With Lionel Messi bagging the Ballon d’Or for a record seventh time this week, the football world was thrown into the age-old debate of Messi vs Ronaldo yet again. While many believed it had mismanagement written all over it, others believed the Argentine to be the rightful winner of the prestigious award.
Another significant revelation was Cristiano Ronaldo finishing out of the top five in the prestigious contest as Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski, UEFA Champions League winners Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema all finishing above the Portuguese international.
However, regardless of the Ballon d’Or outcome, the entire last decade has been witness to the unparalleled battle of Messi vs Ronaldo and the staggering numbers that this duo has posted over the years have been downright overwhelming.
Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged five Ballon d’Ors while Messi leads his archnemesis by two by becoming the man with the highest number of Ballon d’Ors in his international career. As we talk about numbers we would take you through a fest of the most primal numbers that has been dictating the sport ever since its inception.
Messi vs Ronaldo All-time goals
| Player | Matches | Goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 1094 | 799 |
| Lionel Messi | 948 | 756 |
Messi has been a part of 789 matches from which he has scored 676 goals. Ronaldo has been a part of 910 matches from which he has scored 684 goals in his glittering career. In the Champions League, Lionel Messi has played 153 matches while Ronaldo has played 181 matches. Messi has scored 123 Champions League goals while Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 140 CL goals.
UEFA Champions League goals
| Player | Matches | Goals |
| Ronaldo | 181 | 145 |
| Messi | 153 | 123 |
In the Copa Del Rey Ronaldo has played 30 matches while Messi has played 52 matches. Ronaldo’s stats are equally impressive as Messi as he managed to fire 22 goals vis-a-vis Messi’s 39.
Ronaldo has been a part of the Premier League and La Liga before shuffling over to Serie A. He was also instrumental in shaping up Portugal’s fortunes in the UEFA Nations League.
Messi however, was superior in the Ballon d’Or contest as he has been adjudged as the man of the world a couple of nights back for the seventh time.
Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged 55 hat tricks while Messi has smashed 58 hat tricks. In a duel of hat tricks, both these stars are almost on the same page.
These two are deemed as the legends of modern football who has been dishing out fine displays in their respective club competition while they have also left behind an all-important legacy in the world cup.
Ronaldo also has a staggering penalty conversion rate while Messi believes in carving delightful and ingenious penalties. However, in the previous ongoing calendar year, both Messi and Ronaldo couldn’t really stitch together a strong counterblast.
Number of goals
| Player | Matches | Goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 910 | 684 |
| Lionel Messi | 789 | 676 |
It isn’t just goals that these two gentlemen have blasted but the quality of the game that they have carved together for others defines their quality. Messi has managed to string together 304 assists being the prolific game-maker that he is while Ronaldo has engineered 231 assists. Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been setting their own legacy not only being the phenomenal scorer that each of them is but toppling records in one match after the other as they are supposed to.
Messi vs Ronaldo: Number of assists
It isn’t just goals that these two gentlemen have blasted but the quality of the game that they have carved together for others defines their quality. Messi has managed to string together 304 assists being the prolific game-maker that he is while Ronaldo has engineered 231 assists. Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been setting their own legacy not only being the phenomenal scorer that each of them is but toppling records in one match after the other as they are supposed to.
Messi vs Ronaldo: Number of assists
| Player | Matches | Goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 910 | 231 |
| Lionel Messi | 789 | 304 |
Discipline is an integral part of the game and these two have very passionately embraced the sport. Irrespective of all the show of chivalry, even they lose their tempers. Messi has picked a booking 82 times while Ronaldo was shown the yellow card a staggering 110 times.
When it comes to marching orders, Ronaldo picked up 11 suspension orders while Messi copped just a solitary red card in his entire career. Despite Ronaldo picking up more bookings, Messi has also been through his fair share of troubles. At the club level, both have been respective top scorer with a bedazzling brand of attack that is unmatched. Despite the Ballons d’Or, comparing these two legends isn’t something that should be done. On the contrary, both should Messi and Ronaldo must be celebrated.
