Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the greatest players in world football history. For the past 15 years, this duo has competed fiercely for major titles, both collectively and individually.

The special thing is that both possess somewhat opposite qualities. Messi possesses natural potential, can create everything with his magical feet. Left-footed, the Argentinian superstar brings uniqueness to every tackle, conquering millions of fans around the world.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s success has contributed more to his efforts. The Portuguese striker is right-footed and is a comprehensive striker who can score goals in any different position.

Up to this point in their careers[, Messi and Ronaldo both possess extremely impressive career parameters and can be said to be unprecedented.

Whether Ronaldo or Messi is better is still a controversial topic. No famous football figure has given his opinion on this topic.

After Messi scored his 600th goal for Barca, former England player Gary Lineker commented: “In terms of scoring goals, he has been great. But the truth is that Messi is also the best dribbler I have ever seen.” I’ve ever seen him, he has unbelievable passing ability. That’s why he’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

Even Ronaldo’s former teammate Wayne Rooney at MU shares the same opinion as Lineker. The 38-year-old former striker admitted that Messi is number 1 when asked to compare the two. “I’ve said this before. They are probably the two best players in history. But in my eyes, Messi is the greatest,” Rooney said.

Pele, David Beckham or Ronaldinho also choose Messi. However, others choose Ronaldo as the better person. Even Pele, he had different thoughts about who was better.

Roberto Carlos, the legendary Brazilian full-back, appreciates Ronaldo more. “I watched him practice every day and the way he practiced was interesting. He wanted to get better every day. I think that’s the difference between Ronaldo and Messi. In fact, Messi is extremely excellent but with Ronaldo, from practice, concentration, professionalism, motivation… Ronaldo has an advantage no matter if he has to be placed next to any player.”

Rio Ferdinand – who used to work alongside Ronaldo at MU – also had to tip his hat to the Portuguese striker. “700 goals for the club, that number is more than the number of matches I’ve played in. It’s unbelievable,” Ferdinand shared after Ronaldo scored the 700th goal of his career.

“He may be sad because he was pushed to the bench. At that time, he definitely thought he deserved to start. And Ronaldo’s goals are the answer. Although he is a professional player, No matter how old you are, you still have to do your best every time you play. Ronaldo has done that.”

Below are the notable parameters of the two superstars up to the present time. We can see that Messi is ahead in many important indicators. However, Ronaldo dominates in terms of goals.

Statistics of Messi and Ronaldo