Ronaldo is still not as great as Messi

So you think Cristiano Ronaldo has silenced his critics with a brace against Hungary? Yes, it's true that the first goal by the Portuguese star in that do-or-die match of Euro 2016 was a piece of sheer wizardry, the stuff that fans would walk many a mile to watch. Yes, CR7 stepped up to the plate in the tournament at last, doing just enough to take his side to the knockouts.

But, is he the best player of the world?

Football legend Pele recently said that Cristiano Ronaldo was currently the world’s best footballer and not only did he admire the Portugal star, but would also pick him first if he had to set up a national team.

With the world's football fans split right down the middle over who is the better player - Ronaldo, or Argentine star Lionel Messi - the comment from someone no less that Pele made the world sit up and take notice.

It goes without saying that they have been two of the finest players of their generation. Since 2008, it has really been a two-horse race for FIFA's best footballer award. So while Ronaldo won the World Player of the Year in 2008, Messi won it the year after.

Also read: Why Lionel Messi is still not a football great

Since 2010, the world's best player has been awarded the Ballon d'Or. Messi won this coveted award four times (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015), while Ronaldo won it twice (2013 and 2014). And when either of then was not the winner, he was invariably the runners up (only in 2010 Spain's Andres Iniesta got a look in with a second place finish).

Both have mesmerised fans the world over with their skills and scored goals galore. so for instance, Messi is the highest ever scorer in the Spanish league with over 300 goals, Ronaldo is at the second place, with no immediate competition in sight.

But has Ronaldo done enough to be regarded a player better than Messi?

While the Argentine has been setting the stage of fire in the Copa America 2016, having scored five goals already and gone past Gabriel Batistuta's record of 54 international goals for Argentina, Ronaldo was having a torrid time in the European Championships before the last group match against Hungary.

His performance in the first two matches that Portugal played in the Euro 2016 left a lot to be desired. Ronaldo lacked incisiveness and vision in the two draws against Iceland first, and then, Austria.

His missed penalty against Austria added to his woes, and indeed that of his team, which at one time was staring at the spectre of a first-round exit, after having had to face such an ignominy in the World Cup of 2014. Ronaldo did not live up to expectations in the Champions League final as well.

What's worse, instead of owning up to his poor performance, Ronaldo has been blaming the opposition. He claimed Iceland had a "small mentality" following Portugal's 1-1 draw in its first match of the Euro 2016.

His dribbling, unlike that of Messi, becomes predictable. Messi, on the other hand, may lack the power of Ronaldo, but more than compensates for it with his technique, intricate dribbling, and exemplary ball control. It is often alleged that Messi did not win a really big tournament in Argentina colours, but so hasn't Ronaldo.

In fact, here too Messi fares a bit better. He took his country to the final of the World Cup in 2014 and the Copa America in 2015, but the best that Ronaldo could do for Portugal was to take it to the final of Euro 2004.

Also often, Ronaldo has been seen as a bit selfish, playing for himself rather than the team, holding on to the ball for far too long, instead of passing to teammates in a better position to score. Messi, on the other hand, has been a perfect team man, assisting others to score probably as much as he scores himself.

Ronaldo had revealed sometime back that he was unhappy at Real Madrid, and even celebrate his goals for the club. This was completely unprofessional and unbecoming of the player of such stature. It led Real Madrid legend Enrique Perez Diaz likening Ronaldo to a toddler throwing a tantrum, and perhaps he was right.

Indeed, a player's greatness is often measured not only by his exploits on the field, but how he carries himself off it.

Ronaldo's off-the-field behaviour has also been controversial, and at times threatened to overshadow his performances on the pitch. He has had run-ins with coaches like Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho. Unlike Messi, it is often alleged that Ronaldo had been creating dissesions within his team.

Moreover, Ronaldo's affairs with some of the most beautiful women in the world, from Alessandra Ambrosio to Irina Shayk, to the sensational news of him neing in a gay relationship with Moroccan kickboxer Badr Hari, have often proved to be undue distractions for him.

Therefore, in spite of Ronaldo's two-goal blitz against Hungary, which made him the only player to score in four consecutive European championships, I am still not ready to call him a better player than Messi.