Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the best players to ever play, are always compared due to them being similar ages, having similar skill, and both of them having some of their best years for the two leading teams in La LIga, Messi played for Barcelona, while Ronaldo played for Real Madrid. But who is better? That is what this article is trying to find out. There are four categories to decide who is better, Statistics, Trophies, Freekicks, and Last 3 Years. Now keep reading to find out who is better.
Statistics
Messi: Matches- 458, Goals- 704, Games Winning Goals- 188
Ronaldo: Matches- 465, Goals- 702, Game Winning Goals- 220
Verdict: Messi and his world class dribbling skills have got him 2 more goals than Ronaldo in 7 less games, but this doesn’t mean that he wins the category, because Ronaldo has an astounding 220 game winning goals, 32 more than Messi, which means that even if Messi had played in 7 more games, equaling Ronaldo’s match record, he still couldn’t beat this number, even if he got a game winning goal in each of those 7 matches. Because of the game winning goals statistic, this category goes to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Trophies
Messi: 10 La Ligas, 7 Copa del Reys, 8 Supercopa de Españas, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups, 1 Ligue One, 1 Trophée des Champions, 1 Copa America, 1 World Cup, 2 World Cup Golden Balls, and 7 Ballon d’Ors.
Ronaldo: 3 Premier Leagues, 1 FA Cup, 4 Club World Cups, 2 La Ligas, 2 Copa del Reys, 2 Supercopa de Españas, 5 Champions Leagues, 2 Serie As, 1 Coppa Italia, 2 Supercoppa Italianas, 1 UEFA Euros, 1 Nations League, 1 World Cup Golden Ball, and 5 Ballon d’Ors.
Verdict: This one is very close, because Ronaldo was able to win 3 Premier Leagues, which is a very challenging league compared to La Liga, the Portuguese player also won more Champions Leagues and Club World Cups, but during the 9 year period where the two players were in La Liga at the same time, Messi won 6 La Ligas with Barcelona, while Ronaldo and Real Madrid only won 2. Another fact to take into consideration is that Messi has two more Ballon d’Ors than Ronaldo and Messi has won the coveted World Cup trophy, which is the highest award in world soccer, and Ronaldo has not been able to achieve it, while Messi did it with style. So the decision here is that Messi won the Trophies Round.
Freekicks
Messi: 60 Goals from Free Kicks
Ronaldo: 56 Goals From Free Kicks
Verdict: While both of these stars are known for being great free kicks, Messi has scored 4 more than Ronaldo, and with his total of 60, he has scored the 7th most free kicks of any player, which is very impressive, but Ronaldo, only 4 goals behind also has many free kick goals, but he is renowned for more than just scoring free kicks, but for scoring them in high pressure situations.One of these was when Ronaldo made a last gasp free kick in the World Cup against Spain to tie the game 3-3, in a game that looked like Portugal would lose. He also scored a freekick in the Club World Cup final for Madrid that gave them a 1-0 victory over Gremio. Because of the high pressure free kicks Ronaldo has scored, he wins this category.
Past 3 Years
Messi: Has played for PSG and won the French league, French Super Cup, Copa America, 1 Ballon d’Or and the World Cup.
Ronaldo: Played for Manchester United, but was left out of the squad multiple times for not showing up to training and having a bad attitude, he was eventually dropped and signed an expensive contract for the Saudi club Al-Nassr, didn’t win any trophies
Verdict: Messi is the clear winner in this category, having won the most prestigious trophy in World Soccer, the World Cup, and he won the Ballon d’Or for being the best player in the world in 2021. Meanwhile, Ronaldo was sitting on the bench in the Premier League for Manchester United and after being made a free agent, Ronaldo sold out to Al-Nassr, where he is making lots of money, while not really being challenged like he would be in one of the big 5 leagues. So if these two players' legacies were being judged by their final years playing, Messi would go down as the better of the two.
Final Verdict: Both of these two incredible players will go down as some of the best in history, and the decision on who is better can now be decided by you, knowing all of the categories and who won them above. But if you want to hear the Soccer Alarm’s decision it is… Lionel Messi, because he has recently won the World Cup, he has more goals than Ronaldo, he has won more Ballon d’Ors, and because the last few years of his career have been incredible, while Ronaldo’s haven't been great, but hopefully that won’t tarnish the legacy of the Portuguese legend, and hopefully this debate can continue for as long as these players are remembered as the best ones in the world.
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