingly, some supporters seem to want the opposing player to suffer, to join in the mockery and to prove at every opportunity that he is less valuable.

A healthy sporting rivalry can then become an endless battle. For some fans, happiness is measured by the amount of pain they can cause supporters of the other side.

There is also an extraordinary shortness of memory involved. Many people who mock a great player today may have stood in admiration only a few years ago, forced to acknowledge his talent. Yet allegiance can sometimes become stronger than the willingness to accept the truth.

Some players pass through football; others leave a mark that cannot be removed. A few names rise above competitions, clubs and national teams to become part of the game itself, appreciated by supporters of different sides even when they disagree about which player is the best.

Every fan is entitled to choose a hero, call that player the greatest and defend him against rivals. What they are not entitled to do is use a difference in taste as an excuse to insult others or diminish their history.

Future generations will remember those who made football more entertaining, gave millions unforgettable moments and pushed the limits of the game to new levels.

This is not a defence of one player against another. Those who believe the subject is Lionel Messi are right, while those who think it is Cristiano Ronaldo are right too. The two cannot be separated: they are among the greatest players ever to touch a football.

Neither deserves to have his career turned into an object of spite because of a missed World Cup, a defeat or tears in a final. And the same applies to every legend who provided years of enjoyment, whatever their name or shirt.

Support your team, celebrate its victories and defend your favourite player. But love for one should never become hatred of the other.

Support your team more than you oppose its rivals. It is better to be a fan of football than an enemy of one of its legends.