Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo: all

With 12 Ballon d’Ors, a host of personal records and many trophies between them, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go down in history as two of the best footballers of all time. Here we look at their profiles and career statistics.

In his club career Messi spent 21 years with FC Barcelona – where he won Spain’s La Liga title ten times and the Uefa Champions League four times – before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. After two years in France, it has been announced that he will sign for MLS club Inter Miami.

After leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, Messi was named the men’s player of the year at the 2022 Best Fifa Awards. The forward has now won the Fifa award twice and is favourite to lift the Ballon d’Or for a record eighth time in 2023.

At Qatar 2022 Messi scored seven goals, including two in the final against France. He played his 1,000th career match as Argentina beat Australia in the round of 16. Argentina also won the 2021 Copa America with Messi the top goalscorer in the competition. After winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Copa America triumph in 2021 was his first in senior international football. South American champions Argentina won the 2022 “Finalissima”, 3-0 against European champions Italy, with captain Messi named man-of-the-match at Wembley Stadium.  

Portugal star Ronaldo has played his club football with Sporting Lisbon (2002-2003), Manchester United (2003-2009 and 2021-2022), Real Madrid (2009-2018), Juventus (2018-2021) and now Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia (2023-present). The 38-year-old’s trophy collection includes five Champions League winners’ medals and league titles in England, Spain and Italy. In Qatar he became the first male player to score in five different Fifa World Cups.   

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who has scored more than 830 goals for club and country, is the top goalscorer in men’s international football with 122 goals for Portugal and now holds the record for most international appearances (198). He won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016 and is also the all-time top goalscorer for Real Madrid (450) and in the Champions League (140).