Messi–Ronaldo rivalry

Ronaldo (left) and Messi (right) before an international friendly between Argentina and Portugal in Geneva, Switzerland on 9 February 2011

The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry is a supposed association football rivalry between Argentine forward Lionel Messi and Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Having won a combined nine FIFA Ballon d'Or awards (record 5 for Messi and 4 for Ronaldo), both are widely regarded as the two best players of their generation and often as one of the best of all time in the sport. Both players have regularly broken the 50 goal barrier in a single season, and have scored over 500 goals each in their careers for club and country.[1][2] They are also the only two players to score seven UEFA Champions League hat-tricks.[3] Sports journalists and pundits regularly argue the individual merits of both players in an attempt to establish who they believe is the best player in modern football.[4][5][6][7][8] It has been compared to past global sports rivalries such as the Muhammad Ali–Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing, the Björn Borg–John McEnroe rivalry in tennis and the Ayrton Senna–Alain Prost rivalry in Formula One motor racing.[9][10][11]

In a 2012 interview, Ronaldo commented on the rivalry by saying: "I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high",[12] while Ronaldo's manager during his time at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, opined that "I don't think the rivalry against each other bothers them. I think they have their own personal pride in terms of wanting to be the best".[13] Messi has denied any rivalry, saying that it was "only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I've never fought with Cristiano".[14] In response to claims that he and Messi do not get on well on a personal level, Ronaldo commented: "We don't have a relationship outside the world of football, just as we don't with a lot of other players", before adding that in years to come he hopes they can laugh about it together, stating: "We have to look on this rivalry with a positive spirit, because it's a good thing".[15]

Some commentators choose to analyse the differing physiques and playing styles of the two,[16] while part of the debate revolves around the contrasting personalities of the two players: Ronaldo is sometimes depicted as an arrogant and theatrical showoff, while Messi is portrayed as a shy, humble character.[17][18][19][20] When asked which he preferred, then FIFA president Sepp Blatter commented that Messi will "always get a lot of votes because he plays well and scores goals" before saying that Ronaldo "is like a commander on the field of play. This is the other side of football and it's good to have commanders on the field. They don’t have the same attitude and that gives life to football. One has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other but that doesn't matter. I can't say who is the best. I like both of them, but I prefer Messi".[21][22][23]

At club level, with Messi and Ronaldo representing rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two players face each other at least twice every season in the world's most popular regular-season club game, El Clásico, which had a global audience of 400 million viewers in March 2014.[24] Off the field, they are the face of two rival sportswear manufacturers, Messi of Adidas and Ronaldo of Nike, which are also the respective kit suppliers of their national teams and the opposite for their clubs.[25][26] The two highest paid players in football, Ronaldo and Messi are among the world's best paid sports stars: in combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings in 2016, Ronaldo was first earning $88 million and Messi was second with $81.4 million.[27] They have the two biggest social media followings in the world among sportspeople with a combined 200 million Facebook fans by July 2016.[28][29][30]

Background

Lionel Messi

Struggling with growth hormone deficiency as a child, Messi joined Barcelona at the age of 13 with the club paying for his treatment. He made his senior debut in 2003 and had cemented his place in the first team, as well as earning nominations for the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards, by the age of 20.

Born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Messi has spent his entire professional career at Spanish club Barcelona. His prodigious talents were spotted at an early age;[31][32][33][34] he was discovered by Barcelona scout Josep Maria Minguella at the age of 13, and promptly moved to Spain where he progressed through Barcelona's youth academy La Masia, before making his senior debut on 16 October 2004. At the age of 10, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency and upon joining Barcelona, the club paid for his treatment.[35][36] Throughout the early years of his career, Messi had to endure the pressure of the tag New Maradona,[37][38][39] comparisons furthered by scoring goals comparable to those Diego Maradona scored against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup; on 19 April 2007, he scored a mazy dribble against Getafe which bore remarkable resemblance to that of Maradona's,[40][41] before scoring his own version of the Hand of God on 9 June against rivals Espanyol.[42] Maradona himself said of the comparison "I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentinian football and his name is Messi".[43][44]

Messi is the all-time top goalscorer in La Liga,[45] is the only player along with Ronaldo to score seven UEFA Champions League hat-tricks,[46] and is the only player to score five in a single Champions League game.[47] On 27 September 2014, Messi scored his 400th professional goal.[1][48]

