Messi Vs Ronaldo – The Stats To Show Who is The Real GOAT

Messi vs. Ronaldo – Who Is Better?

If you’re a football fan then here’s a question that seems to have divided soccer fans for generations. Who is better Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? In truth, it doesn’t matter which one you prefer. We can all agree that both players can be considered for the soccer “GOAT” crown. But as time passes their abilities are gradually decreasing. As of writing, both iconic forwards are now in the twilight of their careers. As the new season awaits us, it’s probably a good time to reignite the Messi vs Ronaldo argument. Whether you prefer Messi or Ronaldo, we can all agree on one thing – both players have made a serious case for soccer’s GOAT crown when they finally decide to call it a day.

In order to get a better comparison, we’ve looked at all the key statistics. These include such things as trophies, awards, goals, and assists. In fact, anything that will help you improve your jackpot winning strategies when it comes to sports betting and choosing between these two Titans of soccer.

Messi vs. Ronaldo Stats – Goals, Assists, and Awards

Though their playing styles are very different, we should probably start off by looking at some cold hard numbers. Below we have listed both players with regards to assists, goals, individual awards, and other key numbers. We should warn you, that if you bet on soccer, this comparison is going to be hard to call.

Messi vs Ronaldo at Club Level

Messi has only played for two clubs. His professional debut was made in Barcelona in 2004. All in all, he spent 16 straight seasons at Camp Nou. Then to the surprise of everyone, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. All in all, Messi has scored 681 goals and made 317 assists. Over his career, he has taken part in 810 club games. Cristiano Ronaldo has played for 4 clubs. These are Manchester United, Juventus, Real Madrid and Sporting CP. He made his professional debut for Sporting CP back in 2002. Since then he has racked up an amazing 698 goals, with 230 assists. All these come from a total of 932 games. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Goals And Assists At Club Level

Lionel Messi’s Goals And Assists At Club Level

As you can see, both players have scored an outrageous number of goals over the years. But how do they compare to one another? Here are the Messi vs Ronaldo stats for goals and assists at the club level.

Messi vs Ronaldo At Club Level

The first thing you’ll notice is that Ronaldo has played 122 more games than Messi. It could be said that this is why Ronaldo has scored more goals. On the other hand, Messi has 87 more assists than Ronaldo. This ties in with their playing styles, as it appears the Argentine is more of a team player. And as we all know, the Portuguese is a more selfish goal scorer. When we dig down into the statistics we can see that Messi has much better ratios in terms of goals per game, assist per game, and goal involvement per game. 

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Messi vs. Ronaldo at International Level

Let’s have a look and see how Messi vs Ronaldo compare on the international stage. Though we can see that Ronaldo has scored more goals, we need to look a little deeper into the international statistics.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Goals And Assists For Portugal

As you can see, in 189 appearances for Portugal, Ronaldo has netted 117 goals. This gives him an average of 0.62 goals per game. In men’s international soccer, Ronaldo holds the most hat-tricks having racked up over 10 trebles. Right now he’s the all-time leading scorer in men’s international soccer. If we look back over the history of soccer, we can see only one player, Iran’s Ali Daei, has scored more than 100 goals in international competitions. This put Messi on the back foot in any Messi vs Ronaldo comparison.

Top International Goalscorers In Soccer

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal – 117
2. Ali Daei, Iran – 109
3. Mokhtar Dahri, Malaysia – 89
4. Lionel Messi, Argentina – 86
5. Ferenc Puskas, Hungary – 84

In truth, it’s hard to imagine that anyone is going to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time international goals record. In comparing Messi vs Ronaldo, Messi finds himself 31 goals short of Ronaldo’s international scoring results.

Lionel Messi’s Goals And Assists For Argentina

When it comes to the number of Messi vs Ronaldo assists, we can see that Messi out-performs Ronaldo. Nevertheless, the latter’s goal-per-game ratio is noticeably higher. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of either player, but it’s hard not to notice that Ronaldo appears to have made a big impact on the game, especially on the international stage. We’re not trying to take anything away from the Argentine’s record for his country. After all, this is still outstanding. But all international competitions revolve around the goals scored. And in this respect, Ronaldo is well in the lead.

