Ronaldo's first World Cup was 2006
Ronaldo's World Cup journey started in 2006, with a player in the Uzbekistan game born after that tournament began.
Snapshot · The Rest Is Football
England struggle in Ghana stalemate and Ronaldo gets off the mark
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Jun 24, 2026
Where this was said
Messi vs Ronaldo: The Greatest Football Debate
At 26:18 · chapter starts 26:12
The episode closes with the football debate that defines an era. Gary Lineker revisits his well-known position — Messi is the best player he has ever seen — while carefully insisting this does not diminish what Ronaldo has achieved [1] — Gary Lineker "Even Patrick Vieira concedes it: Messi is on a different planet. But the panel is careful to give Ronaldo his due — scoring in six World Cu…" 26:12 . The tribal nature of the argument is dissected: if you say one is better, the other's fans come for you relentlessly. Micah Richards offers a brilliantly self-aware anecdote about changing his social media answer on Portugal's greatest player from Vitinha to Ronaldo, purely to avoid the onslaught of angry DMs. Lineker notes the extraordinary generational fact that one of the Uzbekistan players Ronaldo faced today wasn't yet born when he played in his first World Cup in 2006 — and that the same is true of Lamine Yamal. Patrick Vieira brings the chapter to a close with his verdict: Ronaldo has been one of the all-time greats across Portugal, England and Spain, and deserves the full respect of everyone. But Messi, he says plainly, is simply on a different planet. It is as fair and as nuanced a verdict as you are likely to hear.
Messi vs Ronaldo: The Tribal Debate That Never Ends
Even Patrick Vieira concedes it: Messi is on a different planet. But the panel is careful to give Ronaldo his due — scoring in six World Cups at 41 is extraordinary by any measure. The GOAT debate is tribal, exhausting, and completely irresistible.
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