While representing Argentina under-20 at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, he scored a total of six goals, including two goals in the final to help Argentina win the tournament, and was awarded the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot as the tournament's best player and top scorer respectively. He made his senior debut two months later, coming on as a substitute, but was sent off for violent conduct minutes later.[49] He has scored five goals in World Cups, with his first coming in 2006, while the other four were scored in 2014 as Argentina reached the final for the first time in 24 years, before losing to Germany. Messi was still awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the World Cup. During the 2007 Copa América, Messi scored in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to help Argentina reach the final. He was chosen as the young player of the tournament. In the 2015 Copa América semi-final, he assisted three goals to help Argentina reach another Copa América final, only to be defeated on penalties. Messi was yet again awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament, but refused to accept it. In the Copa América Centenario the following season, he scored five goals and provided four assists, to become the all-time leading assists maker in Copa América history, and lead Argentina to their third consecutive final in a major tournament, but missed his penalty in the resulting shoot-out, leading to a second consecutive defeat to Chile in the Copa América Final. Messi won an Olympic gold medal when he represented Argentina's Olympic team in the 2008 Olympic games, as Argentina successfully defended the title they won four years previously in 2004.

"I like to see all good players, and Messi is one of them. He is a player, I really enjoy seeing him on the pitch, and all the great players."

—Cristiano Ronaldo talks about Messi in an interview with Fox Sports Argentina[50]

Cristiano Ronaldo

After moving to Manchester United from Sporting CP in 2003, Ronaldo established himself as a world-class player, before Real Madrid paid a then world-record transfer fee of £80 million (€94 million) to sign him in 2009.

Born on 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, Ronaldo began his professional career with Sporting CP, making his senior debut on 7 October 2002, and in 2003 caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million). Ronaldo's talents were noted early on, with United legend George Best saying "There have been a few players described as ‘the new George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it's been a compliment to me".[51]

Ronaldo spent six years at Manchester United, helping them win three consecutive Premier League titles between 2006 and 2009,[52] an FA Cup in 2004, and reach two UEFA Champions League finals in 2008 and 2009, scoring United's goal in the former. He departed United having scored 118 goals in 292 appearances, before he became the world's most expensive player when he moved to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million). During the 2007–08 Premier League season, he scored a record 31 goals in a 38-game season,[53] including his first senior hat-trick in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United.[54][55]

After the end of his fifth season at Real Madrid, Ronaldo had already amassed a total of 252 goals, making him fourth top scorer in the club's history. Former Real manager José Mourinho referred to him as a "goalscoring machine."[56] He holds the record for most goals in a single Champions League season, after scoring a total of 17 goals in 2013–14. This tally included one from a penalty kick in the final as the club won La Decima,[57] where he became the first player to score for two different teams in Champions League finals.[58][59] He is also alongside with Messi the only player to score seven Champions League hat-tricks as well as the only player to score a Champions League hat-trick in consecutive matches. In December 2014, Ronaldo became the fastest player to score 200 goals in La Liga when, in his 178th La Liga game, he scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo; his 23rd hat-trick was also a La Liga record.[60]

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time top goalscorer for the Portugal national football team. As of 10 August 2017, he has scored 75 goals in 145 appearances since his debut in 20 August 2003. He has scored goals in three consecutive World Cups, having scored against Iran in 2006, North Korea in 2010, and Ghana in 2014. Ronaldo has also scored a total of nine goals in the four UEFA European Championship's he has participated in (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016). He is currently ranked joint first in the history of the competition with Michel Platini. Including qualifying games, Ronaldo is the all-time top goalscorer with 29 goals, following his 23rd goal, against Armenia in 2014.[61] At Euro 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal to win their first major tournament by scoring three goals and providing another three. He missed the majority of the final through injury, but was still awarded the Silver Boot as one of the second-highest goalscorers of the tournament. He has been voted into the UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament three times, in 2004, 2012 and 2016.

Origins

In 2007, Ronaldo and Messi finished as runners-up to A.C. Milan's Kaká in both the Ballon d'Or, an award rewarded to the player voted as the best in the world by an international panel of sports journalists, and the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year, an award voted for by coaches and captains of international teams. In an interview that year, Messi was quoted as saying "Cristiano Ronaldo is an extraordinary player and it would be brilliant to be in the same team as him".[62][63]

They first played in a game together when United were drawn to play Barcelona in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, and were immediately pitted as major rivals.[64][65][66] Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first leg,[67] but United eventually advanced to the final via a Paul Scholes goal.[68] At the end of the year, Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or and vowed that he would win the award again.[69][70]

