The Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi debate that never seems to end. Two global football superstars who are so far head and shoulders above the rest of their peers that they can only ever be compared to each other. And that’s exactly what we’ll do here, but from a purely statistical perspective.
Because while they both share a love of the game, a position at the top of the team formation as a forward, and an immense talent for football—scoring goals specifically—Messi and Ronaldo could not be more different. One is a chiseled Greek god of a man from the tiny Portuguese island of Madeira who beats teams with power, speed and finesse. One is a diminutive Argentinian with the technical skills and quality of a genius craftsman.
Because of that, it’s tough to compare the two on soft factors. So here, we’re taking a look at the hard results: goals, assists, and trophies for club and country, and getting down to who really was the most dominant between Ronaldo and Messi.
Both of whom, by the way, continue to put up big numbers in lesser leagues in Saudi Arabia and the USA at the ages of 38 and 40. Every week, they are still favorites to find the back of the net on sportsbooks across the world. Whether old or new betting sites, whenever Messi and Ronaldo play, whether for club or country, they will be among those with the shortest betting odds to score a goal in any given game.
Club Goals
Lionel Messi has scored a whopping 717 goals for his club teams during his 22-season career. The bulk of that (627, to be exact) came during his wonder years with Barcelona from his youth until his acrimonious departure for PSG in 2021, making him one of six players ever to score 500+ goals for a single club. Ronaldo does not join him on that list.
Messi’s tally also includes goals in a wide array of competitions. 10, to be exact. The biggest piece of the pie is of course La Liga, where he scored 474 goals. His total also includes 129 in the Champions League as well.
On the other side, Cristiano Ronaldo just barely edges Messi with 729 total goals for his various clubs over the years. While Messi played for three different teams, Ronaldo has plied his trade successfully in five different countries. Over half of those goals (421) came during his nine-year reign as king of Real Madrid. He also had 100+ goals for Manchester United (126) and Juventus (101), and is rapping on the door at Al-Nassr in just his fourth season there (78).
Ronaldo is also one of a select handful of players with 300+ goals in La Liga, 100+ goals in the tough English Premier League, and 80+ goals in the more technical Serie A. He also had more Champions League goals (140) than Messi, though he did play more games. Ronaldo has played 944 games to Messi’s 855, so on a per game basis (0.84 to 0.77) Messi has the better average numbers, but overall, this one goes to Ronaldo.
Edge: Cristiano Ronaldo
Club Assists
The assist section, as anyone who knows the personalities of these two players, was always going to be the most lopsided, so we won’t spend too much time on it. Messi was an elite goalscorer, but he was also an elite playmaker and creator for his teammates. He racked up 313 assists during his playing career, including 15 seasons with 10+.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, is a striker’s striker. He is like the Kobe Bryant of the football realm. He racked up a lot of assists (201) by sheer force of volume of attacks and games played. Ronaldo did have more Champions League assists (45 to 41), but that’s not enough to tip the scales back his way here.
Edge: Lionel Messi
Club Trophies
For Messi’s part, he’s racked up 10 La Liga titles, two Ligue 1 titles, seven Copa Del Reys, seven Supercopa de Espana, and four Champions Leagues. That included trebles in 2006, 2011, and 2015, and the rare quadruple in 2009.
Ronaldo won three Premier Leagues, two League Cups, and an FA Cup with Manchester United. Two La Ligas, two Copa Del Reys, and two Supercopa de Espana titles with Real Madrid. And two Serie A, one Coppa Italia, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus. He also won five Champions Leagues in total, four with Real Madrid and one with Manchester United, including a treble in 2017.
Overall, that’s 12 league titles, 14 cup titles, and four Champions Leagues for Messi, and seven league titles, 10 cup titles, and five Champions Leagues for Ronaldo. While he again has the Champions League edge, Ronaldo falls short here overall.
Edge: Lionel Messi
National Team
Portugal’s Ronaldo again has a big edge in goals, having scored 132 to Messi’s 87, but he’s also played 59 more games than the Argentinian. However, Ronaldo’s 0.70 goals per game for Portugal are also higher than Messi’s 0.67 per game for Argentina. It is worth noting that Messi’s 25 goals at major tournaments for Argentina are more than Ronaldo’s 22 though. As ever, however, Messi has a large edge in assists despite fewer games, with 31 to Ronaldo’s 19.
When it comes to trophies, Messi has done it all. He’s won two Copa Americas as champion of South America, and he won the World Cup at last in 2022. Ronaldo has a 2016 European Championship, but he’s never been able to get over the hump in the World Cup.
Edge: Lionel Messi
Final Verdict
Ronaldo has scored a lot more goals than Messi, but the little Argentinian has scored more goals per game, has recorded far more assists, more club trophies, and is the only one of the two with a World Cup. Strictly by the numbers, the winner here is Lionel Messi.