The rivalry b/w Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on more than a decade is unprecedented in the history of the game. Never had we seen before 2 players being by far the 2 best of their generation by this distance. But between these 2, Lionel Messi seems to have an advantage on all the aspects which makes him arguably a better player. Surely as far as their club careers are concerned.
In terms of titles won in club career, Lionel Messi has won a total of 34 titles whereas Cristiano Ronaldo have won a total of 30. By taking into consideration the most important titles that are the national leagues and the Champions League, Messi has won the league 10 times (la Liga) whereas Ronaldo have won a total of 6 national league titles (3 Premier League, 2 la Liga and 1 Serie A). Concerning the Champions League, Messi have won a total of 4 whereas Ronaldo have won 5. The most important individual award in world football is the Ballon Dāor that rewards the best player of the year playing in a European club. Messi have won a total of 6 Ballon dāor whereas Ronaldo have won only 5.
Concerning their goals scored in their club career, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 626 goals in 836 games played (0.75 goal per game), whereas Lionel Messi has scored 627 goals in 718 games (0.87 goal per game). As far as assists are concerned, Ronaldo have made 219 assists in 836 games (0.26 assist per game), whereas Messi have made 261 assists in 718 games (0.36 assist per game). Thus, Ronaldo have been decisive offensively 845 times in 836 games (1.01 time per game), whereas Messi have been decisive 888 times in 718 games (1.24 time per game). What partly explains the Messi edge on Ronald in terms of goals scored is his better efficiency on free-kicks. And as an assist maker, the Argentinian is clearly a better passing player with more accurate through balls than the Portuguese.
A difficulty often occurring when comparing 2 top class players is that they often donāt belong to the same era (like Pele and Maradonna) or donāt play in the same league and thus donāt take part in the same competitions. The advantage for the comparison between Ronaldo and Messi is that for 9 years (2009ļ 2018) they took part in exactly the same national and continental competitions. Furthermore, each one of them was playing for one of the top 2 La Liga clubs and could count on the best players worldwide in each field position. In these 9 years Messi have achieved better results individually and with his team. The national league is probably the most reliable indicator as it is the result of a set of 38 games. In their 9 year in common playing la liga, Messi have won the title 6 times, whereas Ronaldo have won only 2. Ronaldo has an edge only in terms of Champions League won: 4 vs 2. Concerning the La liga player of the year in this time span, Messi have won it 7 times whereas Ronaldo have never won it.
Messi has also the advantage of being a more multitasked player. Ronaldo can play only in 3 positions: Left winger, right winger and center forward. Whereas Messi can play in 5 different positions : Center forward, second striker, right winger, left winger and advanced midfield. The ability of Lionel Messi to play also as a midfield due to his vision while playing gives him an advantage over Ronaldo and makes him a more valuable asset for any coach.
The fact that Messi is a more complete player is confirmed by the detailed indexes of Twelve a Side. According to our website, Messi has a general performance score of 86/100, whereas Ronaldo has a general score of 60/100 this season. As far as the attacking performance is concerned, Messi has a score of 87/100 whereas Ronaldo has a score of 61. Concerning the teamwork performance, the gap is even more important due to the quality of the passing of Messi. Thus, on this index, Messi has a score of 61/100 whereas Ronaldo has a score of 28/100.
Concerning their performances with the national team, the comparison is more difficult to make as they play for national teams that are from different continents. Thus the only accurate comparison possible between these 2 is by seeing their performances during the World Cup. The better performance of Messi during a World Cup was reaching the final in 2014, whereas the best performance of Ronaldo is only a semifinal in 2006. Furthermore, Messi have been named as the best player of the 2014 World Cup whereas Ronaldo have never been awarded this title in his 4 world cups played.
Itās important to note that Ronaldoās career is now near to its end (at least at a very high level) whereas Lionel Messi should stay competitive and fit till the next World Cup. Indeed Messi is 2 years and a half younger.
At last one more thing that I am a Big fan of MESSIš
They are both good player. Messi is my favourite player. Thanks you for writing this article in this platform. Keep write new new article next time.