Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Statistics: A detailed look at the pair’s numbers in competitions

The statistics of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi show that this is undoubtedly the greatest rivalry in modern football. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated world football for more than a decade.

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo made his professional debut in the sport in 2002, while Argentina’s Messi took 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 one of football’s biggest controversies in the 2007-08 season. Both soccer megastars were nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 2007. Interestingly, Kaka beat Ronaldo and Messi to claim the prestigious award that year. Meanwhile, Ronaldo came second with 277 votes and Messi came third with 255 votes.

However, after Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will maintain their dominance in the Ballon d’Or in the next 10 years.

Playing for Manchester United, Ronaldo (446 votes) won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008, ahead of second-placed Messi (281 votes).

In 2009, former Barcelona forward Messi got revenge by beating Ronaldo by 250 votes to win his first Ballon d’Or.

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

Besides, Messi has 6 European Golden Boots while Ronaldo has won 4.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Statistics

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Ballon d’Or

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi – European Golden Boot

In his best career, Cristiano Ronaldo has represented four clubs namely Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Ronaldo has scored 701 club goals and provided 223 assists in 949 games so far.

Lionel Messi, on the other hand, spent most of his professional career at Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain. In his 19-year career, Messi has scored 701 club goals in a total of 853 matches. He also recorded 332 assists.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi (Goals at Club Level)

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for scoring the most goals in the UEFA Champions League. Ronaldo has so far scored 140 goals in 183 games in Europe’s biggest football competition. The footballer of Manchester United has registered 48 assists along with 140 goals.

Messi is second on the list with 129 goals in 161 games. He has recorded 42 assists in his UCL career.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi (Goals in UEFA Champions League)

During his stay in La Liga, the competition between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi was at its peak. Real Madrid’s Ronaldo and their arch-rivals FC Barcelona’s Messi competed for club titles and individual awards between 2009 and 2018.

Messi owns the record for most goals for a single club with 474 goals in 520 games while Ronaldo has also shown his greatness as he has scored 311 goals in 292 games for Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi (Goals in La Liga)

The record of scoring the most goals in international football is also held by Cristiano Ronaldo. Since his debut in 2003, Ronaldo, who has been representing the Portuguese national football team, has provided 43 assists and scored 118 goals in 193 games.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is the top scorer in international football from South America. Messi has scored 93 goals in 167 games while playing for the Argentina national football team. He has also recorded 53 assists so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi (Goals in International Football)

Cristiano Ronaldo made his FIFA World Cup debut for Portugal in a 1-0 win over Angola at the RheinEnergie Stadion in Cologne, Germany in 2006. In the second match of Group D, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the World Cup against Iran with a penalty kick.

Since then, Ronaldo has appeared in four FIFA World Cups in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. He has eight goals and two assists in 18 games so far.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina in a FIFA World Cup match in 2006 when he played as a substitute against Serbia and Montenegro. In addition to scoring a goal, he also registered an assist in the 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 so far scored eight goals and six assists in 21 World Cup appearances.

Messi reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup final before losing 0-1 to Germany, while Ronaldo reached the round of 16 with Portugal in the 2010 and 2018 editions.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi (Goals in FIFA World Cups)

Overall, Cristiano Ronaldo currently has more career goals than Lionel Messi. Ronaldo has scored 819 goals in 1142 matches while Messi has scored 794 goals in 1020 matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi (Career Goals)

However, Lionel Messi has won more trophies than Cristiano Ronaldo in various football competitions for club and country. Messi has won 41 titles in his career while Ronaldo has won 34 titles so far.

Messi’s 41 trophies include 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and a Copa America title. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s trophy cabinet includes seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues and the UEFA European Championship.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Trophy