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The all-time top-scorer (450 goals) for Real Madrid in all competitions, Cristiano Ronaldo holds a plethora of records in club and international football. Some of Ronaldo's most prominent club football landmarks are most goals in the Champions League (128), only player to win the league in England, Spain, and Italy, and the first player to score in every minute of a 90-minute football game.
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The Portuguese marksman (99 goals) is the all-time top-scorer in international football behind Iran's Ali Daei and is the only player to score in 4 different European Championships.
Ronaldo is the oldest player to score a Champions League hat-trick and his 54 hat-tricks for club and country are the most by any active player. Despite holding numerous other records in the game, the following 4 unique Lionel Messi records may elude the grasp of one of the most prolific scorers of the 21st century.
# 1: Score 50 league goals in a league season
Lionel Messi hit a staggering 50 goals in the 2011-12 Liga season which is the most scored by any player in a season for a club playing in one of the Top 5 leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France).
Ronaldo has come close but has not managed to break this record. Thrice Ronaldo scored 40 or more league goals in a season (all for Real Madrid), with his highest tally being 48 goals scored in the 2014-15 Liga season.
With the Portuguese marksman having moved to Italy in the summer of 2018-19, where the most goals in a league season is 35, and Ronaldo failing to score more than a goal per game during one and a half seasons at Juventus, this Messi record seems likely to elude Ronaldo for good.
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# 2: Most goals in a club football season
Lionel Messi scored an incredible 73 goals in all competitions in the 2011-12 season, the same season where he became the first player from a Top 5 league to score 50 league goals in a season.
Ronaldo's best haul of goals in a season is 61 which he scored for Real Madrid in 2014-15. The Portuguese player has not tallied 50 or more goals a season since scoring 51 for the Spanish capital club in 2015-16.
The 34-year-old's debut season in Italy in 2018-19 produced a total of 28 goals in all competitions for Juventus - his worst return in a decade. Thus, it is safe to surmise that Messi's incredible 73-goal season seems safe from Ronaldo's grasp, for now.
# 3: Most goals in a calendar year (91)
In 2012, Lionel Messi broke a near 4-decade old record of Gerd Muller for most goals in a calendar year by scoring an incredible tally of 91 goals.
Ronaldo scored 60 or more goals in 4 consecutive calendar years from 2011 to 2015 but hasn't come close to matching Messi's tally. With the Portugal captain's goal returns diminishing since moving to Juventus in 2019, this record of Messi looks likely to be beyond the reach of Ronaldo.
# 4: 6th Ballon d'Or
Lionel Messi broke a tie with Cristiano Ronaldo for most Ballon d'Or trophies (5 apiece), when the diminutive Argentinian won his 6th Ballon d'Or in 2019.
While Messi continues to score prolifically in all competitions, Ronaldo's goal scoring returns have dipped since moving to Juventus at the start of the 2018-19 season. The Portuguese striker had his lowest tally of season league goals in 2018-19, when his 21 Serie A goals fell 5 short of Capocannoniere winner Fabio Quagliarella.
In 2019, Ronaldo scored 39 goals for club and country which was a tally exceeded by 4 other players. Considering Ronaldo's advancing age and diminishing returns in front of goal, coupled with the fact that the Portugal captain hasn't won the Ballon d'Or since 2017, it is perhaps safe to presume that a 6th Ballon d'Or may be beyond Ronaldo's reach.