The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was contested between United and Barcelona on 27 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match, described as a "dream clash",[71] was again hyped as the latest battle between the two, this time to settle who was the best player in the world;[72][73] Ronaldo claimed he was the better of the two,[74] while Messi's club-mate Xavi sided with him.[75] United manager Alex Ferguson was more diplomatic, praising both players as being amongst the world's elite talents.[76][77] Messi, playing in a central role he was unaccustomed to so he would avoid a direct battle with United left-back Patrice Evra,[78] scored Barcelona's second in a 2–0 victory with a header in the 70th minute.[79] Meanwehile, Ronaldo was subdued for much of the game despite some early chances to score, and his frustration eventually showed when he was booked for a rash tackle on Carles Puyol.[80][81]

Season by season

2009–10

On 11 June 2009, Manchester United accepted an offer of £80 million (€94 million) for Ronaldo to be transferred to Barcelona's El Clásico rivals Real Madrid.[82][83] The transfer was confirmed on 1 July.[84][85] At the end of the year, Messi was awarded the Ballon d'Or by a record margin of 240 points.[86][87]

In the first league meeting of the two players, on 29 November 2009, it was Messi's Barcelona who came out on top, winning 1–0 with a goal from Zlatan Ibrahimović.[88] In the second El Clásico of the season, Messi scored his 40th goal of the season in a 2–0 win.[89] Messi was said to have made a fool out of Ronaldo by the Spanish press, which claimed that Ronaldo's "reign in the football world has ended".[90]

2010–11

On 20 November 2010, the pair both scored hat-tricks on the same day for the first time; Ronaldo hit three goals against Athletic Bilbao in a 5–1 win, while Messi scored three as Barcelona thrashed Almería 8–0.[91][92] The achievement was said to have proven why they are widely considered "the world's best players".[93] In January 2011, Messi won the inaugural combined version of the FIFA Ballon d'Or.[94][95]

The two players faced each other whilst representing their international sides for the first time on 9 February 2011, as Argentina played Portugal in a friendly in Geneva, Switzerland, their first meeting for 40 years.[96][97][98] Both players were on the scoresheet, with Ronaldo scoring an equaliser before Messi scored an 89th-minute penalty to win the game 2–1.[99][100]

The two came face-to-face in four pulsating games in the season finale,[101] and the fixtures were hyped as the definitive games as to which of the two was the better player.[102][103][104][105][106] In the first game of the series on 16 April 2011, Messi scored a 51st-minute penalty to give Barcelona the lead until the 82nd minute, when Ronaldo scored a penalty of his own to give Real Madrid a share of the points.[107] In the second game, the 2011 Copa del Rey Final, Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game in extra time to give Real Madrid a 1–0 win, and the club's first trophy under manager José Mourinho.[108] The third game was the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. The match was ugly and ill-tempered, with Madrid's Pepe and Barcelona's José Manuel Pinto both sent off, before Messi provided two moments of magic,[109][110][111] including one described as "one of the best goals in Champions League history",[112] to give Barcelona a two-goal lead in the tie.[113] Following the game, Messi was praised as both the current best in the world and amongst the greatest players of all time.[114][115][116] Of the seven goals scored in the four games, Messi scored three and Ronaldo scored two.[117]

2011–12

Messi finished the 2012 calendar year with 91 goals to his name, breaking the previous record held by Gerd Müller and winning his fourth consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or in the process.

On 24 September 2011, both players scored a hat-trick on the same day for the second time; Ronaldo scored three in a 6–2 win against Rayo Vallecano, and Messi scored three in a 5–0 win over Atlético Madrid.[118][119]

In January, Messi won his third consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or, becoming only the fourth player to win the award three times after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten.[120][121] Having been drawn against each other in the Copa Del Rey quarter-finals later in the month, Ronaldo scored a goal in each game, but Barcelona advanced 4–3 on aggregate.[122][123]

On 7 March 2012, Messi became the first player in the Champions League era to score five goals in a single game as Barcelona beat Bayer Leverkusen 10–2 on aggregate.[124] Following the achievement, Messi was hailed as the best in the world by his manager Pep Guardiola,[125] and club mate Xavi.[126] while journalists and pundits debated whether he was the greatest player of all time.[127][128][129][130][131] Later in the month, he became Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorer when he scored a hat-trick against Granada, overtaking César Rodríguez Álvarez's record of 232 goals.[132][133][134]

On 21 April 2012, Ronaldo scored the winning goal in El Clásico as Real Madrid won 2–1 and closed in on the league championship.[135]

2012–13

In the first El Clásico of the season on 7 October 2012, both players scored twice in a 2–2 at the Camp Nou, the sixth straight match between the two clubs that Ronaldo had scored in.[136][137] Ronaldo scored in the 23rd minute to put Madrid 1–0 in front, then Messi scored two either side of half-time to put Barcelona in the lead, but for only five minutes before Ronaldo scored a 66th-minute equaliser.[138] Messi finished the calendar year of 2012 with an all-time record of 91 goals for both club and country, overtaking Gerd Müller's record of 85 goals.[139][140]

