Who is a better footballer of all time Messi or Ronaldo? Here’s the statistical comparison between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo Records, Career Stats, All-time Goals, Red Cards, Hattricks and Awards Comparision. One of the most asked question in the football world is who the better football player between Messi vs Ronaldo. No doubt they both are best footballers on the planet right now and it is our the privilege that we watching them playing in the same era. Both have won combined eight FIFA Ballon d’Or awards and has many individual achievements under their belts. But sports fans and journalists always debate on a question – who is the best player in football?
Both Messi and Ronaldo have scored more than 500 goals in their careers for club and country. Ronaldo himself once asked this question and in reply, he had said, “You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because both have a different engine.” But we tried to find who is a better player by comparing them to each other on the basis of their careers stats and records. Let’s find the answer to this million-dollar question.
Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo Statistics
| Details | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Date of birth | 24 June 1987 | 5 February 1985 |
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lbs) | 84 kg (186 lbs) |
| Hattricks | 51 | 54 |
| Goals | 671 | 696 |
| Ballon d’Or wins | 5 wins (2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2008) | 5 wins (2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2008) |
| The Best Fifa Men’s Player | 5 wins (2015, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) | 1 win (2019) |
Cristiano Ronaldo is more athletic which makes him more professional compared to Messi and has the ability to score all type of goals. On the other hand, Messi is better at building up attacks and can find that killer pass which can split even hard rock defences of the opposition team. There is no doubt that both are the greatest players in the football world but the question is who is better Messi or Ronaldo? So, let see their clubs and international statistics.
2020 Club Statistics
- Ronaldo (Juventus): 5 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist
- Messi for (Barcelona): 3 appearances, 0 goals, 1 assist
Messi vs Ronaldo Records
All-time career (excluding club friendlies)
- Ronaldo: 696 goals and 219 assists in 969 appearances
- Messi: 671 goals and 273 assists in 826 appearances
- Hat-tricks: Ronaldo 54; Messi 51
- Career goal ratio: Ronaldo 0.72; Messi 0.82
- Penalties: Ronaldo 112 (23 missed); Messi 84 (25 missed)
Club career (excluding friendlies)
- Ronaldo: 603 goals and 191 assists in 809 appearances
- Messi: 603 goals and 232 assists in 690 appearances
- Hat-tricks: Ronaldo 46; Messi 45
- Club goal ratio: Ronaldo 0.75; Messi 0.88
- Penalties: Ronaldo 103 (17 missed); Messi 70 (22 missed)
International career (friendly and competitive matches)
- Ronaldo: 93 goals and 28 assists in 160 appearances for Portugal
- Messi: 68 goals and 41 assists in 136 appearances for Argentina
- Hat-tricks: Ronaldo 8; Messi 6
- International goal ratio: Ronaldo 0.58; Messi 0.50
- Penalties: Ronaldo 9 (6 missed); Messi 14 (3 missed)
From the above stats, it is clear that Lionel Messi has the slightly better goal to game ratio than Ronaldo. Where Messi taking 0.82 matches to score 1 goal while Ronaldo taking 0.72 matches to score 1 goal.
Messi vs Ronaldo Team Honours
| Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo | |
| 2003-04 | FA Cup | |
| 2004-05 | La Liga | |
| 2005-06 | Champions League, La Liga, Spanish Super Cup | League Cup |
| 2006-07 | Spanish Super Cup | Premier League |
| 2007-08 | Olympic Gold | Champions League, Premier League, Community Shield |
| 2008-09 | Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey | Premier League, League Cup, Club World Cup, Community Shield |
| 2009-10 | La Liga, Uefa Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, Club World Cup | |
| 2010-11 | Champions League, La Liga, Spanish Super Cup | Copa del Rey |
| 2011-12 | Copa del Rey, Uefa Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, Club World Cup | La Liga |
| 2012-13 | La Liga | Spanish Super Cup |
| 2013-14 | Spanish Super Cup | Champions League, Copa del Rey |
| 2014-15 | La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League | Uefa Super Cup, Club World Cup |
| 2015-16 | La Liga, Uefa Super Cup, Club World Cup, Copa del Rey | Uefa Championship, Campions League, Euro 2016 |
| 2016-17 | Spanish Super Cup | Uefa Super Cup |
| Total Trophies | 30 | 21 |
Messi has won four Champions League titles as Barcelona player while his rival Ronaldo has won the Champions League thrice, one with Manchester United and twice with Real Madrid. He has won a premier league total four times – thrice with Manchester United and once with Real Madrid while Messi has won eight La Liga titles with Barcelona.
Messi has amazing club record but failed to repeat this in international tournaments. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has played well in the international competitions and finished once as runner-up (Euro 2004) and recently won Euro 2016 with Portugal.
World Cup Records: Messi vs Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup goals
- 2006: 1
- 2010: 1
- 2014: 1
- 2018: 4
Lionel Messi World Cup goals
- 2006: 1
- 2010: 0
- 2014: 4
- 2018: 1
Messi vs Ronaldo Individual Honours
| Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo | |
| 2003-04 | ||
| 2004-05 | ||
| 2005-06 | ||
| 2006-07 | PFA Young Player of the Year | |
| 2007-08 | European Golden Shoe, Premier League Golden Boot, Champions League Top Scorer, Uefa Club Footballer of the Year | |
| 2008-09 | Ballon d’Or, Champions League Top Scorer | |
| 2009-10 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, La Liga Top Scorer | Champions League Top Scorer |
| 2010-11 | Ballon d’Or, Uefa Best Player in Europe Award | European Golden Shoe, La Liga Top Scorer, Champions League Top Scorer |
| 2011-12 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, La Liga Top Scorer | Champions League Top Scorer |
| 2012-13 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, La Liga Top Scorer | Champions League Top Scorer |
| 2013-14 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, Champions League Top Scorer, La Liga Top Scorer, Uefa Best Player in Europe Award | |
| 2014-15 | World Cup Golden Ball, Champions League Top Scorer (tied), Uefa Best Player in Europe Award | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, La Liga Top Scorer, Champions League Top Scorer (tied) |
| 2015-16 | Ballon d’Or | Uefa Best Player in Europe Award |
Messi has many individual records including the most number of Ballon d’Or awards which is five times. He holds the Guinness World Record for scoring the most number of goals (91) in a year.
Ronaldo is the only player to win the European Golden Shoe award playing for two different clubs and the only one to win it four times. He would have won many awards if they were introduced earlier. Don’t forget, he is the fastest Real Madrid player to reach 50, 100, 150, 200 as well as 250 club goals in the club’s history.
Ronaldo vs Messi Red cards
Ronaldo has got a red card 11 times in his career which includes once for Juventus, six for Real Madrid and four cards for Manchester United while mess got only two red cards in his entire career.
Messi vs Ronaldo Final Result
Rating: Ronaldo: 8/10 Messi: 8.5/10
So now we have quite a clear image, Messi has achieved everything a football can dream of and he is two years younger than Cristiano Ronaldo. He has won Champions League titles, FIFA player of the year awards and he is behind Ronaldo with few goals with more assists. He has broken almost all big scoring records.
CONCLUSION: According to the above stats between Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo, records and honours, Lionel Messi is a slightly better player than Ronaldo not just in terms of record but also as a team player.