Debate: Which Clasico superstar would be missed more – Ronaldo or Messi?

With the Portuguese set to skip Wednesday's Copa del Rey final, we ask if the Ballon d'Or holder is more important to Los Blancos than his Argentine rival is to Barcelona

DEBATEBy Mark Doyle & Chris Myson

Will he or won't he? With Cristiano Ronaldo currently struggling with a thigh problem, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has to decide whether to risk the fitness of his most important player in Wednesday's Copa del Rey final against Barcelona. It would be a huge gamble on the part of the Italian coach.



The Portugal international is already considered touch-and-go for Madrid's Champions League semi-final first-leg showdown with reigning champions Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu on April 23 because of the hamstring strain that saw him sit out the second leg of the last-eight tie against Borussia Dortmund. And, as that game at Signal Iduna Park so painfully illustrated, Madrid are just not the same side without the talismanic No.7.

Of course, the night after Los Blancos' lucky escape in Dortmund, Barcelona bowed out of the Champions League after losing 1-0 on the night, and 2-1 on aggregate, to Atletico Madrid. Unlike Ronaldo, Messi did start, but there were those who felt he may as well not have played, so negligible was his impact. Consequently, the question was once again raised: if you stop Messi, do you also by association stop Barcelona?
“Given the chance, he will score.” So said Diego Maradona of Cristiano Ronaldo during Euro 2012. It is a simplistic statement. Yet its veracity cannot be questioned. Cristiano Ronaldo always scores. The importance of the game is an irrelevance.

Since joining Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009, he has struck 246 times in 240 matches. He always finds the back of the net. In every game. Often more than once. And this without the same stellar supporting cast that Lionel Messi has behind him at Camp Nou. Indeed, as Fabio Cannavaro said last year, Ronaldo fully deserved to win the Ballon d’Or because he “carries” Real Madrid.

And it’s no surprise. He is, as legendary United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says, “the complete footballer”. There is nothing he cannot do. Particularly in Clasicos. Between January 2012 and October 2012, Ronaldo faced Barcelona on six occasions. He scored seven times. Nobody in history has ever registered in six consecutive Clasicos. Not Ferenc Puskas. Not Alfredo di Stefano. Not Hugo Sanchez. Not Lionel Messi.