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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have gone neck-to-neck in terms of records at both international and club level for a decade and a half. Detractors have used Messi's lack of a major international trophy as a reason not to grant him GOAT status.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Boots at Copa America 2021 and Euro 2020 respectively
But Lionel Messi has put an end to that by winning the Copa America 2021 with Argentina. He was easily the best player in the tournament. He won both the Golden Boot (top scorer) and Golden Ball (best player) in the recently concluded continental competition. Further, he secured his second major international trophy with Argentina by winning the Finalissima against Italy in June, 2022.
His eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo also secured the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 despite Portugal crashing out as early as the Round of 16.
Messi had made it to the finals of the Copa America thrice prior to this but lost all of them. He also guided Argentina to the World Cup final in 2014 but they fell to Germany in the final. The Barcelona man has also broken several incredible individual records along the way as well.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five Lionel Messi international records that Cristiano Ronaldo will struggle to break.
#5 Only player to provide at least one assist in 4 different World Cup tournaments
Lionel Messi holds the incredible record for being the only player to have assisted at least one goal in four different World Cup tournaments. In the 2006 edition, he scored one goal and provided one assist. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he provided one assist but failed to score.
In the 2014 World Cup, where Argentina reached the final, Messi had four goals and one assist to his name. Messi scored a goal and provided two assists in the 2018 World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo has assisted a goal each at the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments.
So this is a Lionel Messi record that is impossible to break for Cristiano Ronaldo.
#4 Most man of the match awards at a single international continental tournament - 4
Lionel Messi has carried this Argentina team on his back several times in the past. He has and continues to give his best on the international stage despite all the criticism meted out to him.
Messi won a whopping four man-of-the-match awards in the recently concluded Copa America 2021. He had won four at the Copa America 2015 as well.
This goes to show that Lionel Messi has truly stepped up and delivered when it has mattered for La Albiceleste. With the Copa America 2021 likely to be the last time we saw Messi in the continental competition, the pressure to deliver was immense. He did it in commendable fashion.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won two man-of-the-match awards at the 2012 and 2016 Euros.
#3 Only player ever to score in his teens, his 20s, and his 30s at the World Cup
Lionel Messi has been world-class for close to 15 years now and he is still going strong. The 2006 World Cup came along when Messi was just starting to make a name for himself and he was largely used as a substitute in the tournament.
He scored the final goal in Argentina's 6-0 trouncing of Serbia and Montenegro in the 2006 World Cup. He was just eight days short of his 19th birthday at the time. Messi was chosen as the Player of the Tournament at the 2014 World Cup and he scored four goals in seven matches. The Barcelona talisman was 27-years-old at the time.
He turned 31 in the summer of 2018 and scored four goals for Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This makes Lionel Messi the only player to have scored at the World Cup in his teens, his 20s and his 30s. This record is beyond Cristiano Ronaldo's reach now.
#2 Most Best Player awards in major international tournaments: 3
This is yet another piece of statistic which proves that Lionel Messi is a much better player in the international circuit than his detractors would have one believe. Messi has won the best player award at three major international tournaments, namely the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Copa America 2015 and Copa America 2021.
Messi reportedly rejected the 2015 MVP award after his side lost to Chile in the final. He was inarguably a cut above the rest at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the recently concluded Copa America 2021.
#1 Most Man of the Match awards at a single World Cup - 4 in 2014
Lionel Messi's lack of a World Cup is often brought up in order to back the argument that he is not the greatest footballer of all time. Messi came quite close in 2014 and he did the best he could. He won four man-of-the-match awards at the tournament.
Messi was picked as the man-of-the-match in the group stage games against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria. He was also chosen as the best player in the round of 16 game against Switzerland.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the man-of-the-match award once each in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions of the World Cup.