Number of cards
| Player | Matches | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 910 | 110 | 11 |
| Lionel Messi | 789 | 82 | 1 |
One of the most defining moments in a footballer’s career is his performance in the international circuit. Both the players have been absolute lodestars in their respective careers and has spawned a legacy so massive that the duo has been labelled as untouchable.
Ronaldo has played 184 matches for his country while he has bagged 115 goals. Messi has 158 matches for his country while he has grabbed 80 goals.
Number of goals in international career
| Player | Matches | Goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 184 | 115 |
| Lionel Messi | 158 | 80 |
With a lot of numbers being spewed like a volcano, now we would look at the playing styles of the two. Lionel Messi started his career playing as a deep-lying midfielder and game-maker who would stitch together delectable through balls for his surging compatriots. He would occasionally try his luck from the distance whenever he found space ahead of him.
Cristiano Ronaldo initially started his career as a winger on the left and had this venomous artwork at his feet where he would dazzle past the defenders, leaving them in a state of trance with the insane artwork on the field.
However, once he arrived at Real Madrid, he had a change in his playing position as he switched from being a winger to their striker. Not only did he manage to pull off a successful transition, he also chronicled an impeccable record of bagging more goals than the number of matches that he played, the only footballer in the world to achieve this feat, playing more than 300 games for a club.
El Clasico, the famous clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona, sprang back to life with these two legends belting out their own sets of magic.
The most successful partners of Ronaldo and Messi
When a general takes the field, it isn’t just him who dictates the war. He has an entourage of fabulous people surrounding him that makes him the general. Of course, he takes the lead but the quality of the battle is enhanced by the members of the entourage.
Similarly, both Messi and Ronaldo had played alongside a few phenomenal players who has provided the perfect support to the duo in their glittering antiquity in football.
For Messi, there was Samuel Eto, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and in his latter years at Barcelona he was complemented by Neymar, Suarez and to cap it all off, he had a rising Frenkie De Jong by his side.
For Ronaldo, there were stars like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain, Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos who have been the most rock-solid support in his life.
Not only have they helped him to score but their companionship on and off the field has been absolutely staggering and the duo rode on a storm of brilliance to rule over the world.
Every player has a mentor in his formative years and he becomes like a dad to the player. Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo who lost his dad early in his life found a new father in Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who brought him from Sporting Lisbon and made him the talent that he was.
Lionel Messi had an ailment that had a massive expense that needed to be disposed and Barcelona chose to help the young kid and the rest they say is history.
Conclusion: Lionel Messi vs Ronaldo
Honestly, speaking this duo is beyond any kind of worldly comparison because of the quality that they bring along with themselves. Talking about international silverware, Lionel Messi recently won the Copa America while Ronaldo bagged the Euro Cup in 2016.
Messi’s Copa America was sheer display of his brilliance from the dead-ball situations while 2016’s Euro Cup witnessed Ronaldo’s instinctive brilliance.
Lionel Messi is now plying his trade for the French champions, PSG while Ronaldo has returned to Manchester United, where he has been struggling to get the team rolling. Manchester United is in the middle of doldrums as a personnel change is scheduled to happen in the next week with Ralf Rangnick all set to take over the Devils as an interim manager.
The duo has made football a game of beauty with one being the goal-machine while the other being an art of work. Comparisons will continue but it is the brand of football that this duo has gifted us which will forever remain etched in our memory.
The comparison between Ronaldo stats and Messi stats may be the glaring examples of the greatness that they bring. However, the quality that they bring is absolutely mind-boggling. Both Ronaldo and Messi has won three UEFA Super cup. Lionel Messi has won the European Golden shoe a whopping six times while Messi has bagged the award a whopping 4 times. Messi has won 10 league titles with Barcelona while Ronaldo has won two.
Both of them hardly used to feature in the club friendlies but whenever they did both Messi Cristiano Ronaldo were absolutely brilliant. Ronaldo won most of his glories with Real Madrid while Messi won all his glories with Barcelona.
