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karaklos's review against another edition
5.0
No one has ever accused me of being a soccer fan which makes this book an unusual choice for me. It’s a great read that not only covers the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo but paints the soccer world as a crazy soap opera where the only romance is between each player and himself.
Very thoroughly researched with funny anecdotes, it was a very eye-opening and entertaining read. This book is largely about the business side of soccer and the impact of “NFL style” marketing, social media, Covid-19, wealthy oil investors, and budget mismanagement. If the business side of soccer sounds boring, it isn’t.
There were a lot of names thrown around…so many that I almost felt like I needed to create a list of all the people involved. I enjoyed the ancillary stories such as the sibling rivalry between the two brothers that created Adidas and Puma.
After finishing the epilogue, I saw that Argentina beat Croatia in the World Cup semifinal to advance to the final. I wonder if the authors would tweak the epilogue in hindsight.
Thank you to Goodreads for this advance reader copy. I was a Goodreads giveaway winner.
Very thoroughly researched with funny anecdotes, it was a very eye-opening and entertaining read. This book is largely about the business side of soccer and the impact of “NFL style” marketing, social media, Covid-19, wealthy oil investors, and budget mismanagement. If the business side of soccer sounds boring, it isn’t.
There were a lot of names thrown around…so many that I almost felt like I needed to create a list of all the people involved. I enjoyed the ancillary stories such as the sibling rivalry between the two brothers that created Adidas and Puma.
After finishing the epilogue, I saw that Argentina beat Croatia in the World Cup semifinal to advance to the final. I wonder if the authors would tweak the epilogue in hindsight.
Thank you to Goodreads for this advance reader copy. I was a Goodreads giveaway winner.
milestheworm's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Since this book was written with little first-hand reporting, its actual contents are very different from what the title and cover promise. Instead of learning about Messi and Ronaldo themselves, most of this book digresses into profiles of the businesses that surrounded the two players — such as lengthy histories of Adidas, La Liga television deals, PSG ownership, and many more. Plus, the book was written at a mostly random point in time: it comes to a dour conclusion about the two players and their teams, but it was published months before Messi’s 2022 World Cup victory. While the final product is well-written, there needed to be boots-on-the-ground journalism for the high promise of this book to deliver.
rhaeneystargaryen's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, a fairly large city in Argentina while Crstiano Ronaldo was born on an island miles away from the coast of Portugal.
Their Paths might've never crossed if they just hadn't been the most gifted players of their generation and played soccer in an era in which the world as we know it was changing.
Ronaldo doesn't move to Real Madrid until 2009, yet there's an entire chaoter dedicated to Real Madrid's finances from the 90s until Ronaldo got signed.
It felt like there were very few moment dedicated to the rivalry.
There were facts that were new to me. and some events felt like a refresher.
Not a text important to the rivalry unless you care about how money shaped it.
Their Paths might've never crossed if they just hadn't been the most gifted players of their generation and played soccer in an era in which the world as we know it was changing.
Ronaldo doesn't move to Real Madrid until 2009, yet there's an entire chaoter dedicated to Real Madrid's finances from the 90s until Ronaldo got signed.
It felt like there were very few moment dedicated to the rivalry.
There were facts that were new to me. and some events felt like a refresher.
Not a text important to the rivalry unless you care about how money shaped it.
jjones217's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
This book was not what I expected. I felt the focus was more outside the two greats with stories of them sprinkled in. They focused on the business side sure but it felt more on the business of the clubs they played for rather than focusing on the players businesses. They were brought up but it felt of more of an afterthought than the main focus.
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