International Goals and Stats - Messi vs Ronaldo All Time International Stats

All Time Internationals

Messi Stats All Time Internationals All Time Argentina

81 Goals
47 Assists
160 Apps

163 mins per goal
103 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats All Time Internationals All Time Portugal

115 Goals
32 Assists
186 Apps

129 mins per goal
101 mins per goal contribution

Competitive Internationals

Messi Stats Competitive Internationals All Time Argentina

47 Goals
32 Assists
113 Apps

204 mins per goal
121 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats Competitive Internationals All Time Portugal

95 Goals
23 Assists
134 Apps

122 mins per goal
98 mins per goal contribution

International Friendlies

Messi Stats International Friendlies All Time Argentina

34 Goals
15 Assists
47 Apps

108 mins per goal
75 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats International Friendlies All Time Portugal

20 Goals
9 Assists
52 Apps

164 mins per goal
113 mins per goal contribution

Copa America / Euros

Messi Stats Copa America / Euros All Time Argentina

13 Goals
17 Assists
34 Apps

224 mins per goal
97 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats Copa America / Euros All Time Portugal

14 Goals
6 Assists
25 Apps

154 mins per goal
108 mins per goal contribution

World Cup

Messi Stats World Cup All Time Argentina

6 Goals
5 Assists
19 Apps

271 mins per goal
148 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats World Cup All Time Portugal

7 Goals
2 Assists
17 Apps

211 mins per goal
164 mins per goal contribution

All Major Tournaments

Messi Stats All Major Tournaments All Time Argentina

19 Goals
22 Assists
53 Apps

238 mins per goal
110 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats All Major Tournaments All Time Portugal

21 Goals
8 Assists
42 Apps

173 mins per goal
125 mins per goal contribution

World Cup Qualifiers

Messi Stats World Cup Qualifiers All Time Argentina

28 Goals
10 Assists
60 Apps

180 mins per goal
133 mins per goal contribution

Ronaldo Stats World Cup Qualifiers All Time Portugal

36 Goals
11 Assists
47 Apps

111 mins per goal
85 mins per goal contribution

European Championship Qualifiers

Messi Stats Euros Qualifier All Time Argentina

0 Goals
0 Assists
0 Apps

0 goals per game

Ronaldo Stats Euros Qualifier All Time Portugal

31 Goals
3 Assists
35 Apps

98 mins per goal
89 mins per goal contribution

Confederations Cup

Messi Stats Confederations Cup All Time Argentina

0 Goals
0 Assists
0 Apps

0 goals per game

Ronaldo Stats Confederations Cup All Time Portugal

2 Goals
1 Assists
4 Apps

184 mins per goal
122 mins per goal contribution

UEFA Nations League

Messi Stats UEFA Nations League All Time Argentina

0 Goals
0 Assists
0 Apps

0 goals per game

Ronaldo Stats UEFA Nations League All Time Portugal

5 Goals
0 Assists
6 Apps

106 mins per goal
106 mins per goal contribution

Messi and Ronaldo International Stats

All stats on this page will auto-update

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both had impressive international careers for Argentina and Portugal respectively.

Messi is Argentina's all time top goalscorer with 81 goals in 160 caps, scoring 0.51 goals per game. He's also Argentina's all time top provider with 47 assists.

Likewise, Ronaldo is Portugal's all time leading goalscorer with an incredible 115 goals in 186 caps, scoring an average of 0.62 goals per game.

If we look at minutes played, Messi scores a goal every 163.4 minutes, whilst Ronaldo scores a goal every 129.0 minutes.

Factoring in assists, Messi directly contributes to a goal every 103.4 minutes for Argentina, with Ronaldo scoring or assisting every 100.9 minutes for Portugal.

Clearly, both players have contributed to their national teams significantly and prolifically, and have done so for over 15 years.

Dispelling the Messi myth

A popular narrative that used to be quite prominent was that:

"Messi has never done it at international level"

This narrative materialised through Messi's unfortunate record of having lost 4 major international finals with Argentina. However, he was finally able to triumph with his country in his 5th major final, beating Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final at the Maracana.

Of course, it was never accurate to suggest Messi had "never done it" at international level just because his side regularly made the top 2, but not the top 1. The results of his 5 major finals do not make Messi a better or worse player for Argentina.