Messi vs Ronaldo – Individual Awards

In spite of the fact that Ronaldo has scored more goals than Messi when it comes to the Ballon d’Ors to his name, Messi has more. Without a doubt, the Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious honour you can receive in the world of professional soccer. It’s an award given annually for the best player over the previous year. It’s voted for by high-profile journalists, captains of national teams, coaches, and other important figures within the world of football. In our Messi vs Ronaldo competition, Messi is the clear winner.

Most Successful Ballon D’Or Winners

               Player             Winner        Runner-Up

• Lionel Messi               7                         5
• Cristiano Ronaldo     5                         6
• Michel Platini            3                         –
• Johan Cruyff              3                         –
• Marco van Basten     3                         –

These numbers for the Ballon d’Or winners in our Messi vs Ronaldo comparison are quite incredible. Just consider for a moment that between 2008 and 2021, only one player, Luka Modric, stopped either Ronaldo or Messi from winning a Ballon d’Or. Messi actually won 4 of these trophies in a row between 2009 and 2012. The figures speak for themselves and you can see that both Messi and Ronaldo are the greatest Ballon d’Or winners of all time. The trophy dates back to 1956 and over that period 44 players have won it. More recently the award has been completely dominated by these two players. 

Another prestigious award is the Golden Boots. Messi has picked up 22 of these while Ronaldo only has 19. When it comes to La Liga’s top scorer, Messi has finished no fewer than 8 times, but he was at FC Barcelona. This compares with Ronaldo’s 7 Champions League Golden Boots which eclipses Messi’s 6. When we compare the total of Ballon d’Or and Golden Boots, we can see that Messi comes out in front.  

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Head-to-Head

Comparing prestigious awards is one thing, but it’s interesting for fans to see how the players come out when they clash head-to-head on the football field. Overall, fans have seen Messi face off with Ronaldo 34 times over their careers. The vast majority of these occasions were during the El Clasico matches which are between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. We must confess, that if you’re a sports bettor and want the chance to win this annual football jackpot, then we like to go to 22Bet Sportsbook for some of the best odds in the industry.

Messi vs Ronaldo – Head-To-Head Record

Looking at the stats, we can see that Ronaldo has lost to Messi on 15 occasions. This gives the Argentine player a win rate of 44.1% against Ronaldo. In fact, Ronaldo has only won 29.4% of his games when up against Messi. When it comes to assists, we can see that Messi has 32 goal involvements whilst playing against the Portuguese player.  Though the head-to-head represents an important figure, none of these goals would have been scored without the help of their teammates. In this respect, the truth of the matter is that when we compare Messi vs Ronaldo, we can clearly see that Messi is much more of a team player. This is why he is enjoyed more success when the two players have gone head-to-head.

Messi vs Ronaldo – Who is Better?

Maybe it’s not the answer you are expecting to hear. But there’s no way we can answer that question. That’s because the Messi vs Ronaldo debate is highly subjective. Both players have countless goals to their names. And also, both have claimed numerous titles. We feel that, at the end of the day, the whole debate comes down to personal preferences. We will admit that it’s undeniably true that Ronaldo has both played more games and scored more goals.

But on the other hand, Messi has won more Ballon d’Ors. This tells us that amongst his peers, Messi is held in higher regard. Though Messi has won more trophies, Ronaldo has won more competitions. For us, we feel we can increase our jackpot winning chances by betting on Messi. Heading over to 22Bet Sportsbook means that we’ve almost won anyway. They give all new players a great welcome bonus before you even start betting! It’s a great way to help you to win the jackpot online.

Today you’ll see the term “GOAT” used in a commonplace manner. But it’s difficult to deny that both Ronaldo and Messi are among the greatest soccer players of all time.

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