Supercomputer seems to have settled the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo
- The Argentine appears to eclipse the 35-year-old’s stats while both of them competed in the La Liga
- Prof Jesse Davis of KU Leuven University and his team took their time to use the machine to compare
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s rivalry continues to spark up diverse opinions across all works of life.
While some pitch their tents with the Portuguese star, who is the most successful player in Europe with five Champions League titles
Others believe the six-time Ballon d’Or winner ticks all the boxes for the Greatest of All Time status when compared side by side during their time in the Spanish League. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo flanked by Van Dijk during a gala night –
While trying to provide answers to the long-standing debate, professor Jesse Davis of KU Leuven University and data experts at SciSports used a supercomputer to make some revelation.
SunSports reports that the tech scientists have tried revealing who truly deserves the “GOAT” status considering 1,600 different actions that occur during a game.
Davis said while explaining the system: “The value of a player is often determined by goals and assists.
“A goal is a rare event, however, because an average of 1,600 actions are estimated to occur in a match. “Our model looks at each action – shots, passes, dribbles, tackles – and calculates its value.”
The review focused on the 2013-14 to 2017-18 seasons when both stars were seriously active in the La Liga with their clubs.
The outcome of the analysis showed that the Argentine was a better player by a considerable margin as reported by the Sun.
Messi recorded a total Valuing Actions by Estimating Probabilities (VAEP) score of 1.21 and his arch-rival Ronaldo, was nearly HALF that figure with a VAEP score of 0.61.
One of the scientists analysing the data – Tom Decroos, a Ph.D. student – revealed just why Messi won so comfortably.
Decroos explained: “In the first seasons, Messi and Ronaldo’s scores are very close to each other. From the 2015-16 season, Messi has stepped away from his eternal rival.
“We see a trade-off with most football players: either they make a lot of actions with a less high value – that’s the case with Paul Pogba, for example.
One of the scientists analysing the data – Tom Decroos, a Ph.D. student – revealed just why Messi won so comfortably.
Decroos explained: “In the first seasons, Messi and Ronaldo’s scores are very close to each other. From the 2015-16 season, Messi has stepped away from his eternal rival.
“We see a trade-off with most football players: either they make a lot of actions with a less high value – that’s the case with Paul Pogba, for example.
“Or you have players who are less likely to hit the ball, but who have a big impact… that is typical of strikers like Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah and Ronaldo.
Messi is exceptional in this area. He has a very high number of actions and they also have a high value.”
