IT is a question that has divided football fans for the best part of two decades: who is the greatest footballer of all time – Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
But now, according to Spanish researchers, your answer may reveal more than just your footballing taste – it could also reflect your political beliefs.
The international study, led by researchers from Madrid’s Carlos III University, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, found that political ideology was the single strongest predictor of which player a fan preferred.
That was even after accounting for age, gender, media consumption habits, personality and cognitive factors.
In short, people who are left-wing tend to prefer Messi, while those who are right-wing tend to prefer Ronaldo.
The political divide is most pronounced among younger fans and becomes less statistically significant in older age groups.
“The study is not a verdict on anyone’s taste and does not claim that politics mechanically determines footballing preference,” said co-author Saifuddin Ahmed.
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Rather, it reveals that ‘the line between our political identity and cultural life has become much thinner than most of us perceive’.
The study surveyed 10,661 participants across 26 countries between April and May 2026.
Each participant rated both Messi and Ronaldo on a favourability scale of one to seven, presented in random order.
Countries were chosen to reflect a variety of football cultures, economic development levels and political systems.
Messi will have the opportunity to cement his status as the ‘GOAT’ in Sunday evening’s tantalising World Cup final against Spain.
The 39-year-old goes into the match in New York as the second top scorer at this summer’s tournament and could make it back-to-back titles after leading Argentina to glory four years ago in Qatar.
But in his way stands the imperious figure of reigning European champions Spain, who have conceded just once on the way to the final.
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