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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the best footballers of all time. Throughout their careers, the eternal rivals have achieved such unprecedented levels of success which might not be replicated. There are not many records which are still safe from these two legends. While Ronaldo continues to amaze us with his work ethic and champion mentality, Messie defies expectations through his finesse and magic.
Not quite a competition
Ronaldo has scored 85 international goals compared to Messi's tally of 65. However, when it comes to competitive internationals, Ronaldo completely blows Messi out of the water. In his 107 competitive appearances, the former Real Madrid star has bagged a whopping 67 goals. On the other hand, the Barcelona superstar has managed only 35 goals in 85 competitive appearances. While Ronaldo has scored a combined 48 goals in UEFA Euro and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, Messi has found the back of the net 21 times on such occasions. Before considering the gulf between the two superstars, one must remember that there are no qualifying matches for 'Copa America'.
Performance in international tournaments
Ronaldo has scored in every international tournament he has played in - from the UEFA Euro 2004 to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, thus making him the only player in the history to score in 9 consecutive international tournaments. He has scored 9 goals in the UEFA Euros (2 in Euro 2004, 1 in Euro 2008, 3 in Euro 2012 and 3 in Euro 2016), 2 in 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and a further 7 in FIFA World Cup (1 in 2006, 1 in 2010, 1 in 2014 and 4 in 2018) which takes his goal tally in international tournaments to 18. On the other hand, Messi has scored 14 goals in international tournaments. Among them, 8 have come in Copa America (2 in 2007, 1 in 2015, and 5 in 2016) and the remaining 6 in the World Cup (1 in 2006, 4 in 2014 and 1 in 2018).
Messi has managed to score in six of the eight tournaments he had participated in as he couldn't muster a single strike at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2011 Copa America. However, Ronaldo's consistency at the world's biggest stage is much more valuable. This consistency bore fruit in Euro 2016 as Ronaldo led Portugal to glory. Meanwhile, Messi played three consecutive finals from 2014 World Cup to 2016 Copa America Centenario but came short in every occasion. Thus, an international trophy is the only thing which remains a blot in Messi's otherwise magnificent career, despite the Argentine winning the gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
With more goals and an international trophy to boast, Ronaldo certainly dominates his rival on the international stage.
