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Messi vs Ronaldo... Nothing divides opinion quite like the question – who is greater? While any attempt (even by a neutral) at praising Messi is seen as anti-Ronaldo it is the same case when some one says something pro-Ronaldo.. they automatically become anti-Messi. A brief glance at our comments section would stand as testamant to this very fact.
While a lot of people claim that this is merely media “hype”, there is no getting around the fact that Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo is the defining rivalry of modern football. And the way modern football decides who is greater is by sheer weight of numbers. I’m not saying this is the right way to do it – indeed I’ve personally listed 5 reasons why either of Ronaldo or Messi could lay claim to the title of “Greatest of All Time” – but there is something non-arguable about the statistics these two notch up on a seasonal basis... especially when Ronaldo has just broken Jimmy Greaves record to become the all-time leading goal-scorer in the top 5 European Leagues.
Here then, we break down their goal-scoring records, season-by-season (starting only from Ronaldo’s first season at Real Madrid... a timeframe chosen mainly factoring in common sense). You be the judge as to who’s been better!
8. 2009-10
The first year. When Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo for nigh on 80 million Euros, even they would not have expected the kind of impact the Portuguese superstar would have on the league that was at the time, under the process of being completely taken over by Lionel Messi.
The more established Messi, playing in the superior Guardiola-Barcelona side smashed in 14 more goals than his great rival, but did so have played 18 more games. Ronaldo’s incredible goals-to-games ratio was just the first little indicator as to what was to come.
Messi and his Barcelona won La Liga with 99 points as against 96 for Real Madrid... while Inter Milan pulled off a quite remarkable victory in the UEFA Champions League.
The Pichichi award (for La Liga’s top scorer) went to Lionel Messi (34), while the UEFA Champions League golden boot was also Messi’s (8)
Oh and the FIFA Ballon d’Or that year (2009)? – Lionel Messi
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 47 in 53
Cristiano Ronaldo: 33 in 35
7. 2010-11
A quite remarkable season unfolded the next year as Jose Mourinho rolled into town and took up his place in the trenches against Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona side. During a season that the Catalans dominated, winning La Liga by four points over Real, and the Champions League after beating Manchester United, Lionel Messi upped his game as a false nine to ffinish with his first ever 50 + goals-a-seaon tally.
Cristiano Ronaldo, though, was not about to let him go and unbelievably, having played a game less, smashed in the same number of goals as Messi! That second season was the first proper indicator that the Portuguese was being pushed to ever greater heights by the comparisons he elicited with Messi.
Pichichi Award winner – Cristiano Ronaldo (41)
Champions League Golden Boot – Lionel Messi (12)
FIFA Ballon d’Or winner – Lionel Messi
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 53 in 55
Cristiano Ronaldo: 53 in 54
6. 2011-12
The next season though, was all Lionel Messi, as he smashed in Gerd Muller’s old record for most goals scored in a calendar year (with 91) and created a season-high record that will surely stand the test of time. He took the art of the age-old tactic of ‘false nine’ to a whole new level transforming it into a goal-scoring strategy that bears little historical comparison. Despite Ronaldo raising his game even further to break the 60-goal-a-season barrier, Messi was simply untouchable on a personal level.
However, this was the season Real Madrid stepped up their collective game and Jose Mourinho finally found a way to break Barcelona’s stranglehold on La Liga, amassing a spectacular tally of 100 points (whilst scoring 121 goals) against Barcelona’s 91 (114 goals) and winning what would be their last La Liga title till date. The Champions League meanwhile was won by Roberto di Matteo’s inimtable “underdogs” of Chelsea.
Pichichi Award winner – Lionel Messi (50 – a record)
Champions League Golden Boot – Lionel Messi (14)
FIFA Ballon d’Or winner (2012) – Lionel Messi
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 73 in 60
Cristiano Ronaldo: 60 in 55
5. 2012-13
The next season the little Argentine took revenge on both personal and collective fronts as he kept up his incredible goal-scoring as he guided Barcelona to match Real Madrid’s previous season points tally of 100 and wrest back control of La Liga from Los Blancos. Ronaldo’s slight dip in goal-scoring (this is all relative, he was still scoring a goal a game) meant that even though Messi’s goal scoring dipped from that ludicrous high of 73 goals, he still emerged the outright winner in their personal battle.
Neither the Catalans nor the Castillians though could do anything about the German dominance of the Champions League where Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund in the final.
