I’d be curious to hear from people who watched them both how they’d compare peak Ronaldinho to peak Messi. I see crazy highlights from Ronaldinho and wonder if the fact that he rarely enters the GOAT conversation is mostly down to how brief that period of his career was (relative to the likes of Messi and Ronaldo), and maybe the fact that played a position where he wasn’t scoring goals as much? Or even at his peak, was he still not quite the player Messi was?
Also just to clarify, I know he does get talked about among the greats, but I feel like he’s generally accepted to be a slight tier below Messi/Ronaldo/Pele/Maradona/etc
Peak Messi coincided with peak Barca. No other player has ever had the luxury of being the best player of all time, in the best team of all time with the best coach of all time. It will never be done again
Messi is better by miles its not even close, Ronaldinho was fantastic for a few games but Messi in his peak was incredible all season
For many, peak Ronaldinho was more entertaining to watch. Many today still are more entertained by prime Neymar than Messi.
In terms of level, 2009-2013 Messi is the highest peak achieved in sports though.