The on going FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has renewed the debate on who is the greatest footballer between, Argentinian international, Lionel Messi and his Portuguese compatriot , Cristiano Ronaldo.
The duo who are currently playing what might probably be their last World Cup have in the last decades divided opinion among football fans across the globe on who should be considered the greatest of all time.
Let’s compare each player’s club career, starting with their accomplishments in the domestic league to find out who has the most Guinness Book of Records.
Both spent their prime playing seasons with Real Madrid and Barcelona, the top two clubs in Spain’s La Liga.
Messi, who attended Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy, made his senior debut at the age of 17 in 2004, whereas Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 at the age of 24, did so for a then-record fee of £80 million. In 2018, Ronaldo transferred to the Italian club Juventus, whereas Messi remained at Barcelona until 2021, when he transferred to the French club PSG.
As a result, it stands to reason that Messi holds nearly all La Liga records. He has made 520 appearances overall, which is a record for the most appearances in La Liga by a foreign player. Ronaldo has only made 292.
Messi’s haul is as follows:
474 goals in 474 La Liga appearances. Ronaldo comes in second with 311.
The most goals scored in a single La Liga season – 50 in 2011/12. Ronaldo’s highest league goal total was 48 in 2014/15.
21 assists in a single La Liga season in 2019/20.
Most assists in a La Liga career – 193, more than double Ronaldo’s 88.
36 hat-tricks in a La Liga career. In 2019, Messi broke Ronaldo’s record of 34 goals.
In the 2012/13 season, an individual scored 21 consecutive games in La Liga.
The most consecutive La Liga seasons with 20 goals – 13
Most La Liga top scorer awards (Pichichi Trophy) – 8
The most European Golden Shoe awards – six
Messi had a fantastic 2012, as evidenced by a couple of the records mentioned above. Whatever your stance, there’s no denying that the record he set that year – most football goals scored in a calendar year (91) – is one of the most impressive sporting achievements of all time.
In comparison, Ronaldo had his most productive calendar year in 2013, when he scored 69 goals.
However, Ronaldo has one La Liga record over his rival: the most successful penalties taken by a player in La Liga. He converted 61 of his 61 penalty kicks, just one more than Messi.
Ronaldo used to share the record for most goals scored by a player in an English Premier League season (38 games), with 31 for Manchester United in the 2007/08 season, but this was broken in 2017/18 by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (Egypt).
Ronaldo set a record for the longest gap between English Premier League appearances (12 years 118 days) when he returned to United in 2021, scoring twice on his second debut for the club.
UEFA Champions League
Messi currently holds the lead with 11 records, while Ronaldo has two. The tables begin to turn in the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup).
Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win their long-awaited tenth title in 2014, then three more in a row from 2016 to 2018. Along the way, he set a number of records.
The record for most Champions League goals is perhaps the most important of all. Ronaldo has 140 goals in the competition, while Messi has 129. With Ronaldo missing the 2022/23 tournament due to Manchester United’s failure to qualify, Messi will undoubtedly be looking to break this record.
Messi will also be looking to break Ronaldo’s Champions League records for most Champions League assists (42) and most successful penalties taken by a player in the Champions League (19). To equal both records, Messi needs two more assists and one more penalty.
Ronaldo is the world’s first player to score 100 goals in Champions League tournaments, and the pair are the only players to have done so.
Ronaldo also has the most Champions League appearances (183) and the most individual Champions League match victories (116). He has not only won more games than any other player, but also more than most clubs, including Chelsea and Arsenal.
Here are Cristiano’s other continental achievements:
Most goals scored by an individual in a Champions League season – 17, in 2013/14, breaking Messi’s previous record of 14 in 2011/12.
11 consecutive Champions League games scored in In 2017, the most Champions League goals were scored in a calendar year (19).
Most hat-tricks in a Champions League season – three in 2015/16, breaking Messi’s previous record of two.
Ronaldo has five Champions League titles to Messi’s four, but Paco Gento (Spain; Real Madrid) holds the overall record, having won the European Cup six times between 1956 and 1966.
Winning the Champions League qualifies a team for the FIFA Club World Cup, a short tournament that pits the champions of each continent against one another.
