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Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who is the GOAT in football? The stats head-to-head showdown
Ryan Kelly
07 Jun 2022 11:36+05:30
742
Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Man Utd PSGGetty/GOAL
Cristiano Ronaldo
L. Messi
Manchester United
PSG
UEFA Champions League
Copa America
Barcelona
Primera División
European Championship
Argentina
Juventus
Portugal
Serie A
World Cup
Stats
A serious discussion point on five-a-side pitches and barstools across the world, the issue of which player is the greatest of all time persists
Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi - who is the GOAT? It is the biggest conundrum in football since the 'Diego Maradona or Pele?' debate.
The question of who is better between the Portuguese phenomenon and the empyrean Argentine has dominated the minds of football fans everywhere for the past decade and will persist into the future.
Club and national loyalties can cloud judgement on the matter, while personalities also play a part in how good a player is perceived to be, and most people know who they'd pick.
So who really is the greatest of all time? Never mind who you prefer, GOAL has taken a look at how the pair actually shape up head-to-head so you can be fully armed with facts in the eternal argument.
On this page
Club goals
Club assists
Champions League
World Cup
International
Titles
Individual awards
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Club goals
Cristiano Ronaldo Season Lionel Messi
5 2002-03 -
6 2003-04 -
9 2004-05 1
12 2005-06 8
23 2006-07 17
42 2007-08 16
26 2008-09 38
33 2009-10 47
53 2010-11 53
60 2011-12 73
55 2012-13 60
51 2013-14 41
61 2014-15 58
51 2015-16 41
42 2016-17 54
44 2017-18 45
28 2018-19 51
37 2019-20 31
36 2020-21 38
24 2021-22 11
700 Total 683
Ronaldo has scored more club goals than Messi, but only just and it should be noted that the Manchester United star benefits from having played two more seasons than his Argentine nemesis thus far.
Each of them has remarkably netted over 680 club goals in their career so far, with the five seasons between 2009-10 and 2014-15 proving particularly golden as they pushed each other to greater heights.
While Ronaldo currently has more goals overall, Messi has the edge in the scoring department, with a higher season average (37.9 to 35), having hit a high of 73 goals in 2011-12, though his average dropped after a disappointing maiden campaign at PSG in 2021-22.
Ronaldo's highest season return was 61, which he achieved in 2014-15, and he surpassed the 50-goal mark every season for six years between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
Interestingly, while Ronaldo's seasonal totals have declined somewhat in recent years - he failed to break the 30-goal mark in 2018-19 during his first season at Juventus - Messi's have remained consistent, though the Argentine's rate slowed after joining PSG.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Club assists
Cristiano Ronaldo Season Lionel Messi
More
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who is the GOAT in football? The stats head-to-head showdown
Ryan Kelly
07 Jun 2022 11:36+05:30
742
Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Man Utd PSGGetty/GOAL
Cristiano Ronaldo
L. Messi
Manchester United
PSG
UEFA Champions League
Copa America
Barcelona
Primera División
European Championship
Argentina
Juventus
Portugal
Serie A
World Cup
Stats
A serious discussion point on five-a-side pitches and barstools across the world, the issue of which player is the greatest of all time persists
Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi - who is the GOAT? It is the biggest conundrum in football since the 'Diego Maradona or Pele?' debate.
The question of who is better between the Portuguese phenomenon and the empyrean Argentine has dominated the minds of football fans everywhere for the past decade and will persist into the future.
Club and national loyalties can cloud judgement on the matter, while personalities also play a part in how good a player is perceived to be, and most people know who they'd pick.
So who really is the greatest of all time? Never mind who you prefer, GOAL has taken a look at how the pair actually shape up head-to-head so you can be fully armed with facts in the eternal argument.
On this page
Club goals
Club assists
Champions League
World Cup
International
Titles
Individual awards
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Club goals
Cristiano Ronaldo Season Lionel Messi
5 2002-03 -
6 2003-04 -
9 2004-05 1
12 2005-06 8
23 2006-07 17
42 2007-08 16
26 2008-09 38
33 2009-10 47
53 2010-11 53
60 2011-12 73
55 2012-13 60
51 2013-14 41
61 2014-15 58
51 2015-16 41
42 2016-17 54
44 2017-18 45
28 2018-19 51
37 2019-20 31
36 2020-21 38
24 2021-22 11
700 Total 683
Ronaldo has scored more club goals than Messi, but only just and it should be noted that the Manchester United star benefits from having played two more seasons than his Argentine nemesis thus far.
