4 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the best players in the world for a very long time. They have been playing for more than 10 years and have won all the major awards and titles in football at the club level, while also performing well at the international level.

Ronaldo and Messi share a great rivalry on the field and are known for their prodigious goalscoring feats in the football leagues they have played in.

The fans of both the players are very passionate, and support them with lots of energy when they take the field for their respective teams. These two players are always pitted against each other when the debate of the best player in the world comes up.

Let's look at four reasons why Ronaldo is arguably better than Messi:

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#4. Ronaldo has featured in four different football leagues while Messi has played only in LaLiga

Manchester United v Chelsea - UEFA Champions League Final

Ronaldo has been a part of clubs featuring in four different leagues – LaLiga (Real Madrid), English Premier League (Manchester United), Primeira Liga (Sporting CP), and Serie A (Juventus).

He has scored heavily everywhere and has been a force to reckon with no matter which team he plays for, showing his versatility and adaptability. His all-around ability makes him a valuable player for any team.

In contrast, Messi has plied his trade in only one league - LaLiga. It is unclear whether the Argentine would have been just as successful if presented with the challenges of different leagues.

#3. Ronaldo is a better leader than Messi

Portugal v Spain: Group B - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

By most accounts, Ronaldo is considered a better captain than Messi. He inspires his team with his own strong performances.

Ronaldo plays for the national team regularly even though he knows that his team is not very strong. That is quite unlike Messi, who has often taken breaks from playing for Argentina in the wake of his team's struggles to win trophies.

Ronaldo led Portugal to a spectacular win in the 2016 UEFA European Championship, surprising everybody in the football community. His team defeated France by a margin of 1-0 in the final.

Ronaldo even won the Silver Boot award for being the second highest goal scorer in the competition. He is an inspirational figure for any team which he captains.

#2. Ronaldo arguably has better defensive skills than Messi

Due to his tall and muscular figure, Ronaldo has the capability to defend against the best teams in the world. When the other teams take a free kick, Ronaldo is always a part of the free kick wall. His interception skills and aerial strength allow him to defend set-pieces with ease.

Although people always think of Ronaldo as a powerful striker, he has frequently shown his strong defending skills too.

Messi, although regarded as a legendary striker, arguably lags behind Ronaldo in defensive skills.

#1. Ronaldo is a more prolific goalscorer than Messi

Messi is a better player than Ronaldo when considering his his passing and ball dribbling ability. But when aerial ability is considered, Ronaldo is far superior to Messi; the Argentine is no match for Ronaldo when scoring headed goals in football matches.

Ronaldo has the ability to score amazing goals by using both his feet. While he scores a majority of his goals with his strong right foot, his goal scoring with his left foot is also impressive.

Messi scores majorly with his strong left foot and is not an aerial threat to opponents.

Edited by Musab Abid