In January, Messi won his record fourth consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or.[141][142] At the end of the month, the players scored hat-tricks on the same day for the third time; Ronaldo scored three against Getafe as Real Madrid won 4–0 before Messi went one better by scoring four goals against Osasuna as Barcelona won 5–1.[143][144] It was Ronaldo's 20th hat-trick and Messi's 200th career league goal.[145] In the Copa Del Rey semi-final second leg, Ronaldo scored two goals to help Real Madrid advance to the final in a 3–1 victory.[146][147] The goals meant he had scored in six consecutive El Clásico's at the Nou Camp.[148]

2013–14

By the end of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League season, Ronaldo had broken the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single season, finding the back of the net 17 times to help Real Madrid win a record tenth title.

On 6 September 2013, Ronaldo scored his first hat-trick whilst representing Portugal, helping them come from 2–1 down against Northern Ireland to win 4–2.[149] Later in the month, the players scored hat-tricks on the same Champions League matchday for the first time; Ronaldo scored three against Galatasaray as Real Madrid won 6–1, while a day later Messi scored a hat-trick against Ajax as Barcelona won 4–0.[150][151] This latest accomplishment was said to "defy the accepted wisdom that football is a team game".[152]

On November 19, 2013, Ronaldo scored all four of Portugal's goals in the two-legged play-off against Sweden which ensured Portugal's place at 2014 FIFA World Cup.[153] His hat-trick in the second-leg made him tied for Portugal's all-time top goalscorer after equalling Pauleta's record tally of 47 international goals.[154] The next day, it was announced the voting period for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or had been extended,[155][156] much to the chagrin of Barcelona president Sandro Rosell.[157] At the beginning of 2014, Ronaldo ended Messi's reign as the best player in world when he was awarded the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or.[158][159] With both players captaining their respective country and therefore receiving the opportunity to vote, neither player voted for the other to decide who would receive the award or for the player who finished third, Franck Ribéry,[160][161] with Ronaldo instead choosing to vote for Radamel Falcao, Gareth Bale and Mesut Özil, and Messi voting for clubmates Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Neymar.[162]

In the second El Clasico of the season on 23 March 2014, Messi became the all-time top scorer in the fixture after he scored a hat-trick, including two penalty kicks, as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 4–3, while Ronaldo also scored a goal from the penalty spot which initially put Real Madrid 3–2 in front; it was a match described as "astonishing", "thrilling" and "the best Clasico in recent years".[163][164][165]

2014–15

At the start of the season, the race to beat Raúl's Champions League goal scoring record of 71 goals dominated the headlines,[166][167] with Messi beating Ronaldo to equal the record when he scored against Ajax on 5 November,[168] and beating the record on 25 November with three goals against APOEL in a 4–0 victory.[169] Following this milestone goal, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique claimed Messi was the "greatest player of all time".[170] Ronaldo equalled Raúl's tally on 26 November when he scored the only goal of the game against Basel.[171]

For the second time in the season, the two players faced each other, this time in the shirts of their respective nations at Old Trafford, and was their last meeting before the announcement of the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or. The British press called the match an "international version of the Premier League's 39th game", which claimed that it "offers unique opportunity for a new seam of support to become embroiled in the Ronaldo v Messi arguments".[172] Portugal defeated Argentina 1–0, although neither Ronaldo nor Messi appeared on the score sheet.[173]

On 3 November, in a 4–0 victory over Granada, Ronaldo made league history when he scored his 17th league goal of the season in just 10 games; the record was previously held by Isidro Lángara, who scored 16 goals in the first ten games of the 1935–36 season for Real Oviedo.[174] On 22 November, Messi equalled, and then went past, Telmo Zarra's goalscoring record of 251 when he scored a hat-trick against Sevilla.[175][176] Luis Enrique praised him following the achievement, saying that he is "one-of-a-kind and we'll never see anyone like him ever again and we are privileged to have him and be able to watch him".[177] On 6 December, Ronaldo overtook Zarra's record of 22 La Liga hat-tricks, which he jointly held with Alfredo Di Stéfano, when he scored three against Celta Vigo.[178] The goals meant he became the quickest player to reach 200 La Liga goals, accomplishing the feat in just 178 games, surpassing Zarra's record of 219 games to reach the milestone.[179][180] The following day, Messi responded by scoring his third hat-trick in his four games, his 21st La Liga hat-trick in total.[181][182] The continuous record breaking was said be down to the pairs' "spellbinding skill, relentless application, athletic charisma",[183] while journalist Sid Lowe said that this latest accomplishment "probably doesn't count as a story any more".[184]

