Football conversations both on and offline are full of comparisons. These such arguments will
never end and we actually don’t mind them, but some of them are just too disrespectful.
So, what is the most disrespectful comparison in football? We’ll let you pick from these 10.
We’ll start with one that started and ended in the just concluded season – Haaland vs
Nunez. Manchester City and Liverpool have been the biggest clubs in England for some
time now and it’s only normal that they’re compared to each other in many ways. So,
when each club signed a new striker in the summer of 2022,
people started comparing them, but we should all have known that that was an abomination.
Those two players had never been comparable at any point in their careers and it was made
obvious in their first season in England. While Haaland finished as Premier League
top scorer with a record-breaking 36 goals, Darwin Nunez finished with just 9,
2 fewer than a 31-year-old Roberto Firmino who obviously played fewer games.
Honestly, that argument should have never seen the light of day.
Now, some of you might want to argue this one because of where your loyalties lie,
but the truth is that the whole Pep vs Klopp comparison is very disrespectful.
We get it, they’re the coaches of the two biggest clubs in England over the past 5 years,
but Pep is still obviously miles clear of Klopp however you want to look at it. If you doubt that,
listen to this, Klopp has won 12 trophies in his managerial career – that’s if we’re including
the Community Shield – meanwhile Pep has won 11 league trophies alone in his managerial career.
Also, Pep has won 3 Champions League titles and
lost just 1 final while Klopp has won 1 Champions League title and lost 3 finals.
Listen, you can say whatever you want to say about Pep and how much backing he has had at
the different clubs he has managed, but the truth is that his achievements put him far above any
other coach from this generation. This man is the only coach who has done the European treble
two times. Nah, it’s actually disrespectful to suggest he’s on the same level as Klopp.
And you know what else is disrespectful? The
Mbappe vs Rashford comparison back then. When they were both coming up,
people had the guts to compare Kylian Mbappe to Marcus Rashford. Like, come on!
And this is no disrespect to Rashford at all. He is a very fine player,
but you see Kylian Mbappe? No one from his generation is touching him. The boy is a
generational talent, and what he’s able to do with the ball at his feet is just incomparable.
Thankfully, the comparison died a natural death as everyone was able to see that there’s no
comparison there, but the truth is that it should have never even existed in the first place.
You know what else should never have existed? The Hazard vs Neymar comparisons. Now,
don’t get us wrong here, Hazard is a very,
very brilliant player and was unplayable in his prime, but Neymar Jr. is just next level.
The Brazilian easily floors the Belgian in almost every department – skills,
productivity, achievements, influence, street cred, memorable games, longevity,
Ballon d’Or rankings, you name it. Hazard will always be remembered as a Chelsea legend,
no doubt, but Neymar will be remembered as a football legend; one of those guys who
would have won the Ballon d’Or if not for the duopoly of Messi and Ronaldo.
Speaking of Messi and Ronaldo, two of their former teammates were often compared back
then and it was really disrespectful. We’re talking about Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric.
After Barcelona signed Rakitic in 2014, the Blaugranas tried to create the illusion
that they had gotten the better Croatian midfielder, but it just was never the case.
At both club and international level, Modric was always the better
player. Not only has he achieved more at club level, for the national team, he always proved to
be a more important player than Rakitic before the Sevilla man retired from international football.
And not only is Modric the better player, he is easily the greatest player in the history
of Croatian football. The country’s incredible achievement of finishing
2nd and 3rd at the World Cup will always be seen as something Modric
was almost single-handedly responsible for. And then, there are the 5 Champions
Leagues and the Ballon d’Or that sort of just put the conversation to bed.
Yes, Rakitic is a fantastic player, but nah, that comparison was really disrespectful.
Another really disrespectful comparison between midfielders is the whole Casemiro vs
Partey discourse. Shoutout to Partey, but there’s truly no comparison here and it’s even a little
embarrassing that there was ever a suggestion that those two players could ever be compared.
Obviously, Arsenal fans were only trying to hype up their own and we get that,
but there has never been a time when Partey was better than or even as
good as Casemiro and we’re pretty sure even the Gunners know that.
Another thing we’re sure Arsenal fans know is that the Martin Odegaard vs Kevin De Bruyne comparison
doesn’t really hold water. At least, not yet. Odegaard is not a bad midfielder by any means,
and he actually did have a good 2022-23 season, but we don’t think he has yet done anything
to earn being compared to arguably the best attacking midfielder in Premier League history.
In 10 years, who knows? This comparison might make sense, but right now, it is disrespectful.
But over in Spain, Odegaard’s former teammate is the one getting
the disrespect because the whole Vini Jr. vs Ansu Fati comparison is disrespectful.
Some years back, when these young players were making their way up on either divide
of El Clasico rivalry, many comparisons were made. And it seemed like an obvious
comparison because they’re both about the same age and they play on the same wing,
but we should all have known that the Brazilian has always been the better player.
Well, Vini has since gone on to put it beyond doubt that he is indeed the
better player. He helped Real Madrid win the Champions League in 2022 and
made it to the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or rankings that year, meanwhile Anu Fati is
struggling for game time and is currently being benched by a midfielder at Barcelona.
But you know what was even more disrespectful than that? Virgil van Dijk vs Harry Maguire.
Virgil van Dijk joined Liverpool in 2018 and totally turned their fortunes around. United
saw that and went to buy Harry Maguire for an even larger amount in 2019. The fans swore he
would have the same effect as van Dijk had at Liverpool and some even said he would be
better. Well, obviously that turned out to be such a big lie, a very hilarious one at that.
Anyone who watched them play back then would know for a
fact that Maguire could never lace van Dijk’s boots and that was a very
disrespectful comparison to have ever existed in the first place.
To round off this list, we have a really interesting one – Alisson vs Ederson. Come on,
you guys! No matter who you support, it’s pretty obvious that Alisson is a better shot-stopper
than Ederson, and you can even tell based on who is always preferred in the national team.
Ederson has benefited greatly from being in a very good team led by one of the best
coaches in the world, but if the argument is strictly down to goalkeeping abilities,
then surely you can’t ever put Ederson over Alisson, it’s just as simple as that.
Anyway, we have now given you 10 disrespectful comparisons to pick from,
now go ahead and tell us which of them is the most disrespectful comparison in football. If
there’s anyone you think should have been on this list, do let us know in the comments.
Also, we would like to know your thoughts on each of these comparisons we mentioned. Do
you agree with them? Do you have counter arguments? Talk to us in the comments.
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