Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: How does Al-Nassr superstar’s red card tally compare to arch-rival after sending off against Al-Hilal

Lionel Messi's arch-rival, Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo, saw red in his team's 2-1 Saudi Super Cup semifinal defeat to Al-Hilal on Monday (April 7).

Otavio's early opener for Al-Alami was ruled out after Ronaldo handled the ball from an offside position, attracting an yellow card. Salem Al-Dawsari opened the scoring for Al-Hilal just past the hour mark before Malcom made it 2-0 with 18 minutes to go.

In the 86th minute, Ronaldo received a straight red for elbowing an opponent, marking the 12th send-off of his illustrious career for club and country. Half of them have come at Real Madrid, four at Manchester United, one at Juventus and now one at Al-Nassr.

That's nine more than what Messi has had, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner getting sent off twice for Argentina and once while he was at Barcelona. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has never been sent off in international football, though.

Overall, though, Colombian defender Gerardo Bedoya tops the list of send-offs with 46, followed by Ronaldo's former Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos (29). The Portuguese's tally of 12 reds sees him six short of tenth-placed Garry Medal.

Coming back to the aforementioned game, Sadio Mane netted a stoppage-time consolation for Luis Castro's side. But it was too little too late as Ronaldo and Co. crashed out of another cup competition following their Asian Champions League ouster last month.

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Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi by the numbers this season

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as two of the best players to have graced the beautiful game.

Despite being on the wrong side of 30, they are still going strong, having scored over 800 times for club and country. Both legends are now in their first full season outside European football.

Cristiano Ronaldo has had a headstart, having started the ongoong season in the summer. Despite being sent off on Monday against Al-Hilal, the 39-year-old is in the midst of a strong season, bagging 36 goals and 12 assists in 37 games across competitions.

That includes league-leading 29 goals and 10 assists in 25 games in the Saudi Pro League, where Al-Alami are 12 points behind runaway leaders Al-Hilal after 27 games.

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has had an injury-plagued start to his first full season in American football with MLS side Inter Miami, whom he joined last summer on a free transfer.

In six games across competitions in the 2024 season, he has had six goals and two assists. Most of those goal contributions - four goals and an assist in four games - have come in the MLS, where the Herons are third after eight games in the Eastern Conference.