It's probable that some well-meaning individuals fall into the "Messi has never done it at international level" trap because his goal return of 0.51 goals per game is significantly lower than what he registers at club level. However, the same is true for Ronaldo, with his 0.62 goals per game considerably lower than his club level averages. Not to mention that 0.5 goals per game is the yardstick typically used to measure elite strikers.

Leo Messi also tends to adopt the traditional Argentine Enganche role of a playmaking number 10 more often for his country, with the team's primary goal threats playing ahead of him. This is borne out in the fact that Messi has provided a whopping 47 assists on top of his 81 goals.

International Trophies

Ronaldo has reached two major international finals with Portugal, both at the European Championships. His first, way back in 2004, saw his Portugal side stunned on home soil against pre-tournament outsiders Greece, who ran out 1-0 winners.

His second major final took place in Paris 12 years later, where this time the favoured team on home soil was the opposition: France. Unfortunately for Ronaldo, he suffered an injury after just eight minutes and eventually had to be substituted in the 25th minute. More fortunately though, after a tense goalless ninety minutes, Portugal's Eder struck the winning goal in extra-time from 25 yards. Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo were European champions for the first time.

In 2019, Portugal also won the very first edition of the UEFA Nations League, a brand new competition brought in to replace stale international friendlies. Ronaldo played no part in the four group stage matches, but when Portugal qualified for the semi-final stage, he came back with a bang, scoring a hat-trick to beat Switzerland 3-1 and put Portugal in the final. There they faced the Netherlands, with Gonçalo Guedes scoring the game's only goal.

Not a Euros or a World Cup, but a 2nd international trophy for Ronaldo in 4 years nonetheless.

Ronaldo's International Finals

❌ Euro 2004 - 0-1 vs Greece
🏆 Euro 2016 - 1-0 (AET) vs France
🏆 UEFA Nations League 2019 - 1-0 vs Netherlands

Messi's International Finals

🏆 U20 World Cup - 2-1 vs Nigeria
❌ Copa America 2007 - 0-3 vs Brazil
🏆 Beijing Olympics 2008 (U23) - 1-0 vs Nigeria
❌ World Cup 2014 - 0-1 (AET) vs Germany
❌ Copa America 2015 - 0-0 vs Chile (1-4 pens)
❌ Copa America 2016 - 0-0 vs Chile (2-4 pens)
🏆 Copa America 2021 - 1-0 vs Brazil

Messi's long awaited international triumph with the full senior Argentina team came at the 2021 Copa America, where his Argentina side beat favourites Brazil in the final at the Maracana. This ended Brazil's 46 year long ubeaten run in Copa America matches on home soil, and ended Argentina's 28 year major trophy drought! Messi also picked up the tournament's awards for Best Player and the Golden Boot.

Looking beyond Leo Messi's five major finals, he also competed in the 2008 Olympics, where an U23 Argentina side (plus three over age players) won every game en route to the Gold Medal.

In addition to this, Messi also won the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2005, scoring a Golden Boot winning 6 goals (including 2 in the final) along the way.

International Tournament Goals & Assists

Ronaldo made his major tournament debut on home soil at Euro 2004, in which he scored 2 goals and made it all the way to the final before a shock defeat to Greece. Messi debuted at the 2006 World Cup, where he scored 13 minutes into his first appearance; further goals scored at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups granted Messi the unique record of being the only player to score at a World Cup in his teens, twenties and thirties.

Messi Major International Tournament Goals & Assists

Tournament	Goals (Group/KO)	Assists (Group/KO)	Apps (Group/KO)	Out in	Awards
World Cup 2006	1 (1/0)	1 (1/0)	3 (2/1)	Quarters (pens)
Copa America 2007	2 (0/2)	1 (1/0)	6 (3/3)	Final	Best Young Player
World Cup 2010	0 (0/0)	1 (0/1)	5 (3/2)	Quarters	1 MOTM
Copa America 2011	0 (0/0)	3 (2/1)	4 (3/1)	Quarters (pens)	2 MOTM
World Cup 2014	4 (4/0)	1 (0/1)	7 (3/4)	Final (aet)	Golden Ball, 4 MOTM
Copa America 2015	1 (1/0)	3 (0/3)	6 (3/3)	Final (pens)	Best Player, 4 MOTM
Copa America 2016	5 (3/2)	4 (0/4)	5 (2/3)	Final (pens)	3 MOTM
World Cup 2018	1 (1/0)	2 (0/2)	4 (3/1)	Last 16	1 MOTM
Copa America 2019	1 (1/0)	1 (0/1)	6 (3/3)	Semis	1 MOTM
Copa America 2021	4 (3/1)	5 (2/3)	7 (4/3)	Winners	Best Player, Golden Boot, 4 MOTM
TOTALS	19 (14/5)	22 (6/16)	53 (29/24)		3 best player, 1 Golden Boot, 20 MOTM

Interestingly, Messi has scored the majority of his goals in the group stages at international tournaments, but has made considerably more assists in the knockout rounds, with 16 of his 22 assists being provided in the knockout stages.

