Over the past two decades, fans have been fortunate to have the opportunity to witness two outstanding players in football history compete, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Currently, even though they have entered the final stage of their career, this duo owns countless titles and notable records.
The question is whether between Ronaldo and Messi, who is better. Recently, 90min newspaper gave parameters to answer this question.
Parameters
Ronaldo is nearly 2.5 years older than Messi. Therefore, the Portuguese superstar obviously plays 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 opportunities to play, Ronaldo is ahead of Messi in terms of goals. At this time, CR7 pocketed 890 goals, far ahead of Messi’s 833 goals. However, in terms of goals per match, Messi leads with 0.78 goals/match compared to 0.73 from Ronaldo.
In terms of creating 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 |
| Table/match | 0.73 | 0.78 |
| Assist | 250 | 372 |
| Assist/match | 0.2 | 0.35 |
Titles
If based on the number of titles he owns, Messi continues to outperform 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 opposite side, Ronaldo has pocketed 35 titles so far. In terms of major titles, Ronaldo has not yet owned the World Cup like Messi. However, CR7 has the right to be proud of what he has accomplished by winning the C1 Cup 5 times and winning the historic Euro championship with Portugal.
As for individual titles, the Golden Ball is the most important measure. Here, Messi has 8 Golden Balls, Ronaldo only has 5.
Experts, teammates
In debates about who is the greatest footballer, only a handful of names are mentioned. Pele, Diego Maradona or Johan Cruyff are some of them. However, today, most fans and players believe that Messi and Ronaldo are the greatest players.
Among the three legends mentioned above, Pele is the only one who believes that Ronaldo is better. Sharing in 2020, the late Brazilian legend revealed: “Now the best player is Ronaldo. I think he is number 1 because of his persistence. But you cannot ignore Messi”.
On the opposite side, Maradona and Cruyff both thought that Messi was 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 plays a lot more with teammates than Ronaldo. He scores goals but also has a lot of assists. For me, Messi is better”.
Of course, Maradona and Cruyff both have a connection to Messi. But some names who have played alongside Ronaldo, like Modric or Ramos, have all admitted that Messi is the best in the world.
In April, Daily Mail posted a video interviewing 34 famous players to see if they choose between Ronaldo or Messi. Here, 30 people leaned towards Messi.
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 also agree with that, although Ronaldo is also very close behind,” 90min said.
Ronaldo is a symbol of physical strength and remarkable discipline. Messi possesses natural talent that has been honed over time. Both have their own strengths. Therefore, arguing about who is better will never end.
