The great Cristiano Ronaldo set for long-awaited Amex Stadium debut...but not the greatest ever

I’d even go as far to say that if Lionel Messi ever stopped wasting his time in France and came to the EPL playing at the Amex as part of his swansong, Ronaldo would still be the best player to ever play at the Albion’s stadium. (To date)

My stance is clear on the whole Ronaldo vs Messi debate, both great players but for me Ronaldo shades it, as he’s done it and won it in three of the greatest Leagues in the World, The EPL, Serie A and La Liga, had it not been for Barcelona’s financial woes would Messi have sat out his entire career in comfort in Catalonia?

However neither of them were the Greatest ever player to lace a football boot, in fact in my opinion they don’t even make the Top 3.

I watched the greatest footballer in the history of the beautiful game on Wednesday 9th February 1977 when as a fresh faced 12 year old I witnessed Johann Cruyff destroy Don Revie’s England team in Holland’s 2-0 victory against the hosts.

After the Dutch master I’d put Pele and George Best in front of Ronaldo and Messi, my top three played in a different era, with heavier pitches and far more contact, imagine how the trio would fare on todays surfaces with the increased protection from officials?

FOOTNOTE, Dirty Diego does not make my top five because he was both flawed and a cheat.

But Ronaldo aside I still fancy the Albion to record their third EPL home victory against United on Saturday evening.

I think we will beat United 2-0, and then perhaps in the last two games, help relegate Leeds United and move closer to West Ham in that final European place.

Agonisingly close in fact, will we be debating what might have been at the end of the campaign given an 11 games winless run and five straight defeats at different points in the season?

Will finishing so close to Europe be deemed success or, with those two runs of results, a failure?