Having played in 10 major international tournaments, Messi actually has the record for the most goals contributions in major tournament history, both overall and in the knockout rounds specifically.

Ronaldo Major International Tournament Goals & Assists

Tournament	Goals (Group/KO)	Assists (Group/KO)	Apps (Group/KO)	Out in	Awards
Euro 2004	2 (1/1)	2 (1/1)	6 (3/3)	Final
World Cup 2006	1 (1/0)	0 (0/0)	6 (2/4)	Semis
Euro 2008	1 (1/0)	1 (1/0)	3 (2/1)	Quarters	1 MOTM
World Cup 2010	1 (1/0)	1 (1/0)	4 (3/1)	Last 16	3 MOTM
Euro 2012	3 (2/1)	0 (0/0)	5 (3/2)	Semis (pens)	2 MOTM
World Cup 2014	1 (1/0)	1 (1/0)	3 (3/0)	Group Stage	1 MOTM
Euro 2016	3 (2/1)	2 (1/1)	7 (3/4)	Winners (aet)	2 MOTM, Silver Boot
World Cup 2018	4 (4/0)	0 (0/0)	4 (3/1)	Last 16	2 MOTM
Euro 2021	5 (5/0)	1 (1/0)	4 (3/1)	Last 16	1 MOTM, Golden Boot
TOTALS	21 (18/3)	7 (6/2)	42 (25/17)		12 MOTM, 1 Golden Boot, 1 Silver Boot

Having played in five European Championships and reaching at least the semi-finals in 3 of them, Ronaldo has played the most games of all time in the tournament, with 25 appearances. He's also the only player to score at five different Euros, and is the all time leading scorer in the competition as well with 14 goals.

In addition to the finals tournament, Ronaldo also leads the way in qualifying too, having scored a record 31 goals in European Championship qualifiers, as well as a record 36 goals in European World Cup qualifying matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo has also now scored the most goals in the history of the international football, with a staggering 115 goals!

Messi & Ronaldo International Tournament Awards and Achievements

Lionel Messi	Cristiano Ronaldo
2021 Copa America Winner 2008 Olympics Gold Medal 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup Winner 2016 Copa America Runner-up 2015 Copa America Runner-up 2014 FIFA World Cup Runner-up 2007 Copa America Runner-up 2021 Copa America Golden Ball 2015 Copa America Golden Ball 2014 World Cup Golden Ball 2007 Copa America Best Young Player 2005 U20 World Cup Golden Ball 2021 Copa America Golden Boot 2016 Copa America 2nd Top Scorer 2005 U20 World Cup Golden Boot 2021 Copa America Top Assister 2018 World Cup Top Assister (16 players on 2) 2016 Copa America Top Assister 2015 Copa America Top Assister 2011 Copa America Top Assister	2016 Euros Winner 2019 Nations League Winner 2004 Euros Runner-up 2021 Euros Golden Boot 2019 Nations League Finals Golden Boot 2016 Euros Silver Boot Euro 2012 joint top scorer (6 players on 3 - Torres Golden Boot) 2019 Nations League Finals Goal of the Tournament

Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo

2021 Copa America Winner
2008 Olympics Gold Medal
2005 FIFA U20 World Cup Winner
2016 Copa America Runner-up
2015 Copa America Runner-up
2014 FIFA World Cup Runner-up
2007 Copa America Runner-up
2021 Copa America Golden Ball
2015 Copa America Golden Ball
2014 World Cup Golden Ball
2007 Copa America Best Young Player
2005 U20 World Cup Golden Ball
2021 Copa America Golden Boot
2016 Copa America 2nd Top Scorer
2005 U20 World Cup Golden Boot
2021 Copa America Top Assister
2018 World Cup Top Assister
(16 players on 2)
2016 Copa America Top Assister
2015 Copa America Top Assister
2011 Copa America Top Assister

2016 Euros Winner
2019 Nations League Winner
2004 Euros Runner-up
2021 Euros Golden Boot
2019 Nations League Finals Golden Boot
2016 Euros Silver Boot
Euro 2012 joint top scorer
(6 players on 3 - Torres Golden Boot)
2019 Nations League Finals Goal of the Tournament

Check out more of Messi and Ronaldo's international records over on the Records page.

