Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo - 2017 Updated Edition: Head to Head with the World's Greatest Players

by Luca Caioli

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo have risen from humble beginnings in Argentina, Brazil and Portugal to rank among the most exciting talents football has ever seen. Now Luca Caioli, author of biographies of Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar, ‘Who is the greatest of them all?’ Comparing their contrasting styles, stories, records and awards, he gives you everything you need to decide who comes out on top. With exclusive insights from their friends, families, teammates and managers, Caioli presents a unique insight into what makes a modern player not just successful, but truly great.

Genres: Football, Sports, Biography Memoir, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2014

About the author

Luca Caioli (Milan, 1958) is the author of several novels and biographies that have been translated into forty languages ​​and sold a million copies. Throughout a career of over thirty years as a journalist, he has covered the main sports events for the most prominent European media. He currently lives in Madrid.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think a lot of students would enjoy reading this book that compares three of the most famous soccer players in the world. There definitely were some very interesting parts (about their upbringing, rise to the top, family etc), but the book was really bogged down by statistics of goals, games etc that lacked detail. I would have preferred less statistics and more story behind their more important feats. The strongest part of the book discussed their work ethic, sacrifice etc. The book definitely will make me follow their careers more carefully and any serious soccer fan should give it a try.

[Yousef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lionel Messi wanted to make his dream come true and play football with his favorite team Barcelona, but there were problems with his height by like growing problems and they said he will not be as good. So he trained everyday in Argentina, got in his team in Argentina then Barcelona found out how good he got and they went for him. Then when he played a lot of matches he broke hundreds of records and now is called the greatest football player of all time. This story is about Perseverance, Confidence and Hard work

[Shrish Venus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this a very good biography which goes deep into detail with each of their lives. It is a very factual book with lots of interesting facts, behind the scene stories and anecdotes about the three greats. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about anyone one of these players.

[Nisarg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book as i am a big fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona.I cherish the time spent reading this book.I idolize Lionel Messi. I got to know the early days and the personality of the player i love through this book. Forca Barca. Vamos Messi.

[Anupama K. Mazumder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a wonderful book. Messi emerges as a down to earth guy blessed with a wonderful family who have supported him through all odds. I liked it all the more because I read it just after the world cup.

[Ricky Ponce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messi Neymar Ronaldo is a biography book about Messi the argentinian short kid who started out without knowing a single thing about soccer, Neymar the brazilian boy who grew in poverty and now is the most expensive soccer player in the sport right now, Ronaldo the portuguese scrawny kid who grew up to be noticed as the most massive soccer player at the moment. This book was written by Luca Caioli in 3rd person. There are many settings in this book, but the main place is in europe where their names grew to be one of the best soccer players in the world. In this book since there are 3 main people there are more than one conflicts like how Messi was playing without knowing a single thing about the game, Neymar had to grow up sleeping on the floor because his family didn’t have money, and like I said Ronaldo grew up scrawny and weak. The one part of the story that I liked was when Messi grew up to win many titles and became famous in name of his grandpa who thought Messi the sport. I would recommend this book to someone who of course likes any of these soccer players, or who likes soccer.

[Ramiro]

The Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar Book was fantastic because it gave me a even further idea of the life of the 3 greatest soccer players in the world. The Central idea of the book conveys that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind into it that includes a lot of discipline that is needed. A thing I really liked about the book is that it explained really good how Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo became from nothing to the greatest soccer players in the world. A thing I really didn't like about the book is the fact that it didn't describe their daily life spent with their family because I honestly feel it wasn't really described that much. Anyways I still encourage many to read the book because it impressively describes the life of the 3 greatest players with details pulled out from the players and their coaches from the past that eventually help them become the best their is on the world today. If I would be able to rate this book I would give it a 10/10 because it describes more than how they became pros but also the challenges they had to face to become professional soccer players.

[Nick]

What's ur favorite sport? Mine is soccer. That is exactly why I read this book. It gives you all the information you need to know about these 3 amazing soccer players. This book tells you about Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar Jr. Arguably the top 3 players in the world. Before reading this I thought I knew a good amount of info about these players before reading the book. After reading this I can tell you anything about these guys. I didn't know that Ronaldo signed his first contract at the age of 16. This book also went into fascinating detail about there childhoods.

This book is written by Luca Caioli. This book is a non-fiction book with plenty of amazing facts about these players. I recommend this book anyone 10 years and older. Anyone who enjoys soccer and reading about it would love this book. This book also isn't part of series, but still 100% recommend reading it. Overall this book is a greta informational book about the top 3 soccer players in the world.

[Hendrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book describes very detailedly what happens in these footballers life.

