Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi stats: A detailed look at the duo’s numbers across competitions

The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi stats reveal that it has been undoubtedly the biggest rivalry in modern football. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated world football for more than a decade now.

While Portuguese superstar Ronaldo made his professional debut for Sporting in 2002, Argentine talisman Messi took the world football by storm when he made his senior debut for La Liga giants Barcelona in 2004.

The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate first became the biggest conundrum in football during the 2007-08 season. Both the football megastars were nominated for the prestigious Ballon d'Or in 2007. Interestingly, Kaka pipped Ronaldo and Messi to claim the coveted award that year. Meanwhile, Ronaldo finished second with 277 votes while Messi came third with 255 votes.

However, after Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would go on to dominate the Ballon d'Or in the next 10 years.

Playing for Manchester United, Ronaldo (446 votes) claimed his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 after he edged second-placed Messi (281 votes).

In 2009, former Barcelona forward Messi took his revenge as he bagged his maiden Ballon d'Or by beating Ronaldo with 250 votes. 

Since then, Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021. On the other hand, Ronaldo clinched the Ballon d'Or in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Furthermore, Messi has six European Golden Shoes while Ronaldo has won four of them.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi stats

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Ballon d'Or 

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi European Golden Shoes

In his illustrious career, Cristiano Ronaldo has represented five clubs namely Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr FC. Ronaldo has netted 706 club goals and provided 225 assists in 954 appearances so far. 

Lionel Messi, on the other hand, spent most of his professional career at Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain. During his career, Messi has scored 704 club goals in just 860 matches. He has also recorded 333 assists. 

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals in the UEFA Champions League. Ronaldo has scored a staggering 140 goals in 183 appearances in Europe’s biggest football competition so far. Along with 140 goals, the former Manchester United footballer has registered 48 assists.

Messi is second on the list with 129 goals in 162 appearances. He has recorded 45 assists in his UCL career.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi rivalry was at its peak during their stay in La Liga. Real Madrid’s Ronaldo and their arch-rival FC Barcelona’s Messi competed for club titles and personal awards between 2009 and 2018.

While Messi owns the record for most goals for a single club, having scored an astonishing 474 goals in 520 appearances, Ronaldo also showed his greatness as he scored a staggering 311 goals in 292 appearances for Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo also holds the record for the most goals in international football. Having represented the Portugal national football team since making debut in 2003, Ronaldo has scored 118 goals in 196 appearances along with providing 43 assists so far.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is the leading goalscorer in international football from South America. Playing for the Argentina national football team, Messi has scored 98 goals in 172 appearances. He has also recorded 55 assists so far. 

Cristiano Ronaldo made his FIFA World Cup debut for Portugal in their 1-0 win over Angola at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany in 2006. During their second group D match, Ronaldo converted a penalty kick to score his first World Cup goal against Iran.

Since then, Ronaldo has appeared in four more FIFA World Cups in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. He has scored eight goals and provided two assists in 22 matches so far.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina when he came on as a substitute against Serbia and Montenegro during a FIFA World Cup match in 2006. He scored a goal as well as registered an assist in their 6-0 win.

Messi also played a major role for Argentina in four more editions of the FIFA World Cup in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. The Rosario-born footballer has netted 13 goals and recorded eight assists in 26 World Cup appearances so far.

While Messi reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup final before losing 0-1 to Germany, Ronaldo reached the Round of 16 with Portugal in the 2010 and 2018 editions. Messi won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Overall, Cristiano Ronaldo has more career goals than Lionel Messi currently. So far, the Portuguese star has bagged nine goals for his current team Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

However, Lionel Messi has won more trophies than Cristiano Ronaldo across various football competitions for club and country. While Messi has claimed 42 trophies in his career, Ronaldo has clinched 34 titles so far.

Messi’s 42 trophies include ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues and the Copa America title. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s trophy cabinet comprises seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and the UEFA European Championship.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi trophies

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Featured photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP