The debate over exactly which of the two legends is the greatest of all time has raged for many years – and will likely do so for decades to come.
But now that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his 900th goal, there’s no denying that the Portuguese player has put more balls in the back of the net than his Argentinian rival.
Let’s take a look at which player has scored the most goals, who has won the most trophies and the other career stats of football’s two best players…
How many goals have Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi scored?
Ronaldo is the current top goal scorer in the history of football – the Portuguese icon has scored 900 goals in all competitions for club and country.
The 30-year-old put Portugal 2-0 up in their Nations League game against Croatia with his 900th goal, which was followed by an emotional celebration.
Speaking after the match, Ronaldo said: ‘Scoring 900 goals seems like any other milestone, but only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.
‘It’s a unique milestone in my career.’
Meanwhile, Messi has scored 838 goals in all competitions since making his professional debut in October 2004.
This means that Messi is currently second in the all-time list of top goal scorers in football.
However, it’s worth noting that while Ronaldo has been playing professional football since 2001 – with little sign of retirement – Messi has been playing for three years less.
Ronaldo has played 1,236 games in total, to Messi’s 1069.
Who has won the most trophies?
Between the two of them, Ronaldo and Messi have racked up 76 major trophies across their spells in the game.
Messi leads the way with 44 titles – which includes the 2022 World Cup win in Qatar and most recently Copa America 2024 – compared to Ronaldo’s 34 titles.
However, Ronaldo edges the Champions League rivalry with five victories compared to Messi’s four.
The Inter Miami forward has eight Ballon d’Or awards tucked away in his trophy cabinet, whilst the former Manchester United striker has won the individual prize on five occasions.
Meanwhile, superstar jockey Rachael Blackmore says it was an honour to be mentioned in the same breathe as Messi after winning the BBC World Sport Star of the Year.
‘It is pretty hard to comprehend to be honest,’ the Irish jockey told Betfair. ‘To be on the same list as Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali, Usain Bolt, Simone Biles – it is an unbelievable list to be on.
‘Part of me just wishes that I physically had to hand over the award to the next recipient!’
Messi v Ronaldo stats
Ronaldo has scored the most goals in the history of the Champions League with 140 for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, while Messi is in second place having notched 129 for Barcelona and PSG.
With Ronaldo now playing at Saudi club Al-Nassr and Messi at Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, it’s unlikely either player will be adding to their tally.
Meanwhile, Messi is the joint-fourth highest goal scorer in the World Cup with 13 goals for Argentina, while his greatest rival has scored eight for Portugal on the global stage.
Messi has scored 22 goals in head-to-head matches between the duo, one ahead of Ronaldo on 21.
Ronaldo leads the way with 66 career hat-tricks compared to Messi’s 57.
This article was first published on March 29, 2023
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