What you say are big statements, but I think Something needs to be highlighted here, Messi is a football genius, there is no doubt about it , he has an incredible vision of the game , he makes his passes and as you say, he reads the game an enormous speed and makes others understand his style of play, that's why he was born with that talent, and When you are born with talent you only need to exploit it , unlike CR7 that he has worked hard to achieve all his life his technique and his way of playing, I see that Mesi doesn't even care about his age to play, but CR7 does , in fact these two men left Europe because of the bad treatment they were given at one point, both Messi and CR7 had a hard time times because of their clubs, fans, among others, so this is not being well valued despite the things they have done to us when they show their game , and it is a pity that Messi has left, but you have to fully blame the PSG, he said it , spent two very long years being unhappy and not to mention what CR7 passed at MU.
I don't like reveling in the past and that is why I find it difficult to grant a player extra freedom or excuse mistakes because they played good in the past.
The thing with Messi at PSG was that they booed at him when he actually was the best scorer in Ligue 1 and only on the last game day or so Mbappe got one more scoring point I think (goals + assists). Shouting somebody down who is the second best or the best scorer of the league is quite stupid and Messi always had his actions in games that were genius. Essentially in every game, but most of the crowd couldn't see it.
Ronaldo suffered from his own arrogant behavior at Manchester United. You can fly high when you are arrogant but good at what you do, meaning when you score all the time and that is what he did for Real Madrid. It wasn't possible to shout him down because he scored the goals the team needed. This changed at Manchester United (2nd term). Ronaldo dropped in performance, but still behaved as if he was the king. Even worse, he still claimed it and behaved like it. Unlike Messi, who also gave away penalties and free kicks and some of the chance he would have taken on his own, knowing that his stats might be a little worse but it is good for the team spirit.
Respecting these players for what they have done is one thing and you are right about that, but when they play worse or bad, then they deserve the same criticism as everyone else for as long as they themselves want to play highly competitive soccer.
Messi also adapted a lot over time, which I liked about him and showed that he is a very intelligent player, not trying the same stuff he did with 23 years of age, but playing even smarter with more intelligent and deadly passes and small movements.
I will miss the most dangerous Barcelona there ever was when Messi peaked for the first time. That team was crazy. Sometimes it almost looked like a computer game and felt unfair towards the opponent.
