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One of the fiercest debates of modern football for the past decade has been over the Portuguese and Argentine football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, respectively. Their stellar records have stood them out among the many other footballers in the world, leaving many fans asking which of them is better. So who among the duo is better? Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?
Both the Argentine football star, Lionel Messi, and the Portuguese football sensation, Cristiano Ronaldo are among the greatest footballers of all time. However, when it comes down to the rubrics of what makes exceptional players, Messi excels better in almost every metric of assessment. Messi has more
However, it’s best to look in the records for statistical proof of who does better at the sport, and that’s precisely what this post is all about.
Lionel Messi: Facts
His early life
Lionel Messi was born on the 24th of June, 1987, to his family in Rosario, Sante Fe. He is the third of the family’s four children. Lionel Messi was born into the football-loving family of Jorge Messi, his dad, and Celia Cuccittini, his mother. He is also called Leo Messi or, more fully, Lionel Andres Messi.
Lionel Messi developed a passion for the game of football from quite a tender age since he spent most of his time playing the game with his elder brothers and cousins, who also went on to become professional footballers.
The Rosario-born football star started his journey into professional football quite early. At the age of four, Messi joined Grandoli, a local football club, and had his father as his football coach. Messi moved on to join the Newell’s Old Boys club two years later at the age of six. Messi played with Newell’s for the next six years of his life until he was 12, scoring almost 500 goals during his stay with the club.
Sadly, Lionel Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at the age of 10 and would complete his treatments at 14 with the help of FC Barcelona. The football star remained a reserved character throughout his growing period, so much so that his mates thought he could not speak. Notwithstanding, he was able to relate with his colleagues on the pitch, and he performed exceptionally well while playing under the Barcelona youth team, the “Baby Dream Team.” Messi ended his first full season with the team as the top scorer of the season after netting 36 goals in 30 matches.
His Club Career
Messi has spent most of his still active football playing years with the Catalan side, FC Barcelona. He made his debut appearance for the club when he was just 16 years of age and has since then spent 18 years of his career playing as the forward player for the club. Messi would end up playing 778 matches while at Barcelona. During this period he scored 672 goals for the Catalan side, a record that remains the highest any single player has recorded with the club. Lionel Messi also took the team to 10 La Liga victories and four UEFA Champions League trophies.
His International Career
Messi made his debut match for the Argentina national team in June 2004 during a friendly match against Paraguay. Although the Spanish national team has eyes on the young star and made moves to have him playing on their side due to his dual citizenship status as both Spanish and Argentine, Messi had already long decided he would settle with Argentina.
The Rosarino-born star would later make his debut World cup appearance for Argentina in August 2005. He has also represented his country in competitions like Copa America and the Olympics.
In the course of his career, Messi has made a total of 173 appearances for Argentina, during which he has been able to score 98 goals and win four trophies for his country. Among the trophies he has won with the Argentina national team include a FIFA World Youth Championship cup in 2005, an Olympic gold medal in 2008, a Copa America title in 2021, the UEFA Cup of Champions, and the FIFA World cup in 2022.
His Physique
Lionel Messi is, in fact, shorter than the average professional footballer, with a height of 1.69m and a weight of about 67 kg. In his early years, Messi suffered from a growth hormone deficiency, limiting his height. It was initially believed that Messi would reach a maximum height of 1.5m. However, with the help of treatment, he has been able to grow taller, although he is still shorter than the average professional footballer.
Notwithstanding, Lionel Messi’s height gives him a specific advantage taller players don’t have, which is a lower center of gravity. This enables him to execute his dribblings on the pitch in some of the most technical and unimaginable ways while maintaining his balance.
Messi also has short but strong legs, which explains his ability to accelerate quickly in different directions. His fast feet contribute to his phenomenal dribbling ability and allow him to maintain great control of the ball even when he is running at top speeds. In spite of the Argentinian star’s small physical stature, he has significant upper-body strength. This allows him to withstand tackles from opposing defenders.
His Playing Style
Messi is predominantly left-footed, although he developed his ability to use both feet equally over the years. It’s typical to see Messi begin his dribblings by using the outter part of his left foot and finish off with the inside. He also provides passes and assists using his left.
Messi is also great at netting goals. And besides getting balls in the back of the net himself, he’s also very savvy with creating goal-scoring opportunities. His quick moves and smart reactions while on the field stand him out. Lionel Messi is also a talented playmaker who’s capable of creating goal-scoring opportunities where none seem to exist. Moreover, he also has a reputation for scoring goals from chips.