On 12 January 2015, Ronaldo won his second consecutive Ballon d'Or, garnering 37.66% of the votes, ahead of Messi with 15.76%. Both players again refused to vote for each other; Ronaldo voted for Real Madrid teammates Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, while Messi voted for teammates from both club and country, picking Ángel Di María, Andrés Iniesta and Javier Mascherano.[185] Both players were praised for their accomplishments throughout 2014, with neither player clearly being the world's best a "tribute simply to the status of both men",[186] while Ronaldo was declared a "truly worthy recipient", having scored 61 goals to Messi's 58,[187] and it was declared that the time had come to finally give Ronaldo the respect he deserves within the confines of the rivalry.[188]

On 5 April, Ronaldo scored five times in one game for the first time in his career, including an eight-minute hat-trick, in a 9–1 defeat of Granada in La Liga.[189] He followed this up on 8 April with a goal against Rayo Vallecano in a 2–0 victory; his 300th Real Madrid goal.[190] 10 days later, he became the second player in the history of football to score 50 or more goals in a season on five occasions, when he scored the third goal in a 3–1 victory against Málaga,[191] while earlier in the day, Messi scored his 400th Barcelona goal in a 2–0 win against Valencia.[192]

2015–16

On 30 September 2015, Ronaldo scored a brace (2 goals) during a Champions League match against Swedish side Malmö to surpass 500 career goals and become Real Madrid's joint all-time top goalscorer, equalling Raúl's record of 323 goals. He surpassed that record with a goal against Levante on 17 October 2015.

The 2015–16 season started with Ronaldo scoring five goals against Espanyol to overtake Raúl's La Liga tally for Real Madrid,[193] before scoring twice against Malmö in the Champions League to equal Raúl's overall total of 323 goals,[194] the first of which was his 500th career goal.[195] Raúl described Ronaldo as "incredible".[196] Ronaldo surpassed Raúl's overall goalscoring record on 17 October 2015, scoring the second goal in a 3–0 La Liga win for Real Madrid at home against Levante to take his overall tally to 324 goals.[197]

On 8 December 2015, Ronaldo set a Champions League record of 11 goals in the group stage after scoring four goals against Malmö.[198] His four-goal haul equalled a club record in the competition, jointly held by Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, and Hugo Sánchez.[199]

On 17 February 2016, Messi scored his 300th La Liga goal in a 1–3 away win against Sporting Gijon.[200] By scoring four goals in a 7–1 home win over Celta Vigo on 5 March, Ronaldo arrived at 252 goals in La Liga to become the competition's second-highest scorer in history behind Messi.[201] Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Wolfsburg to send his club into the Champions League semi-finals despite a 2–0 first-leg defeat.[202] The treble took his tally in the competition to 16 goals, making him the top scorer for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth overall.[203]

Messi finished the 2015–16 season by setting up both goals in Barcelona's 2–0 extra time win over Sevilla in the 2016 Copa del Rey Final, at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, on 22 May 2016, as the club celebrated winning the domestic double for the second consecutive season.[204][205] In total, Messi scored 41 goals and provided 23 assists, as Barcelona's attacking trio of Messi, Suárez and Neymar (MSN) managed a Spanish record of 131 goals throughout the season, breaking the record they had set the previous season.[206]

Suffering apparent fitness issues, Ronaldo gave a poorly-received performance in the final against Atlético Madrid, in a repeat of the 2014 final, though his penalty in the subsequent shoot-out secured La Undécima, Madrid's 11th victory.[207][208] For the sixth successive year, he ended the season having scored more than 50 goals across all competitions.[207]

Awards and records

Throughout the existence of the rivalry, the pair have dominated awards ceremonies and broken a multitude of goalscoring records for both club and country, feats which have been described as "incredible", "ridiculous", and "remarkable".[209][210][211] The rivalry itself has been described as one about records and reputation of the players, rather than one based in loathing.[212][213]

World's best player awards

Awards ceremonies to crown the world's best player were held annually since 1956, when the inaugural Ballon d'Or awarding took place. The Ballon d'Or was presented to the player who had been voted to have performed the best over the previous year, and was established by French journalist Gabriel Hanot. Originally, votes could only be awarded to European players before a 1995 rule change. In the voting for the 2004 Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo received his first votes, finishing in joint 12th with Milan Baroš on 11 points.[214] In 2005 he received three points,[215] and in 2006 received five points, the same year Messi earned his first votes, finishing with three points.[216]

The FIFA World Player of the Year was established in 1991. In the voting for the 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year, Ronaldo received his first votes, finishing 13th with 45 points. In 2005 he received 13 points, and in 2006 received 69 points. Messi received his first votes in 2007. Both players dominated the voting of both awards from 2007 until the 2010 merging, winning their first trophies in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and continued to reign in the combined FIFA Ballon d'Or.

