Former Pakistani speedster and cricket icon Shoaib Akhtar, popularly known as the “Rawalpindi Express” has again made the headlines in the sports world with his frankness and electrifying commentary. In a major virtual conference discussing FIFA World Cup 2026, the famed spin bowler turned to the world of football, identifying just who the world soccer great is and matches his fiery personality and style.
This has generated a huge blowout of engagement on digital sports platforms, connecting the world’s cricket and football fans.
Drawing Parallels with Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario (R9)
On a football field, the Brazilian defender’s name that Akhtar would have emulated if playing the game had been his career, was the legendary Ronaldo Nazario (R9). Known as the ‘God of the goals’ of his era, Ronaldo was a dual World Cup winner and a sensational goalscoring machine whose devastating combination of pace, physical ability and lethal abilities were the stuff of nightmares.
The former cricketer made an interesting comparison between the two of them, which was both amusing and informative because they shared one thing – pure, unspoiled speed.
If I ran on the football field with my full speed, even R9 and Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7) would be left behind to catch my speed.
The comparison is significant. Akhtar shook the best of the world’s batsmen with his record 161.3 kmph thunderbolts in the early 2000s and Ronaldo Nazario proved that he could decimate the tightest defence in Europe with his unstoppable speed.
The Aggressive Tactics of Zinedine Zidane
Akhtar didn’t stop the frontline attack. He also called upon the name of French footballing wizard Zinedine Zidane but with a rawalpindi twist.
Akhtar cracked a joke during his cricket career days that if he had been playing football, his style would almost have been more physical than in cricket, as he was known for being a very competitive player and his zero-tolerance policy with opponents. He commented that he would not have been able to let opponents pass easily, adding that he might have broken a few bones with his heavy tackles. This is an aggression which couldn’t be better suited to the psychological warfare he had used on the cricket field against the best bats of Australia and India.
Weighing in on Messi vs. Ronaldo “GOAT” Debate
The Football Legend Shoaib Akhtar, as a part of the World Cup panel, took the topic of the greatest football rivalry of the modern era – Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo – in stride and provided a detailed analysis of the rivalry.
Akhtar has given a complex answer regarding both icons:
Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7): Cristiano Ronaldo is the most influential sports business brand ever, said Akhtar, and spoke of the massive commercial opportunities that international football leagues and FIFA have exploited, given the power of Ronaldo’s brand across the world.
Lionel Messi: From a tactical and technical point of view, Akhtar took Messi to a whole new level. He commended Argentina captain’s natural instinct for knowing the game, ability to play with the team when it needs it most and his genius level awareness of space.
In the end, Akhtar’s viral gimmickry underscores the fact that the acrobatic power, competitive spirit, and pressure of situations in elite sports—be it cricket or football—are equally paramount.
