All-time Pichichi: How it stands in Messi-Ronaldo battle to be football's top scorer
Ronaldo became the top scorer in the history of the game this week but Messi's chasing
Cristiano Ronald and Lionel Messi are still battling. After more than 15 years. The Portuguese striker on Tuesday because the top scorer in the history of football, reaching 763 goals for clubs and country. The Juventus striker overtook the 762 goals scored by Bican and Pele to take the honour of being the game's top marksman. In said ranking, Lionel Messi is fifth with 721 goals. Romario is fourth with 740.
The difference between Ronaldo and Messi is 42 goals, which has its roots between 2002-03 and 2006-07. In June 2007, Ronaldo was 22 and has spent five seasons playing at least 30 matches, while Messi was just 19 and was still taking off. Remember that Messi's full debut didn't arrive until October 2004, so he wasn't competing with CR7 in 2002-03 or 2003-04. In addition, in 2004-05, Messi played just nine games, nearly all as a substitute.
In the seasons 2005-06 and 2006-07, Messi suffered a long-term injury that kept him out for months. In those five seasons, 2002-03 and 2006-07, Ronaldo scored 17 goals with Portugal. Messi, meanwhile, scored just four for Argentina. Those 42 goals that Ronaldo leads by correspond exactly to that period. Since 2007-08 until now, both have scored the same amount of goals: 691.
| Season | Cristiano Ronaldo | Leo Messi |
|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | 5 Sporting (2002-03) | - |
| 2003-04 | 6 M. United (2003-09) | - |
| 2004-05 | 9 | 1 Barça (2004-2021) |
| 2005-06 | 12 | 8 |
| 2006-07 | 23 | 17 |
| 2007-2008 | 42 | 16 |
| 2008-2009 | 26 | 38 |
| 2009-2010 | 33 R. Madrid (2009-18) | 47 |
| 2010-2011 | 53 | 53 |
| 2011-2012 | 60 | 73 |
| 2012-2013 | 55 | 60 |
| 2013-2014 | 51 | 41 |
| 2014-2015 | 61 | 58 |
| 2015-2016 | 51 | 41 |
| 2016-2017 | 42 | 54 |
| 2017-2018 | 44 | 45 |
| 2018-2019 | 28 Juventus (2018-21) | 51 |
| 2019-2020 | 37 | 31 |
| 2020-2021 | 22 | 16 |
Being two-and-a-half years older than Messi, the theory would be that age favours the Argentina forward. In normal circumstances, Ronaldo would retire first. If that is the case, Messi would have more time to catch and overtake the ex-Real Madrid No. 7. However, it's not clear who will hang up their boots first, given Ronaldo takes great care of himself and is still firing in Italy.
Messi's averages are better. He has played fewer games and minutes. In total, Ronaldo has played 146 games more than Messi. Messi scores a goal every 101 minutes, while Ronaldo notches every 111 minutes.
In terms of titles, Messi's also had more success. He has won 35 trophies, two more than Ronaldo. The story repeats itself when it comes to individual accolades. Messi has won six Balons d'Or; Ronaldo five.
The big difference when comparing the careers of these two legends, though, is that, as of today, Messi remains a one-club man. He has only defended Barça's colours. In contrast, Ronaldo has played for Sporting de Lisbona, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. With Messi's future in the air, we will have to wait a few months to see if Leo will try and catch Ronaldo in a Barça shirt or elsewhere.
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