The debate about who is the best player will always be on the table, but the statistics show the truth. These are the updated data of Leo Messi’s goals vs Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals throughout their careers at both club and international level.
Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are on the list of the best players in the history of football, mainly for their impact on the game and their ability to win titles. But, as they say, statistics rule.
One common thread between the two is the eternal comparison: who is better, Ronaldo or Messi, and who has scored more goals? Brand Focus Africa and Besoccer Pro answers these questions with its up-to-date and detailed data.
Messi v Ronaldo
Following the last match played, Leo Messi has now played 1,045 games at professional level. In those games, the Argentine has scored 821 goals. In addition, he has provided a total of 344 assists. In other words: 1,165 goals have come directly from his boots.
As for Cristiano Ronaldo, his statistics are even better from an absolute point of view. He has scored 864 goals in 1,193 matches, making him the all-time top scorer. A stratospheric achievement, although it cannot be ruled out that Messi, now 35, could take it away from him. In the assists statistics he is worse off, with 208 assists, which is why the Portuguese’s absolute contribution is lower: he has generated 1,075 goals.
Looking at the averages, Leo Messi’s stands at 0.79 goals and 0.33 assists. Cristiano Ronaldo’s is 0.72 and 0.17, respectively. And that’s including his penalty goals.
Club goals: Messi vs Ronaldo
Looking at club matches only, the gap is much narrower. The player from Rosario has managed to score 715 goals and provided 301 assists. That is to say, 1.016 are the ones he has produced directly. All this in a total of 867 matches.
How many does Cristiano stand on? Well, the Portuguese, after a total of 990 games spread between Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr, has scored 736 goals and provided 189 assists. All in all, 925 goals generated.
Therefore, it remains that Messi, despite having played fewer games, has been involved in 100 more goals more than the Portuguese.
Messi v Ronaldo’s goals during his time at Real Madrid
During the period between 2009 and 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo had some spectacular figures. His time in all competitions wearing Real Madrid’s jersey gave him an average of 1.03, as he managed 450 goals in 438 games.
On the other hand, Leo Messi’s goal average at the Camp Nou side during the same period was 0.99 after he scored 22 more goals than the Portuguese, a total of 472, in 476 games.
The Argentinian, despite having scored more times during this period, also played 38 more games than the Portuguese. Therefore, the average in this case favours the current Al-Nassr striker.
Messi v Ronaldo goals for Inter Miami and Al-Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo became a legend at Real Madrid and after the 2017-18 season he asked to leave to start a new spell at Juventus. Something that seemed like it would never happen with Lionel Messi, but which ended up being forced in the summer of 2021 due to FC Barcelona’s delicate financial situation. A dramatic farewell that ended with the ’10’ at Paris Saint-Germain. Days later, it was also confirmed that the Portuguese player was leaving for Manchester United.
Ronaldo made 133 appearances for Juventus, scoring 101 goals in that time. Then, at Old Trafford, he scored 27 after 54 appearances in his second spell. In the first, he scored 119 in 292 games. It remains to be seen how many goals he scores at his new club, Al-Nassr, where he has scored 35 in 40 games.
Messi scored 11 goals in his first year with Paris Saint-Germain, five of them in the Champions League, where the club were knocked out in the last 16. That was the Argentinian’s first spell outside Spanish football, where he made 778 appearances for the ‘Cules’. So far in the 2022-23 season, the ’10’ has already made 39 appearances for PSG and has scored 20 goals, so he has racked a total of 32 goals in 75 games for the Parisian side.
In the 2023-24 season, he began a new journey in his career, joining MLS side Inter Miami. He scored 11 goals in 14 games for the North American team.
Messi v Ronaldo goals with their national teams
Regarding the last category, that of national teams, Ronaldo has better figures, although these still reveal the equality in statistics that exists between the two strikers.
The Portuguese, who has made 203 appearances and scored 128 goals (0.62 goals per game), has 25 more appearances for Portugal. In that time he has scored 20 more goals than the former Barca player.
As for the Argentina captain, he has registered 178 appearances and 106 goals, which leaves him with an average of 0.6 goals per game. Although at least the PSG player compensates thanks to the assists, since he has provided a total of 42 (0.24 average) to the 15 of the Portuguese (0.07).
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