FIFA Ballon d'Or

In 2010, it was announced that the two awards would be merged into one main award applicable for players worldwide, with an expanded panel of voters.[217][218]

Ronaldo presenting his second FIFA Ballon d'Or to fans at the Santiago Bernabéu before a match against Atlético Madrid on 15 January 2015.
Year 1st 2nd 3rd
2010 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 		Spain Andrés Iniesta
(Barcelona) 		Spain Xavi
(Barcelona)
Percentage 22.65% 17.36% 16.48%
2011 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 		Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) 		Spain Xavi
(Barcelona)
Percentage 47.88% 21.60% 9.23%
2012 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 		Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) 		Spain Andrés Iniesta
(Barcelona)
Percentage 41.17% 23.68% 10.91%
2013 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) 		Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 		France Franck Ribéry
(Bayern Munich)
Percentage 27.99% 24.72% 23.36%
2014 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) 		Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 		Germany Manuel Neuer
(Bayern Munich)
Percentage 37.66% 15.76% 15.72%
2015 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona) 		Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) 		Brazil Neymar
(Barcelona)
Percentage 41.33% 27.76% 7.86%

Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year

The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring remarkable individuals from the world of sports along with the greatest sporting achievements throughout the year.[219] With five and four nominations respectively, Messi and Ronaldo are the only footballers to be nominated on multiple occasions.[219] Messi was also part of the Barcelona side which won the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year in 2012, and were runners-up in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2016. When playing for Manchester United, Ronaldo was part of the team which finished runners-up in 2009, and in 2015 and 2017 was part of the Real Madrid team which also finished as runners-up.[219]

Year Winner Runners-up
2009 Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
(Formula One)		 Spain Rafael Nadal
(Tennis)		 United States Michael Phelps
(Swimming)		 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Football)		 Italy Valentino Rossi
(Motorcycling)
2010 Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 Ethiopia Kenenisa Bekele
(Athletics) 		Spain Alberto Contador
(Cycling)		 Switzerland Roger Federer
(Tennis) 		Argentina Lionel Messi
(Football) 		Italy Valentino Rossi
(Motorcycling)
2011 Spain Rafael Nadal
(Tennis)		 United States Kobe Bryant
(Basketball)		 Spain Andrés Iniesta
(Football)		 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Football)		 Philippines Manny Pacquiao
(Boxing)		 Germany Sebastian Vettel
(Formula One)
2012 Serbia Novak Djokovic
(Tennis) 		Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 Australia Cadel Evans
(Cycling)		 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Football)		 Germany Dirk Nowitzki
(Basketball) 		Germany Sebastian Vettel
(Formula One)
2013 Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 United Kingdom Mo Farah
(Athletics)		 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Football)		 United States Michael Phelps
(Swimming)		 United Kingdom Bradley Wiggins
(Cycling)		 Germany Sebastian Vettel
(Formula One)
2014 Germany Sebastian Vettel
(Formula One)		 Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 United Kingdom Mo Farah
(Athletics)		 United States LeBron James
(Basketball)		 Spain Rafael Nadal
(Tennis)		 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Football)
2015 Serbia Novak Djokovic
(Tennis)		 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
(Formula One)		 France Renaud Lavillenie
(Athletics)		 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy
(Golf)		 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Football)		 Spain Marc Márquez
(Motorcycling)
2016 Serbia Novak Djokovic
(Tennis)		 Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 United States Stephen Curry
(Basketball)		 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
(Formula One)		 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Football)		 United States Jordan Spieth
(Golf)
2017 Jamaica Usain Bolt
(Athletics)		 United States Stephen Curry
(Basketball)		 United Kingdom Mo Farah
(Athletics)		 United States Lebron James
(Basketball)		 United Kingdom Andy Murray
(Tennis)		 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Football)

European Golden Shoe

The European Golden Shoe is awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe. It is awarded based on a weighted points system that allows players in tougher leagues to win even if they score fewer goals than a player in a weaker league. Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the UEFA coefficients rankings are multiplied by a factor of two, and goals scored in the leagues ranked six to 21 are multiplied by 1.5.

