The topic of who the best player of all time is continues to spark heated debate on five-a-side fields and at bar tables around the world.

Comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who is the greatest of all time? It’s the most puzzling question in sports since “Diego Maradona or Pele?”

The debate between the Portuguese phenomenon and the empyrean Argentine will continue to occupy the imaginations of football fans throughout the world for the foreseeable future.

Most people know who they would pick, though opinions may be clouded by club or country loyalty or by the player’s personality.

Who, then, deserves the title of “greatest of all time?” GOAL has compared the two to give you the upper hand in the age-old debate, regardless of your personal preference. 

Ronaldo has scored more goals for his club team than Messi has, but only by a razor-thin margin; it’s worth noting, however, that the Manchester United star has the advantage of playing two more seasons than his Argentine rival.

Amazingly, between the two of them, they have scored over 690 goals for their club during the course of their careers. The five years spanning 2009–10 to 2014–15 were especially fruitful, as they pushed each other to new heights.

Ronaldo now has more goals overall, but Messi has a higher season average (37.9 to 35) thanks to his high of 73 goals in 2011–12 and his subsequent decrease (after a disastrous first season with PSG in 2021–22).

Ronaldo scored over 50 goals in each of the six seasons between 2010-11 and 2015-16, with a peak of 61 in 2014-15.

Messi’s totals have remained stable despite a slowdown in the Argentine’s rate since joining PSG, while Ronaldo’s have decreased in recent years. Ronaldo failed to reach 30 goals in his first season with Juventus in 2018–19.

Messi’s superiority over Ronaldo in terms of assists is becoming more pronounced as their respective roles expand.

Messi’s ability to set up goals for others is a big factor in determining his greatness, and while Ronaldo scores plenty of goals himself, the gap between the two is wide.

Ronaldo has excelled in the Champions League with both Manchester United and Real Madrid, and he now holds the record for most goals scored in the tournament.

But Messi isn’t too far behind and has a little higher goal-per-game ratio, so he has a good shot at passing the player United player if he keeps up his stellar play.

Ronaldo has now surpassed Iker Casillas to become the player with the most Champions League appearances of all time.

Until Argentina’s victory in 2022, when Messi led his team to a series of victories, neither had ever won the World Cup.

Messi helped lead Argentina to victory in Qatar, where he tallied seven goals and three assists, despite Portugal star Ronaldo having scored more goals and in less appearances coming into the 2022 World Cup.

The PSG star scored in every round of the tournament, capping his stellar play with a hat trick in the championship game against France and scoring again from 12 yards out in penalty kicks, where Argentina ultimately prevailed 3-3 AET.

In 2006, Ronaldo and the Selecao made it all the way to the semi-finals before falling to France and then losing the third-place game to Germany in a shootout.

International statistics comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Ronaldo and Messi have had comparable international careers, with Ronaldo holding the upper hand in terms of total caps and goals scored in part because his senior Portugal career began two years before Messi’s with Argentina.

With his two goals against the Republic of Ireland in Euro 2020, Ronaldo eclipsed Ali Daei’s record of 109 international goals to become the all-time leading goalscorer.

Though Messi is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer, having passed the great Gabriel Batistuta a number of years ago, he is still well behind Ronaldo in this category.

Messi and Ronaldo both have impressive collections of trophies, but when it comes to domestic league championships, Messi has a little edge with 10 La Liga trophies for Barcelona and 1 Ligue 1 trophies for PSG. Unlike Messi, Ronaldo can boast seven league titles from three different countries (England, Spain, and Italy), which may bolster his case as the greatest player of all time.

Ronaldo has a better record than Messi in the Champions League, and he has earned the title of “Mr. Champions League” because of his devotion to the tournament. The Portuguese national team, in which the Manchester United star plays, has recently won the European Championship and the UEFA Nations League.

Early in his international career, Messi and Argentina suffered through four disastrous Copa America campaigns, including three final-game losses. He hadn’t won a major tournament until 2021, when he captured the Copa. In 2022, he won the Finalissima and the World Cup. Messi has won an Olympic gold medal as well.

For over a decade, the individual rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi has defined modern football.

With his sixth win in 2019, Messi surpassed Ronaldo in the race for the Ballon d’Or, and his seventh win in 2021 solidified his position as the sport’s undisputed best.

Messi has more league Player of the Year honors than Ronaldo does, but Ronaldo has more of FIFA’s new ‘The Best’ awards and more UEFA Player of the Year titles. It goes without saying that Ronaldo has been named the best player in three different countries: the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy.

The fact that both Messi and Ronaldo have been named to the FIFPro World XI 14 times demonstrates how close this competition has been. Messi has won the European Golden Shoe a record six times, two more than Ronaldo.