Messi’s style of play typically involves dropping deep, linking up with players in the midfield, engendering attacking moves, and creating goal-scoring opportunities.
The Argentine star is also widely regarded as the best dribbler in the world because of his stellar ability to undertake individual dribbling while making his way through the opposition’s defense. Messi maintains a pace and executes his move with a degree of technicality that makes it seem as though the ball is glued to his feet.
Messi is also an exceptional free-kick taker and and has netted 60 goals via free kicks. Penalties are no different as the Argentine football star is a gifted penalty taker. He ranks as the 9th best free-kick taker of all time, with 60 of his career goals scored from direct free kicks.
His Goal Scoring Stats
Lionel Messi has netted a lot of balls in the course of his still-active football career while playing for club and country. He has scored a total of 796 goals in his career for both clubs and the Argentina national team. Messi got a large percentage of his career goals while playing with the Catalan team, FC Barcelona, where he scored 672 in his 778 appearances. Messi’s goal-scoring record also includes the balls he has netted for Argentina- a record that stands at 98 goals. After moving to Paris Saint Germain in 2021 and playing 58 matches, he has been able to add 26 goals to his already stellar record.
His Assists Stats
Messi is also a great playmaker and has proven this with his ability to create numerous goal-scoring opportunities. In the course of his still active football career, Lionel Messi has provided 388 assists, making him not just the highest assists provider in the history of La Liga but also the player with the highest number of assists in football history.
His Team-Playing Ability
It’s easy to see that Lionel Messi is a team player when on the pitch. His ability to carry along his teammates is shown in his exceptional assists, and key passes records. Messi is tactically intelligent, creating spaces and maneuvring with the ball even in tight corners, quickly repositioning himself in free spaces to receive passes and giving passes to teammates to create goal-scoring chances.
Rather than just going for the kill always, Messi prefers dropping deep and maintaining possession of the ball alongside his teammates while looking for the best position to place killer passes to his colleagues who are better positioned to net the ball per time.
His Trophies
Lionel Messi has a bountiful collection of trophies, as he has won every major trophy except one. He has won a total of 42 trophies for club and country during his career, a statistic that places him as the second most decorated player of all time after Dani Alves. Lionel Messi’s most prominent international trophy is the 2022 FIFA World Cup he won at Qatar. He had initially shared the no-world-cup status with Ronaldo until he broke the hardlock by leading the Argentina national team to victory in 2022. Other trophies for country in his collection include the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 CONMEBOL.
Among the trophies he has won for clubs include 10 La Liga cups, 7 Copa del Rey cups, 8 Spanish Super Cup titles, 4 UEFA Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cup trophies, 3 FIFA club world cup titles, a Ligue 1 cup, and a Trophée des Champions.
His Awards
Messi’s collection is also stuffed with a lot of awards. The Argentine football star has taken home many personal awards in the course of his playing career for club and country. His collection of awards includes 7 Ballon d’Or awards, 6 European golden shoes, 2 World Cup golden balls, 9 La Liga MVP awards, 1 FIFA World player award, and others.
His Net Worth
Lionel Messi is worth about $130 million. Approximately $75 million of his earnings come from playing football, while the remaining $55 million comes from off-field earnings like endorsements.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Facts
His Early Life
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, more popularly known as Cristiano Ronaldo or CR7, was born on the 5th of February, 1985, to his parents, Jose Dinis and Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, in the São Pedro parish of Funchal in Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo is the last of four children born into his family. The football star’s beginnings were humble as he grew up in a poor Catholic Christian home.
Ronaldo had already begun playing football at the age of seven. He played for the Santo Antonio-based football club, Andorinha, for three years before moving to Nacional, where he spent his next two years. Ronaldo moved to Sporting CP at age twelve and later joined the club’s academy. By age fourteen, young Ronaldo agreed with his mother that he would quit school to focus entirely on professional football. And so he never went beyond the 6th grade in school.
Ronaldo got his promotion from Sporting CP’s Youth team at the age of 16, and he set the record as the first player to play in Sport CP’s under-16, under-17, under-18 teams, B team, and first team all in one season. Ronaldo’s obvious talentedness and skillfulness on the pitch quickly won the interest of the English Premier League club manager, Alex Ferguson, who was the manager of Manchester United at the time. Ferguson bought Ronaldo over to Manchester United, where the young Portuguese star player would see his career soar to the next level.
His Club Career
Ronaldo has played for several clubs across different leagues during his career, including the Primeira Liga Sporting CP, the English Premier League Manchester United, La Liga Real Madrid, Saudi Pro League Al Nassr, and Serie A Juventus. During his club career, the football star has scored a total of 706 goals for clubs. He recorded his highest number of career goals while playing for Real Madrid, where he scored 450 goals.