Each of them has remarkably netted over 680 club goals in their career so far, with the five seasons between 2009-10 and 2014-15 proving particularly golden as they pushed each other to greater heights.
While Ronaldo currently has more goals overall, Messi has the edge in the scoring department, with a higher season average (37.9 to 35), having hit a high of 73 goals in 2011-12, though his average dropped after a disappointing maiden campaign at PSG in 2021-22.
Ronaldo's highest season return was 61, which he achieved in 2014-15, and he surpassed the 50-goal mark every season for six years between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
Interestingly, while Ronaldo's seasonal totals have declined somewhat in recent years - he failed to break the 30-goal mark in 2018-19 during his first season at Juventus - Messi's have remained consistent, though the Argentine's rate slowed after joining PSG.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Club assists
Cristiano Ronaldo Season Lionel Messi
7 2009-10 11
16 2010-11 21
15 2011-12 29
12 2012-13 14
14 2013-14 11
21 2014-15 27
15 2015-16 23
11 2016-17 16
8 2017-18 18
10 2018-19 19
5 2019-20 25
5 2020-21 12
3 2021-22 14
142 Total 240
When it comes to assists, Messi is much superior to Ronaldo and that contrast has become increasingly stark as their respective roles evolve.
The fact that Messi creates so many goals as well as scoring them is a major consideration when deciding which player is the GOAT and, while Ronaldo chips in with his fair share, the difference in this particular realm is stark.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Champions League stats
Cristiano Ronaldo Champions League stat Lionel Messi
183 Appearances 156
140 Goals 125
0.77 Goals per game 0.8
*As of Champions League games played in 2021-22.
Ronaldo is the all-time leading goalscorer in the Champions League, having shone in the competition with Manchester United and Real Madrid in particular.
However, Messi isn't far behind and actually has a fractionally better goal-per-game ratio, so there is a good chance that he could overtake the Man United man if he continues to sparkle in the competition .
Ronaldo also holds the record for most overall Champions League appearances, having overtaken Iker Casillas.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: World Cup stats
Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup stat Lionel Messi
17 Appearances 19
7 Goals 6
0.4 Goals per game 0.3
When it comes to World Cups, Ronaldo and Messi are considered underperformers due to the simple fact that neither has won the competition.
Portugal star Ronaldo has scored more goals at the tournament and in fewer appearances, but Messi can claim to have gone furthest, having reached the final with Argentina in 2014. The PSG attacker won the Golden Ball during that tournament, despite missing out on the ultimate glory at the hands of Germany.
The furthest Ronaldo reached with Portugal was the Selecao's run to the semi-final in 2006, when they were beaten by France before losing the third-place play-off against Germany.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: International stats
Cristiano Ronaldo Stat Lionel Messi
187 International caps 162
117 International goals 86
0.62 Goals per game 0.5
Ronaldo and Messi have similar records at international level, though Ronaldo boasts greater numbers, partly because his senior Portugal career kicked off two years before Messi's with Argentina.
Ronaldo equalled Ali Daei's record of 109 international goals at Euro 2020 and then surpassed it with two goals against the Republic of Ireland, becoming the top international goalscorer of all time.
Messi is a long way behind Ronaldo in that respect, though he is by some distance Argentina's top goalscorer of all time, surpassing the great Gabriel Batistuta some years ago.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Titles
Cristiano Ronaldo Competition Lionel Messi
0 World Cup 0
1 European Championship / Copa America 1
1
Nations League/Finalissima
1
0 Olympics 1
7 League titles 11
5 Champions League 4
4 Club World Cup 3
4 National Cups* 7
22 Total 28
When it comes to assists, Messi is much superior to Ronaldo and that contrast has become increasingly stark as their respective roles evolve.
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