Ronaldo has the most goals scored by an individual in the FIFA Club World Cup (7) and the most goals scored in a FIFA Club World Cup game by an individual (3, tied with Luis Suárez and Gareth Bale).
Although Ronaldo has the most Champions League wins, Messi is no slouch in Europe. Here are his accomplishments:
Most goals scored in a Champions League match by a player – 5, in a 7-1 win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 7 March 2012.
Most different clubs scored against in the Champions League – 40
Youngest player to score 50 goals in the Champions League – 24 years 283 days
Most consecutive Champions League football seasons scored in – 18
With eight hat-tricks each, Ronaldo and Messi hold the record for most hat-tricks scored by an individual in a Champions League career.
International Career
Although Ronaldo has made some progress, Messi still leads him by one record so far (15 vs 16). Let’s try to distinguish them based on how they have performed for their national teams.
We’ll start by evaluating each player’s goalscoring statistics, as most ardent fanboys do.
Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals scored by a single player in international football (soccer) games with 117 goals in 191 games for Portugal. Messi ranks third all-time in goals with 91 in 165 games for Argentina, 18 behind Ali Daei (Iran).
Ronaldo will surpass Kuwait’s Bader Al-record Mutawa’s for the most international football (soccer) caps by a single player if Portugal advances to the final (or third-place play-off) of the 2022 FIFA World Cup (196).
Both Messi and Ronaldo have participated in four World Cups, but Ronaldo has scored in more FIFA World Cup competitions overall thanks to Messi’s inability to do so in 2010. (4). Ronaldo currently shares the title with Uwe Seller, Miroslav Klose, and Pelé (all from Germany), but if he scores in Qatar, he will pass them all.
In addition, Ronaldo’s hat-trick against Spain in the 2018 group stage helped his team to a 3-3 draw, making him the oldest player to ever score a hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup.
The record for the most Man of the Match awards at the World Cup is held by Messi, Ronaldo, and Arjen Robben (Netherlands) (6).
Ronaldo has broken numerous records in the UEFA European Championships in addition to the World Cup:
Most UEFA European Championships goals by a player – 14
Most goals scored in the UEFA European Championships including qualifying matches – 45
Most appearances in the UEFA European Championships by a player – 25
Most UEFA European Championship tournaments scored in by a player – 5
Individual Awards
Ronaldo has 23 records so far and has finally pulled ahead of Messi’s 19. Will he be able to hold onto the lead?
There are only two records in this section, but they’re big ones:
Most wins of the Ballon d’Or
Most Best FIFA Men’s Player awards
social media
With Ronaldo still leading at 23-21, everything is still up for grabs as we move into the social media round.
Social media is a hotbed for Messi vs. Ronaldo debates, so it only makes sense that we acknowledge both of the players’ online and offline accomplishments.
Here are all of Ronaldo’s:
Most followers on Twitter for an athlete – 104.6 million
Most followers on Facebook & most followers on Facebook for an athlete – 154 million
Most followers on Instagram & most followers on Instagram for an athlete – 496 million
Most viewed Wikipedia page for an athlete – 131 million
Video Games
Highest-rated player in FIFA 08 – Ronaldo (91) tied with Ronaldinho (Brazil; Barcelona) and Gianluigi Buffon (Italy; Juventus)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 09 – Ronaldo (91) tied with Iker Casillas (Spain; Real Madrid)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 10 – Messi (90) tied with Iker Casillas
Highest-rated player in FIFA 11 – Messi (90)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 12 – Messi (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 13 – Messi (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 14 – Messi (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 15 – Messi (93)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 16 – Messi (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 17 – Ronaldo (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 18 – Ronaldo (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 19 – Ronaldo & Messi (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 20 – Messi (94)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 21 – Messi (93)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 22 – Messi (93)
Highest-rated player in FIFA 23 – Messi (91) tied with four other players
Messi also has the most appearances on a videogame cover by a soccer player, with a total of 12 cover appearances across the FIFA and eFootball (formerly Pro Evolution Soccer) franchises.
That’s it, we’re finally out of records. At the end of it all, Ronaldo has 34 Guinness World Records titles… and Messi also has 34, meaning it’s a DRAW!
Although they’re tied for now, the balance could yet tip in either player’s favour, with Messi closing in on several Champions League records, and Ronaldo looking to become the all-time cap leader.