His International Career
Cristiano Ronaldo began his international football career with Portugal’s under-15 team in 2001. He went on to play in Portugal’s under-17, under-20, under-21, and under-23 teams before making his debut appearance in the senior team in 2003.
Ronaldo has made a total of 196 appearances for Portugal, during which he has scored 118 goals, making him the highest goalscorer of all time in men’s International football. He has also won a number of trophies with the Portugal national team. Some of the trophies he has won alongside the team include the 2003 under-20 Toulon tournament, the 2016 UEFA European Championship, and the 2018/2019 UEFA Nations League cup.
His Physique
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the fittest footballers in modern football. The Portuguese football sensation is 1.87m tall, making him taller than the average footballer. He also weighs about 85 kg. Ronaldo is right-footed, but his both feet are also very strong.
He is physically very athletic and fit, thanks to the countless hours of training and dedication he is known for. His jumping ability and good elevation have also helped him net a lot of balls through headers.
His Playing Style
Ronaldo is unarguably one of the greatest players in world football history. His exceptional and eye-catching style of play has made the star a favorite to many football fans worldwide. Cristiano Ronaldo is a gifted attacker who is skilled enough to play on both wings of the field. During the course of his football career, he has evolved from playing as a winger to playing as a center forward.
Ronaldo is famous for his dribbling with flair and entertaining style of play. The Portuguese football star has great pace, technical ability, and quick acceleration going for him. These trio help him get past opponents when faced with one-on-one tackles. Over the years, the Portuguese football star evolved into a prolific goalscorer, being able to score goals from within and outside the penalty area.
Ronaldo is also a creative playmaker and occasionally drops deep to participate in building up the gameplay and creating chances for his teammates. During his last seasons at Manchester United, Ronaldo played as both a supporting forward player and an attacking midfielder, proving his all-around ability.
Again, when it comes to taking free kicks and penalties, Cristiano Ronaldo is exceptionally talented. Ronaldo is renowned for his bending free kicks and high penalty conversion rate.
His Goal Scoring Stats
Ronaldo is most prominent for the goals he has scored during his still-active football career. He is not just among the leading goal scorers of all time in football history, but he tops the list. While playing for clubs and country, the Portuguese football star has made over 1,100 appearances, during which he scored 824 goals. Ronaldo’s career goal record is the highest in the history of men’s international football. The Portuguese star has recorded the most goals in football history.
Cristiano Ronaldo recorded his highest number of goals while playing with the La Liga club Real Madrid, where he scored 450 goals.
His Assists Stats
Although Cristiano Ronaldo is a talented playmaker, his assists statistics are not so impressive when compared to his goals scored and that of his closest rival, Lionel Messi. Ronaldo has recorded a total of 276 assists during his still-active career.
His Team-Playing Ability
Although Ronaldo is exceptionally talented and an exciting sight to watch on the playing field, he is more inclined to be less of a team player. His poor assists records show that Cristiano Ronaldo is less of a team player than Lionel Messi.
He is popularly perceived as being arrogant on the pitch since it’s typical to find him scowling and moaning in his attempts to incite his team to victory.
Also Read: Which Player Has The Most Records In Football History
His Trophies
Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged a total of 34 trophies for clubs and country during his career. Among his collection of trophies for clubs include 3 Premier League titles, 1 FA Cup, 2 Football Leagues cups, 5 UEFA Champions League cups, 4 FIFA Club World cups, 3 UEFA Super cup trophies, 2 La Liga trophies, 1 Copa del Rey, and others.
He has also won 3 trophies for his country, which include the 2003 Toulon tournament, the 2018/2019 UEFA Nations League, and the 2016 UEFA European championship. However, it has been disappointing for the Portuguese star that he hasn’t been able to win the World Cup for his country, despite making five appearances at the FIFA World Cup.
His Awards
Cristiano Ronaldo is also a decorated player, having won many personal awards during his career. Some of the most prominent individual awards in his collection include 5 Ballon d’Or titles, 4 European golden shoe awards, 3 Pichichi awards, a Premier League top scorer award, 5 World’s best player awards, and one golden foot, among others.
