I have always been told that a player proves their calibre as ‘world-class’ on the ‘world-stage’, that is, on an international level. When you perform for your country at your peak, and play a part in a successful campaign relative to your side, you achieve a status as one of the best, joining a club host to Pele, Maradona and Cruyff, to name just a few.
On the same international stage Cristiano Ronaldo achieved only glimpses of the player we know to dominate the Bernabeu week in week out, Messi has yet to set the world alight for Argentina and Wayne Rooney’s performances in an England shirt wouldn’t warrant him a place in the Sunderland starting eleven.
