4 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best players in the world today. They have been playing for more than a decade and have won all the major awards & titles throughout their career. Both of them have been great rivals and are known for their goalscoring ability.

Every day there is news or articles which pits them against each other. They have their own set of fans and admirers who can go to war for them. They refer to Ronaldo as ‘Machine’ and Messi as an ‘Artist.’

There are four reasons Ronaldo is ahead of Messi.

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#4. Ronaldo has played in four different leagues while Messi has played in only one

Ronaldo has played in the clubs of four different leagues – Spanish league (Real Madrid), English league (Manchester United), Portuguese league (Sporting CP), and Italian league (Juventus). He has scored everywhere and ensured his domination with his talent.

Real Madrid Celebrate After Victory In The Champions League Final Against Liverpool

Messi, on the contrary, has only played in the Spanish league (Barcelona). This shows that Ronaldo is more adaptable and takes on more challenges as compared to his counterpart.

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#3. Ronaldo is a born leader

Ronaldo is a leader who leads by example. He led Portugal to win the 2016 UEFA European Championship. They defeated France by 1-0 in the final and he received the ‘Silver Boot’ for being the second-highest goalscorer in the championship. Ronaldo inspires confidence in his teammates. He leads from the front and has the ability to rise from the dust.

Portugal v France - Final: UEFA Euro 2016

Messi has never led Argentina to a major title win although he is surrounded by a lot of superstars in Argentina. He plays well in an environment which is suited to his temperament. Messi likes to be surrounded by his fans, press, and analysts. Diego Maradona has often criticised him for his inability to win the games for his country at the world stage.

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#2. Ronaldo is a better defender than Messi

Juventus v Bologna FC - Serie A

Everyone knows that Ronaldo is a gifted striker of the ball, but one aspect which they easily forget is his defensive capability. His tall and muscular physique gives him the advantage to defend any attack in the world. Ronaldo is always a part of the free kick walls. He can defend set-pieces with his interception skills and aerial prowess.

Messi, although a legendary striker, lags behind Ronaldo in this aspect.

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#1. Ronaldo is a more complete attacking weapon than Messi

On the ground, Messi is arguably ahead of Ronaldo in terms of passing and dribbling skills. Aerially, Ronaldo is way ahead of Messi. The Portuguese easily beats him in that regard. Ronaldo has scored more headed goals than his counterpart.

Ronaldo's aerial abilities are fantastic

Ronaldo uses both feet for scoring the goals. Almost 63% of his goals have come with the right foot while 19% have come with the left foot. Messi scores mostly with his strong foot and is not an aerial threat to the opposing defences.