His Net Worth
Cristiano Ronaldo has a net worth of about $115 million, with about $60 million of his earnings from football and the remaining $55 million from endorsements.
| Metric | Ronaldo | Messi |
| Number of appearances | 1,100+ | 1,003 |
| Goals scored | 824 | 796 |
| Assists provided | 276 | 388 |
| Free kicks scored | 58 | 60 |
| Hat tricks | 61 | 56 |
| Penalties scored | 148 out of 177 taken | 108 out of 139 taken |
| Key Passes | 890 | 1,335 |
| Outside the box goals | 61 | 88 |
| Successfully Completed dribbles | 1,649 | 3,030 |
| Accurate throughballs | 81 | 433 |
| Man of the match | 168 | 309 |
| Goal contributions | 1,058 | 1,146 |
Messi Vs. Ronaldo: Who Is Better?
Messi Vs. Ronaldo: who is a better Passer?
Lionel Messi has recorded more key passes in the course of his than Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has about 1,335 key passes to his credit while Cristiano Ronaldo has recorded just 890. Again, Messi has a record of about 2.44 key passes every 90 minutes against Ronaldo’s 1.66 key passes every 90 minutes. Based on these statistics, Lionel Messi beats Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to completing effective passes.
Messi Vs. Ronaldo: who is a better dribbler?
Both players are fascinating dribblers, but when it comes down to effective dribbles executed on point, Lionel Messi beats Cristiano Ronaldo. Their career statistics tell it all. Messi has completed about 3,030 take-ons in his career and makes approximately 4.6 successful dribbles every 90 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo has recorded only 1,649 take-ons and completes approximately 2.17 successful dribbles every 90 minutes.
Messi Vs. Ronaldo: who has more goals?
Cristiano Ronaldo has more goals to his credit than Lionel Messi. While Lionel Messi’s career goals record sits at 796, Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the highest goal scorer in International Men’s football history, with his career goal record of 824.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also recorded a higher number of hat tricks than Lionel Messi. And while Lionel Messi has recorded 56 hat tricks in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo leads with a total of 61 hat tricks.
Messi Vs. Ronaldo: who has more assists?
Messi outnumbers Ronaldo when it comes to assists provided. This is because he is a better playmaker than Ronaldo. During his career, Lionel Messi has provided a total of 388 assists as against Ronaldo’s 276 assists record.
Messi Vs. Ronaldo: who has won more trophies?
Messi has won more trophies than Ronaldo, making him the second most decorated player of all time after Dani Alves. While Messi has won a total of 42 trophies, Cristiano Ronaldo has won just 34, which makes Messi a more decorated player than his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
| Trophy | Ronaldo | Messi |
| UEFA Champions League | 5 | 4 |
| League trophies | 7 (Serie A, La Liga and Premier League) | 11 (La Liga and Ligue 1) |
| Domestic trophies | 6 (Copa Del Rey, Coppa Italia, English League cup, FA Cup) | 7 (Copa Del Rey) |
| UEFA Super Cup | 3 | 3 |
| Club World Cup | 4 | 3 |
| Domestic Super Cup | 7 (SuperCoppa Italiana, Supercopa de Espana, Supercopa de Portugal, Community shield) | 9 (Trophee des Champions, Supercopa de Espana) |
| World Cup | 0 | 1 |
Messi Vs Ronaldo: who has a higher net worth?
Lionel Messi has a higher net worth than his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. While Cristiano Ronaldo is worth of $115 million, Lionel Messi’s net worth stands at a whooping $130 Million. Both players earn from playing football and from endorsements.
Who is No 1 Messi or Ronaldo?
Messi is the number one player in the world. His exceptional career records attest to it. While both players are among the greatest footballers of all time, Messi beats Ronaldo by more metrics.
| Trophy | Ronaldo | Messi |
| UEFA Champions League | 5 | 4 |
| League trophies | 7 (Serie A, La Liga and Premier League) | 11 (La Liga and Ligue 1) |
| Domestic trophies | 6 (Copa Del Rey, Coppa Italia, English League cup, FA Cup) | 7 (Copa Del Rey) |
| UEFA Super Cup | 3 | 3 |
| Club World Cup | 4 | 3 |
| Domestic Super Cup | 7 (SuperCoppa Italiana, Supercopa de Espana, Supercopa de Portugal, Community shield) | 9 (Trophee des Champions, Supercopa de Espana) |
| World Cup | 0 | 1 |
Is Ronaldo better or Messi is better?
Messi is an overall better player than Ronaldo. Ronaldo has more goals to his credit than Messi does and that’s justifiable considering he has made more appearances than Messi. However, Messi has a higher game-per-goal average and has also provided many more assists than Ronaldo.
Conclusion
The debate over who is the better player between Messi and Ronaldo has been among the fiercest in the past decade. While they are both among the greatest football players of all time, Lionel Messi is better at the game than Cristiano Ronaldo.
