The world has witnessed the unprecedented dominance of two of the most influential and greatest players to have ever graced the game. Former Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and former Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo have been at the pinnacle, with their spectacular performances igniting an immortalized rivalry.
Even after leaving Europe, their long-standing rivalry never fails to ignite debate among fans and groups about who is the best. Both of them have shattered numerous records and won countless titles and individual accolades. Fascinatingly, there are some feats that they exclusively enjoy against each other.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s record that Lionel Messi won’t be able to match
Lionel Messi overtook Cristiano Ronaldo after lifting the highly coveted World Cup trophy in 2022 and eventually extended his Ballon d’Or lead to a record eight titles, three more than the Portuguese talisman. However, when it comes to the UEFA Champions League, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo is unmatched.
The former Manchester United star holds the title for the most goals in the history of the Champions League, scoring 140 goals and providing 48 assists in 183 European appearances for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus. He has lifted the prestigious trophy five times, including the famous three-peat with Los Blancos.
The 39-year-old holds the record for the most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League campaign, with 17 goals in the 2015/16 season. Meanwhile, Messi, in his best campaign, scored 14 goals in the 2011/12 season and holds the second spot in the top scorer list of the competition with a tally of 129 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the top scorer of Europe’s premier competition for six consecutive seasons while donning a Real Madrid jersey from 2012 to 2018, the only player to achieve this feat. During this period, he amassed exceptional figures, bagging 82 goals and winning the title on four occasions.
Lionel Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo’s huge goalscoring milestone
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to rewrite history. Recently, the Al-Nassr star reached another major milestone in his club career. The Inter Miami captain has joined his Portuguese counterpart in racking up 500 league club goals after scoring a brace against Orlando City in the MLS earlier this month.
However, the 36-year-old took 67 games fewer than Ronaldo to accomplish this achievement, as the former Juventus forward had played in 654 matches. Notably, both of them have surpassed the 700-goal mark throughout their careers, making them the only two players to have scored this substantial amount of goals.
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