Anar Hasanov writes…
It would not be wrong to say that the old rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has already begun to be overshadowed by the new era of football. The reason is that the names of both stars did not figure in the list of winners of the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2002.
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona star Lamin Yamal are among the players who can revive the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry. It is true that we can write the names of players like Erling Holland, Vinicius Junior, Arda Güler, Jud Bellingham on the list of talented and popular footballers. But deep down, it is doubtful that there are rivals who remember the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry or who can experience the same confrontation as this pair. Because the footballers whose names we have listed have not yet managed to feel the thrill of the rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi. Some see Mbappé as Ronaldo’s successor and Yamal as Messi’s successor. Of course, time will tell whether this will happen.
Ronaldo and Messi have won the FIFA and France Football Ballon d’Or a combined 13 times (Messi eight times, Ronaldo five times) and are considered the greatest players not only of their era, but of the entire history of football as a whole.
Both the Argentine and the Portuguese regularly reached the mark of 50 goals in a season, making new history. Currently, both athletes have scored more than 800 goals during their professional career. Sports journalists and experts regularly discuss the individual merits of both players, trying to prove which of them is better. Some people prefer to analyze only the different playing qualities and unique talents of the footballers. Part of the debate revolves around their personalities: Ronaldo is portrayed as arrogant, while Messi is shy and modest. The Spanish publications “Marca” and the Italian “La Gazzetta dello Sport” tried to make a detailed comparison of both players.
“Marca” preferred Ronaldo in the categories of physical condition, speed and leadership, highlighting that Messi has better dribbling and is more of a team player. But Cristiano was considered the best of the pair in all categories.
“La Gazzetta dello Sport” confirmed Messi’s superiority in technique and dribbling and highlighted that Ronaldo plays better with his head. In the speed category, Ronaldo stood out. In this study, Lionel Messi was the best of the duo.
The football rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo has been compared to the rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Fraser in boxing, Bjorn Borg and John McRoy in tennis, and Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in Formula One racing.
Messi took first place on the list of highest-paid athletes in 2018 with earnings of $111 million. Ronaldo earned $108 million that year. They are among the richest people in the world based on their total earnings, which includes salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings.
The two stars also have the largest audience on social media. But it goes without saying that Cristiano Ronaldo is unbeatable here. In any case, getting more than a billion subscribers on all social media is no easy feat.
Ronaldo and Messi’s countless records cannot be surpassed by any player. They managed to prove that they are the best of the 21st century in every match they appeared in. Let’s take a look at the records of stars who are nearing the end of their careers as they get older:
Lionel Messi
Messi is one of only two players to have scored more than 100 goals in European Cups. During his two decades at Barcelona, he earned the status of one of the greatest footballers of our time. Messi won the UEFA Champions League four times with Barcelona. If in 2005 he still did not have a significant role in the team, in 2009, 2011 and 2015 he was already among the leaders. On February 26, 2023, Messi reached 700 goals for the club in a 3-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille for PSG in the French League.
Having made his senior international debut at the age of 17, the Argentine rewrote numerous records in the Champions League and the Spanish Championship. Messi also ranks second after Cristiano Ronaldo (145 and 140 respectively) on the all-time European Cup scoring list (132 goals) and the all-time Champions League scoring list (129 goals).
Champions League records:
Record number of goals in the UEFA Champions League group stage: 80 (for Barcelona: 71)
Record number of goals in the UEFA Champions League round of 16: 29
Most Champions League goals for one club: 120 (Barcelona)
Record streak of goals scored in Champions League seasons: 18
Spanish League Records:
Record number of goals in the Spanish championship: 474
Most goals scored in a season in La Liga: 50 (2011/12)
Player with most hat-tricks in La Liga: 36
Individual records:
The player who won the most Ballon d’Or: 8
Footballer who won the most “Golden Boots” – 6
Other club records:
Record number of goals scored in a calendar year: 79 in 2012 (91 if international goals are included)
Most goals in European Cups for a club: 123 (Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo has been scoring goals for over two decades and continues to do so with impressive regularity.
Ronaldo, the first player to win the UEFA Champions League five times, has appeared in more tournaments and scored more goals than any other player, but these records are just the tip of the iceberg. So, Cristiano Ronaldo holds countless records.