Since the points system was established in 1996, Ronaldo and Messi are two of only four players, along with Mário Jardel and Luis Suárez, to score 80 or more points, while Messi is the only player to score 100 points.[220] He was also the first player to win the award three times.[221] Messi received his fourth Golden Boot in 2016–17 season. Ronaldo was the first player to win the award four times.[222] By virtue of being the top scorer in Europe, each also received the Premier League Golden Boot and the Pichichi Trophy in the respective seasons.[223][224]

Season Player Club Goals Points
2007–08 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United 31 62
2008–09 Uruguay Diego Forlán Spain Atlético Madrid 32 64
2009–10 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 34 68
2010–11 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (2) Spain Real Madrid 40 80
2011–12 Argentina Lionel Messi (2) Spain Barcelona 50 100
2012–13 Argentina Lionel Messi (3) Spain Barcelona 46 92
2013–14 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (3) Spain Real Madrid 31 62
Uruguay Luis Suárez England Liverpool
2014–15 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (4) Spain Real Madrid 48 96
2015–16 Uruguay Luis Suárez Spain Barcelona 40 80
2016–17 Argentina Lionel Messi (4) Spain Barcelona 37 74

FIFA Club World Cup Best Player

In every edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, three players are awarded as Golden, Silver and Bronze ball winners. Messi is the only player to have won two Golden Balls, receiving them in the successful campaigns of 2009 and 2011. He later won the Silver Ball in the 2015 title. Ronaldo received the Silver Ball in his championships in 2008 and 2014, and got his first Golden Ball in 2016.

Edition Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball
2008 England Wayne Rooney
(Manchester United)		 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Manchester United)		 Argentina Damián Manso
(LDU Quito)
2009 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona)		 Argentina Juan Sebastián Verón
(Estudiantes de La Plata)		 Spain Xavi
(Barcelona)
2011 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona)		 Spain Xavi
(Barcelona)		 Brazil Neymar
(Santos)
2014 Spain Sergio Ramos
(Real Madrid)		 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid)		 New Zealand Ivan Vicelich
(Auckland City)
2015 Uruguay Luis Suárez
(Barcelona)		 Argentina Lionel Messi
(Barcelona)		 Spain Andrés Iniesta
(Barcelona)
2016 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid)		 Croatia Luka Modric
(Real Madrid)		 Japan Gaku Shibasaki
(Kashima Antlers)

UEFA Champions League top scorers

Cristiano Ronaldo is the UEFA Champions league all-time top goalscorer with 105 goals while Messi is second with 94 to his name. The two had broken each other's record over the course of 2015, after Messi surpassed the previous record holder, Raúl, in November 2014.[225] Ronaldo opened a gap in the 2015–16 season when he became the first player to score double figures in the group stage of the Champions League, setting the record at 11 goals.[226]

All-time

As of 4 June 2017
Player[227][228] Club Goals Years
1 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United
Real Madrid		 105 2003–present
2 Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona 94 2005–present
3 Spain Raúl Real Madrid
Schalke 04		 71 1995–2011
4 Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy PSV Eindhoven
Manchester United
Real Madrid		 56 1998–2009
5 France Karim Benzema Lyon
Real Madrid		 51 2006–present

Champions League top-scorer

Season Player[229] Club Goals
2007–08 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United 8
2008–09 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 9
2009–10 Argentina Lionel Messi (2) Spain Barcelona 8
2010–11 Argentina Lionel Messi (3) Spain Barcelona 12
2011–12 Argentina Lionel Messi (4) Spain Barcelona 14
2012–13 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (2) Spain Real Madrid 12
2013–14 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (3) Spain Real Madrid 17*
2014–15 Brazil Neymar Spain Barcelona 10
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (4) Spain Real Madrid
Argentina Lionel Messi (5) Spain Barcelona
2015–16 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (5) Spain Real Madrid 16
2016–17 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (6) Spain Real Madrid 12

Records in La Liga

All-time

As of 21 May 2017
Player Club Goals Years
1 Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona 349 2004–present
2 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 285 2009–present
3 Spain Telmo Zarra Athletic Bilbao 251 1940–1955
4 Mexico Hugo Sánchez Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano 234 1981–1994
5 Spain Raúl Real Madrid 228 1994–2010

Hat-tricks

Player Club Hat-tricks
1 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 32
2 Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona 26
3 Spain Telmo Zarra Athletic Bilbao 22
Argentina Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid 22
5 Spain Edmundo Suárez Valencia, Alcoyano 19

Top scorer by season

Key
  Player won the European Golden Shoe
Season Player Club Goals Games Ratio
2009–10 Argentina Messi, LionelLionel Messi Barcelona 34 35 0.97
2010–11 Portugal Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 40 34 1.18
2011–12 Argentina Messi, LionelLionel Messi (2) Barcelona 50* 37 1.35
2012–13 Argentina Messi, LionelLionel Messi (3) Barcelona 46 32 1.44
2013–14 Portugal Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo (2) Real Madrid 31 30 1.03
2014–15 Portugal Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo (3) Real Madrid 48 35 1.37
2015–16 Uruguay Suárez, LuisLuis Suárez Barcelona 40 35 1.11
2016–17 Argentina Messi, LionelLionel Messi (4) Barcelona 37 34 1.09

