Messi vs. Ronaldo: The GOAT Debate Unveiled

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as two of the greatest of all-time players. Both of them have been proving themselves at the highest level for years. Since 2018, only two players have won the Ballon d'Or other than Messi and Ronaldo. Luka Modric won the award in 2018, and Karim Benzema won it in 2022. In fact, for ten consecutive years starting from 2008, it was either of the two who won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.

Ballon d'Or is awarded to the best player in the world. At the helm of their powers, they were considered unstoppable. Understandably, they had a very fierce yet professional rivalry throughout their careers, with both players showing mutual respect for each other. Let us discuss a few parameters on the basis of statistics and data analysis to help the fans determine who is the GOAT.

1.Individual Awards

Messi has a slight advantage on Individual awards, considering he has won the most Ballon d'Or in the history of Football. Here is a brief list of their awards:

Awards
Ballon d'Or (Messi 7, Ronaldo 5)
European Golden Boot (Messi 6, Ronaldo 4)
FIFA World Player of the Year (Messi 6, Ronaldo 5)
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Messi 2, Ronaldo 0)

Looks like Messi has the advantage based on these numbers, isn't it?

2. Club Achievements

Both Ronaldo and Messi had the privilege of playing for the best teams in the world. They had extraordinary careers at the club level. It will be very hard to find players who had better club careers. Let’s check out their club career achievements.

Trophy
UEFA Champions League (Messi 4, Ronaldo 5)
League Titles (Messi 11, Ronaldo 7)
Domestic Cup (Messi 7, Ronaldo 6)
Domestic Super Cup (Messi 9, Ronaldo 7)
UEFA Super Cup (Messi 3, Ronaldo 3)
Club World Cup (Messi 3, Ronaldo 4)

Again, Messi has the advantage. Although it’s still debatable as Ronaldo is one of the very few players who have won 5 UCLs.

3. All-time career stats