Over the past two decades, fans have been fortunate to witness two of the greatest players in football history compete, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Now, despite entering the final stages of their careers, the duo own countless titles and remarkable records.
The question is whether Ronaldo or Messi is better. Recently, 90min has provided some statistics to answer this question.
Parameters
Ronaldo is nearly 2.5 years older than Messi. Therefore, the Portuguese superstar has obviously played more matches than his colleague. Up to now, CR7 has had 1,220 professional matches. Meanwhile, Messi’s number is only 1,058 matches.
With more playing opportunities, Ronaldo is leading Messi in terms of goals. Currently, CR7 has 890 goals, far surpassing Messi’s 833 goals. However, in terms of goals per match, Messi leads with 0.78 goals per match compared to 0.73 from Ronaldo.
In terms of assist ability, Messi is superior to Ronaldo. Currently, the Argentine superstar has 372 assists. Ronaldo only has 250.
| Index | Cristiano Ronaldo | Lionel Messi |
|---|---|---|
| Number of matches | 1220 | 1058 |
| Number of tables | 890 | 833 |
| Goals/match | 0.73 | 0.78 |
| Construction | 250 | 372 |
| Assists/match | 0.2 | 0.35 |
Titles
If based on the number of titles owned, Messi continues to surpass his colleague. Up to now, Messi holds the record with 44 titles, including 4 C1 cups, 12 national championship titles and most importantly, the World Cup championship.
On the other hand, Ronaldo has won 35 titles so far. In terms of major titles, Ronaldo has not won the World Cup like Messi. However, CR7 has the right to be proud of what he has achieved with 5 C1 Cup championships, and with the Portuguese team winning the historic Euro championship.
As for individual awards, the Ballon d’Or is the most important measure. Here, Messi has 8 Ballons d’Or, Ronaldo only has 5.
Experts, teammates
In debates about who is the greatest player of all time, only a few names are mentioned. Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff are among them. However, today, most fans and players consider Messi and Ronaldo to be the greatest players of all time.
Of the three legends mentioned above, Pele is the only one who thinks Ronaldo is better. Sharing in 2020, the late Brazilian legend revealed: “Right now the best player is Ronaldo. I think he is number 1 because of his perseverance. But you can’t ignore Messi.”
On the opposite side, Maradona and Cruyff both think Messi is better. Golden boy Maradona once said: “I don’t remember the last time I saw Messi play badly. I like Messi more than Ronaldo but I also know Ronaldo is very good.”
Cruyff emphasized teamwork. “Messi is much more of a team player than Ronaldo. He scores goals but also has a lot of assists. For me, Messi is better.”
Of course, Maradona and Cruyff have both been linked to Messi. But some of the names who have played alongside Ronaldo, like Modric and Ramos, have admitted that Messi is the best in the world.
In April, the Daily Mail published a video interviewing 34 famous players to see if they would choose between Ronaldo or Messi. Here, 30 people leaned towards Messi.
Conclude
Based on the above important parameters, Messi seems to be ahead of Ronaldo. 90min also agrees with this. “Statistics and awards show that Messi is the greatest player. Many football stars agree with that, although Ronaldo is very close behind,” said 90min.
Ronaldo is a symbol of physical strength and discipline. Messi has natural talent that has been honed over time. Both have their own strengths. Therefore, the debate about who is better will never end.
