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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are without a doubt the greatest footballers of our generation. The duo have been at the pinnacle of the game for the last two decades, breaking records every week and setting new standards for the generations to come.
Their intense rivalry has given birth to an endless debate, with fans of both players making comparisons by referencing statistics. As Messi followed in Ronaldo's footsteps by taking on a new challenge in Ligue 1 this summer, the comparisons reached a new level. But who really has the edge between these two legendary players?
Ronaldo leads in goals; Messi leads in assists and trophies
With an incredible 783 goals so far in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo has the edge when it comes to prolificacy in front of goal. That is 35 efforts above his rival's record of 748. This includes his return of 109 goals for Portugal, which also beats the 76-goal tally his counterpart has bagged for Argentina.
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Messi, meanwhile, has a better goals-to-games ratio than the Juventus forward, having played fewer games (144). The Argentine's ratio of 0.81 is superior to Ronaldo's 0.73.
Moving to assists, the lead goes to Messi. The Paris Saint-Germain attacker has bagged 315 assists so far in his career, including 46 for Argentina. Ronaldo has set up 226 goals, with 32 of them coming from his exploits with the national team.
Trophies are another parameter used in measuring the influence of these two legends in comparison with one another. Lionel Messi, once again, comes out on top in this category owing to his success with Argentina and Brazil.
The diminutive attacker won a whopping 35 trophies during his time with Barcelona, including four UEFA Champions League titles, 10 La Liga triumphs and seven Copa del Rey trophies.
Cristiano Ronaldo isn't far behind with a total of 30 trophies at club level that includes five Champions League successes, seven league titles and multiple domestic cups across Portugal, England, Spain and Italy.
The Portuguese, however, seems to have a slight edge when it comes to international trophies, having led Portugal to claim two major trophies - the Euros and UEFA Nations League. Messi, meanwhile, tasted success with Argentina at the Copa America this summer. He also has an Olympic gold medal to his name.