Ronaldo’s individual and club records:
Most appearances in UEFA club competitions: 197
Most goals in UEFA club competitions: 145
Most goals in the UEFA Champions League: 140
Most goals in a UEFA Champions League season: 17 (2013/14)
Most goals in UEFA Champions League playoffs: 67
UEFA Champions League top scorer – 2007/08, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Most UEFA Champions League matches: 183
Most UEFA Champions League final wins: 5
The only player to have scored in three UEFA Champions League finals
One of two players to have scored in all six UEFA Champions League group stage matches
The only player to score in 11 consecutive UEFA Champions League games
Most UEFA Club Footballer of the Year awards for Best Player: 4 (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017)
His records with the Portuguese national team:
Most appearances in the final stages of European championships: 30
Most appearances in European Championships (including qualifying matches): 74
Most goals in a European Championship final: 14
Most goals in the European Championship (including qualifying matches): 55
Only player to score three goals in multiple European championships: 2012, 2016, 2020
Only player to score in five World Cups: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
First player to score ten hat-tricks in men’s international football
Most matches in European and World Cup finals: 52
Most goals in European and World Cup finals: 22
Most international appearances: 214
Most international goals: 132
Player with the most goals in the history of world football: 90
| Cristiano Ronaldo | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | the season | League | Cup | Continent | Other | Total | |||||
| Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | ||
| “Sports” | |||||||||||
| 2002-03 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | |
| manchester united | |||||||||||
| 2003-04 | 29 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 6 | |
| 2004-05 | 33 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 9 | |
| 2005-06 | 33 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | – | 47 | 12 | ||
| 2006-07 | 34 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 3 | – | 53 | 23 | ||
| 2007-08 | 34 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 42 | |
| 2008-09 | 33 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 53 | 26 | |
| “Real Madrid” | |||||||||||
| 2009-10 | 29 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | – | 35 | 33 | ||
| 2010-11 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 6 | – | 54 | 53 | ||
| 2011-12 | 38 | 46 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 60 | |
| 2012-13 | 34 | 34 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 55 | 55 | |
| 2013-14 | 30 | 31 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 17 | – | 47 | 51 | ||
| 2014-15 | 35 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 61 | |
| 2015-16 | 36 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 16 | – | 48 | 51 | ||
| 2016-17 | 29 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 46 | 42 | |
| 2017-18 | 27 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 44 | 44 | |
| “Juventus” | |||||||||||
| 2018-19 | 31 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 28 | |
| 2019-20 | 33 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 37 | |
| 2020-21 | 33 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 36 | |
| 2021-22 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| manchester united | |||||||||||
| 2021-22 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | – | 38 | 24 | ||
| 2022-23 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | – | 16 | 3 | ||
| “An-Nasr” | |||||||||||
| 2022-23 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 19 | 14 | ||
| 2023-24 | 31 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 51 | 50 | |
| 2024-25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| Total | 701 | 549 | 88 | 48 | 204 | 149 | 31 | 23 | 1.024 | 769 | |
| Lionel Messi | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | the season | League | Cup | Continent | Other | Total | |||||||||||
| Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | Number of games | Arms | ||||||||
| ———————————— | |||||||||||||||||
| ———————————— | |||||||||||||||||
| “Barcelona” | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004-05 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 9 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2005-06 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 8 | |||||||
| 2006-07 | 26 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 17 | |||||||
| 2007-08 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 6 | – | 40 | 16 | ||||||||
| 2008-09 | 31 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 9 | – | 51 | 38 | ||||||||
| 2009-10 | 35 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 53 | 47 | |||||||
| 2010-11 | 33 | 31 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 55 | 53 | |||||||
| 2011-12 | 37 | 50 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 73 | |||||||
| 2012-13 | 32 | 46 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 60 | |||||||
| 2013-14 | 31 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 41 | |||||||
| 2014-15 | 38 | 43 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 10 | – | 57 | 58 | ||||||||
| 2015-16 | 33 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 49 | 41 | |||||||
| 2016-17 | 34 | 37 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 54 | |||||||
| 2017-18 | 36 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 54 | 45 | |||||||
| 2018-19 | 34 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 51 | |||||||
| 2019-20 | 33 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 31 | |||||||
| 2020-21 | 35 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 38 | |||||||
| PSG | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021-22 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | – | 34 | 11 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 | 32 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 21 | |||||||
| “InterMiami” | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 10 | 14 | 11 | ||||||||
| 2024 | 13 | 14 | – | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 16 | ||||||||
| Total | 597 | 511 | 83 | 56 | 166 | 131 | 37 | 33 | 883 | 731 | |||||||