El Clásico

Messi overtook Alfredo Di Stéfano's record of 18 El Clásico goals when he scored a hat-trick on 23 March 2014.[231] In the history of the fixture, Ronaldo is the only player to score in six consecutive games.[232][233]

Player[234][235] Club Goals Years
1 Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona 24[note 1] 2005–
2 Argentina Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid 18 1953–1963
3 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 16 2009–
4 Spain Raúl Real Madrid 15 1995–2008
5 Spain César Barcelona 14 1945–1954
Spain Francisco Gento Real Madrid 14 1955–1969
Hungary Ferenc Puskás Real Madrid 14 1959–1964

Player statistics

As of 9 August 2017
Club statistics
Lionel Messi
Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2003–04 15 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 5
2004–05 24 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 26 7
2005–06 17 6 2 1 6 1 0 0 25 8
2006–07 26 14 2 2 6 1 3 0 36 17
2007–08 28 10 3 0 9 6 0 0 40 16
2008–09 31 23 8 6 12 9 0 0 51 38
2009–10 35 34 3 1 11 8 4 5 53 47
2010–11 33 31 7 7 13 12 2 3 55 53
2011–12 37 50 7 3 11 14 5 6 60 73
2012–13 32 46 5 4 11 8 2 2 50 60
2013–14 31 28 6 5 7 8 2 0 46 41
2014–15 38 43 6 5 13 10 0 0 57 58
2015–16 33 26 5 5 7 6 4 4 49 41
2016–17 34 37 7 5 9 11 2 1 52 54
2017–18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 414 360 62 44 115 94 24 20 615 518
Cristiano Ronaldo
Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2002–03 27 3 3 2 3 0 0 0 33 5
2003–04 29 4 6 2 5 0 0 0 40 6
2004–05 33 5 9 4 8 0 0 0 50 9
2005–06 33 9 6 2 8 1 0 0 47 12
2006–07 34 17 8 3 11 3 0 0 53 23
2007–08 34 31 3 3 11 8 1 0 49 42
2008–09 33 18 6 3 12 4 2 1 53 26
2009–10 29 26 0 0 6 7 0 0 35 33
2010–11 34 41 8 7 12 6 0 0 54 53
2011–12 38 46 5 3 10 10 2 1 55 60
2012–13 34 34 7 7 12 12 2 2 55 55
2013–14 30 31 6 3 11 17 0 0 47 51
2014–15 35 48 2 1 12 10 5 2 54 61
2015–16 36 35 0 0 12 16 0 0 48 51
2016–17 29 25 2 1 13 12 2 4 46 42
2017–18 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Total 488 372 71 41 146 106 15 10 720 529
International statistics
Lionel Messi[236]
Season Tournament Qualifiers Friendlies Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2005–06 3 1 3 0 4 1 10 2
2006–07 6 2 0 0 4 2 10 4
2007–08 0 0 6 2 4 1 10 3
2008–09 0 0 8 2 1 1 9 3
2009–10 5 0 4 0 2 1 11 1
2010–11 4 0 0 0 7 4 11 4
2011–12 0 0 4 3 5 7 9 9
2012–13 0 0 8 5 4 4 12 9
2013–14 7 4 1 2 3 1 11 7
2014–15 6 1 0 0 4 3 10 4
2015–16 5 5 2 1 3 3 10 9
2016–17 0 0 4 3 1 0 5 3
2017–18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 36 13 40 18 42 27 118 58
Cristiano Ronaldo[237]
Season Tournament Qualifiers Friendlies Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2003–04 6 2 0 0 7 0 13 2
2004–05 0 0 8 7 2 0 10 7
2005–06 6 1 4 0 5 2 15 3
2006–07 0 0 6 5 2 0 8 5
2007–08 3 1 7 3 2 0 12 4
2008–09 0 0 4 0 3 1 7 1
2009–10 4 1 3 0 4 0 11 1
2010–11 0 0 3 2 2 1 5 3
2011–12 5 3 5 5 4 1 14 9
2012–13 0 0 6 1 3 3 9 4
2013–14 3 1 4 7 3 3 10 11
2014–15 0 0 4 5 2 0 6 5
2015–16 7 3 2 0 4 3 13 6
2016–17 4 2 5 11 1 1 10 14
2017–18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 38 14 61 46 44 15 143 75

Player honours

Team

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