Competitive vs Friendly International Goals

Ronaldo has scored a much greater proportion of his international goals in competitive games than Messi has, scoring 95 out of his total 115 goals in competitive internationals (82.61%). Messi has scored 47 goals out of 81 in competitive internationals (58.02%).

Messi International Goals & Assists

Competitive games: 47 goals, 32 assists, 113 caps
Friendly games: 34 goals, 15 assists, 47 caps

Ronaldo International Goals & Assists

Competitive games: 95 goals, 23 assists, 134 caps
Friendly games: 20 goals, 9 assists, 52 caps

Cristiano Ronaldo clearly has the superior goalscoring stats in competitive internationals, but we must consider the level of opposition.

Level of Competitive Opposition

One reason for the contrast in friendly/competitive goals between the two is the type of opponents they typically face. In Europe, World Cup and European Championship qualification is split into several groups, with each group featuring a couple of extremely lowly ranked teams, such as San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Latvia, Faroe Islands and several others.

In South America on the other hand, they don't have a qualification stage for the Copa America, and World Cup qualification features a single group in which you must play all of the continent's heavyweights. There are also no real easy contests in this group (in comparison to some of the European micro-nations), with even the lowest ranked side Bolivia being an infamously tough team to play away due to the unusually high altitude level.

As a result of these contrasting situations, Ronaldo has played many more competitive fixtures against lower ranked sides than Messi has. The average official FIFA ranking of Ronaldo's opponents in competitive matches is 50.1, whereas the average ranking of Messi's opponents in competitive games is 34.5.

To illustrate this, Ronaldo's top 5 favourite opponents in terms of goals scored in competitive internationals are Luxembourg, Lithuania, Sweden, Andorra, and Hungary, who between them have an average FIFA ranking of 101.2.

Messi's top 5 favourite opponents in terms of goals scored in competitive internationals are Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay, who between them have an average FIFA ranking of 39.3.

To clarify, this is absolutely no slight on Ronaldo; if Messi had the opportunity to play against such low ranked teams with the same regularity then his most frequent victims would be very similar. The takeaway here is that there is relevant context to the pair's competitive/friendly scoring levels that cannot be ignored.

Updated May 14, 11:07 PM UTC

Messi vs Ronaldo All Time International Stats

All Time Internationals

Messi Stats All Time Internationals All Time Argentina

Ronaldo Stats All Time Internationals All Time Portugal

messivsronaldo.app All Time Internationals All Time Stats

Goal Contributions

Goals

Assists

Appearances

Minutes Played

Goals Per Game

Minutes Per Goal

Mins Per Goal/Assist

Hat-tricks

Goals By Type

Penalties

Free Kick Goals

Outside the Box

Inside the Box

Left Foot

Right Foot

Headers

Other Body Part

Performance Stats

Penalty Conversion

Competitive Internationals

Messi Stats Competitive Internationals All Time Argentina

Ronaldo Stats Competitive Internationals All Time Portugal

messivsronaldo.app Competitive Internationals All Time Stats

Goal Contributions

Goals

Assists

Appearances

Minutes Played

Goals Per Game

Minutes Per Goal

Mins Per Goal/Assist

Hat-tricks

Goals By Type

Penalties

Free Kick Goals

Outside the Box

Inside the Box

Left Foot

Right Foot

Headers

Other Body Part

Performance Stats

Penalty Conversion

International Friendlies

Messi Stats International Friendlies All Time Argentina

Ronaldo Stats International Friendlies All Time Portugal

messivsronaldo.app International Friendlies All Time Stats

Goal Contributions

Goals

Assists

Appearances

Minutes Played

Goals Per Game

Minutes Per Goal

Mins Per Goal/Assist

Hat-tricks

Goals By Type

Penalties

Free Kick Goals

Outside the Box

Inside the Box

Left Foot

Right Foot

Headers

Other Body Part

Performance Stats

Penalty Conversion

Copa America / Euros

Messi Stats Copa America / Euros All Time Argentina

Ronaldo Stats Copa America / Euros All Time Portugal

messivsronaldo.app Copa America / Euros All Time Stats

Goal Contributions

Goals

Assists