[HenryMehring · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Messi Neymar Ronaldo, by Luca Caioli, It talks about the lives and careers of supposedly the three best soccer players in the world. The book is in the order from earliest to latest, but it combines all three stories together, so it’s kind of confusing. Also, the book was made in 2014, so it’s not completely up to date.
Cristiano Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985 in Funchal, Portugal. The house he lived in was demolished in 2007. Ronaldo carried a ball wherever he went, and was out playing soccer until 9:30 every day. Messi was born on June 23, 1987 in Argentina. The gynaecologist was diagnosed with severe foetal distress, so Messi’s dad, Rodrigo, had to deliver the baby. Messi’s dad built their house in a humble neighborhood. Messi prefered marbles, but he got a soccer ball for his birthday and that’s when it began. On February 5, 1992, Neymar was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Neymar’s dad played soccer, and the team paid rent for a condo for the family.Neymar has a ball almost all the time, and he accumulated 54 balls in his bedroom. Then it talks about a turning point in their lives, when they first flew on an airplane going to their new clubs. Ronaldo flew to Lisbon to play for Sporting, Messi flew to Catalonia to play for Barcelona, and Neymar flew to Madrid to play for Real Madrid. The deal with Real Madrid never worked out, so Neymar went back to Brazil. Later, he signed with Barcelona. Them and their families were all sad, but they knew it was what they wanted. A large part of the book is about their performances for club and country, so I’ll sum it up. Cristiano Ronaldo has 5 goals in 31 games for Sporting CP. He has 118 goals in 292 appearances for Manchester United, and for Manchester United. For Real Madrid, he has 371 goals in 357 games. For Portugal, he has 66 goals in 135 national team caps. He has won the EPL 3 times, La Liga once, FA Cup once, Copa Del Rey twice, UCL three times, and the UEFA Euro once along with many others. He was also awarded the Ballon d’Or three times. Lionel Messi has 467 goals in 543 appearances for Barcelona and 56 goals in 114 caps for Argentina. He has won La Liga eight times, Copa Del Rey four times, UCL four times, and many others. He also has won the Ballon d’Or 5 times. Neymar has 136 goals in 225 appearances for Santos, 91 goals in 152 appearances for Barcelona, and 49 goals in 73 caps for Brazil. He has won the Copa do Brasil once, La Liga twice, Copa Del Rey twice, UCL once, and the Olympics gold medal along with many others. Then it talks about their style. Ronaldo’s signature move is the Ronaldo chop, Messi’s is the body feint, and Neymar’s is the Neymar flick.Then it talks about their partners. Since 2008, Messi has been in a relationship with Antonella Roccuzzo and they have had 2 kids. Ronaldo has dated Alice Goodwin, Gemma Atkinson, and Irina Shayk. He has a son, but Cristiano hasn’t revealed who the mother is. Neymar has a son, Davi Lucca, with former girlfriend Carolina Dantas.It talks about their jersey numbers, and Ronaldo’s currently 7, Messi’s currently 10, and Neymar’s currently 11. It also talks about social media and money. Cristiano has the most followers and is the richest.
This book was a pretty good book. It’s about my favorite sport, but it doesn’t include any of my favorite players or teams. I still enjoyed it, as the sections about their personal lives were interesting.

[Osmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I give this book 4 stars is because I like the how the author is not biased and is not against or with one of the players in the book. I also like how he really explains how the players felt in a particular phase of their lives. For example when Messi had to move to Europe to be in FC Barcelona the author explains how much Messi missed his mom and sometimes he felt like going back. I also liked he started off the book as how their passion for football started and how their lives started to progress from there and how they got so attached to the sport, and one thing that I think that this book shows is not just facts about them but also shows the sacrifices that have to be made in order to reach the top level that this players have gotten and I feel like it speaks to everyone that wants to become a pro football player. That it's not just about the glory and money and all that but it's also about pain and loneliness. One thing I didn't like was that he added their social media which in my opinion is not that important, but overall I think it's a good book

[Upendra Bapat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is just a summarized version of 3 separate books return by Luca Caioli on Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.
I have read the 2 books on Messi and Ronaldo, Neymar angle was new to me..
The book is just 2.5-star if I can give it, the reason is compilation of updated edition. Looks like the new paragraphs are just added as an update of their records in 2018. I felt they did not feel to change the earlier paragraphs..

I would recommend reading the separate books on each of these players.
Finally, Messi is the GOAT :)!!

[Rohan Ganglani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives many facts on the 3 best footballers in the world. The book also has a range on information from the players childhood to their families today. I would recommend this book to any football fan or to anyone who would like to know more about football in general.

[Sumeer G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to the three best forwards especially for someone who hasn't followed the game a lot.

[Daniel]

I want to read this

[Amita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for people who are soccer lover..

[Enrique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting lost of their life and their strugle

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad idea, poorly executed. Ugh

[Deborah Haislip]

the book Messi,Neymar,Ronaldo is fantastic and also teaches a lot about them as was his past life as they suffered for to be horn where they are now to become a legend and to encourage other people to never give up and give the best of them. something that I like a lot is that despite the problems they had they never gave up because they came and struggled to achieve what they wanted and also in the poor that they were they never gave up. something I did not like was the people