Messi scores more international goals vs. top 50 nations than Ronaldo
The Portuguese has made a habit of scoring against smaller countries
Leo Messi has scored fewer goals for Argentina than Cristiano Ronaldo with Portugal. But Messi's 70 goals have come against stronger opposition, according to analysis conducted by AS and Goal.
The club rivalry between the two players spills into international football and Ronaldo, who will turn 35 in February, boasts 99 goals for his national team, 29 more than Messi, who will be 33 next June.
However, AS and Goal explain that there is a 'but' because only 28 of Ronaldo's 99 goals (29 percent of them) have comes against sides ranked among the top 50 nations.
As for Messi, 57 of his 70 goals have been scored against countries ranked in the top 50 (82 percent) with Ronaldo making a habit of scoring lots of goals against smaller nations.
Here is the breakdown:
LEO MESSI (70 GOALS)
5 - Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay,
4 - Venezuela, Ecuador
3 - Colombia, Chile, Suiza, Bolivia, Nigeria, México, Panamá, Haití, Guatemala
2 - Spain, Croatia, Algeria, Hong Kong, Nicaragua,
1 - France, Germany, Portugal, Perú, Iran, USA,
Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia, Serbia
CRISTIANO RONALDO (99 GOLES)
7 - Lithuania
5 - Andorra, Armenia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Sweden
4 - Estonia, Faro Islands, Hungary, Netherlands
3 - Belgium, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland
2 - Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Cameroon, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Kazakstan, Saudí Arabia
1 - Argentina, Croatia, Ecuador, Finland, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, Iran, Morocco, New Zealand, North Korea, Panamá, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Wales.
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