Pichichi Award winner – Lionel Messi (45)
Champions League Golden Boot – Cristiano Ronaldo (12)
FIFA Ballon d’Or winner (2013) – Cristiano Ronaldo (The year of the SIIIIIIIIII)
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 60 in 50
Cristiano Ronaldo: 55 in 55
4. 2013-14
The year of the underdog. Atletico Madrid and Diego El Cholo Simeone stunned all and sundry by pipping both Real Madrid and Barcelona to the post and winning La Liga on the very last day (a heroic 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou providing the ultimate climax) as they beat both giants by 3 points.
The Madrid side, though, had the better between their private battle as they went on to beat an inspired Atletico in the Champions League final to win their much coveted tenth European crown, La Decima.
Our main protaginists, though, had differing fortunes. While Ronaldo kept up his stunning form to cross the 50-goal-a-season barrier for the fourth season running and powered Madrid to that mythical Decima, Messi’s goal-scoring dipped sharply and that in the end proved enough for the Portuguese to reclaim victory in their never ending battle for individual supermacy.
Pichichi Award winner – Cristiano Ronaldo (31)
Champions League Golden Boot – Cristiano Ronaldo (17 – a record)
FIFA Ballon d’Or winner (2014) – Cristiano Ronaldo
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 41 in 46
Cristiano Ronaldo: 51 in 47
3. 2014-15
Now partnered with Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr. in what was real life’s own version of a FIFA Ultimate Team, Leo Messi and Barcelona were unstoppable as they went on to sweep both La Liga and the Champions League to reassert their dominance over Real Madrid. They won La Liga by the narrowest of margins (just two points) and despite the fearsome strike force they’d assembled, they were outscored by the Castillians 118 goals to 110.
This was mainly due to Ronaldo’s red-hot form in front of goal. By 2013-14, the Portuguese winger had gone from a neo-inside-forward to playing even more as a central striker, interchanging positions with Karim Benzema with a rare fluidity to record his best ever goal-scoring tally in a season. This meant that despite Messi bringing his A-game back to the party, Ronaldo edged the Argentine when it came to their personal battle.
Pichichi Award winner – Cristiano Ronaldo (48)
Champions League Golden Boot – Neymar, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo (10)
FIFA Ballon d’Or winner (2015) – Lionel Messi
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 58 in 57
Cristiano Ronaldo: 61 in 54
2. 2015-16
Barcelona retained La Liga by the smallest of margins (1 point!), but could nothing about Real Madrid winning their 11th Champions League crown (once again beating Atletico Madrid in the final) as honours were shared between the two giants. Messi’s goal-scoring dipped once again as Barcelona turned to the ever-reliable services of Luis Suarez to mark their collective goal-scoring superiority over Madrid (112 vs 110 league goals)
Messi’s dip was not duplicated by his rival who went to notch up yet another 50 goal season and sweep up every imaginable honour. It was indeed the year of Ronaldo, as alongside helping his club side to the summit of Europe, he guided his nation to the same place as he captained Portugal to a historic Euros win, their first ever major international trophy. The Argentine meanwhile suffered heartbreak for the thrid year in a row as Argentina lost out to Chile in the Copa America Centanario final (to add to 2015’s Copa America final loss to the same opponents and 2014’s World Cup final loss to Germany)
Pichichi Award winner – Luis Suarez (40 – the first person to break the Ronaldo-Messi hegemony in six years!)
Champions League Golden Boot – Cristiano Ronaldo (16)
FIFA BEST winner (2016) – Cristiano Ronaldo
Ballon d’Or winner (2016) – Cristiano Ronaldo
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 41 in 49
Cristiano Ronaldo: 51 in 48
1. 2016-17
This year has seen dominance being split right down the middle. While Messi has utterly decimated opponents on the domestic scene, Cristiano Ronaldo has overcome a sluggish start to the season to take his game to an altogether different plane as the Champions League knock-out stages started. His goals have helped Zinedine Zidane’s side to a second successive Champions League final while also taking the Madridistas to the brink of their first La Liga title in half-a-decade!
While both players will surely boost their numbers on the last day of the season, Ronaldo has one extra game in the Champions League (against opponents who kept Leo Messi to ZERO goals over two games in their quarterfinal) to ensure that even if he does lose the personal goal vs goal battle, he comes up trumps where it matters – ensuring that his team succeeds on all fronts.
Pichichi Award winner – Currently being led by Lionel Messi (35 goals)
Champions League Golden Boot – Currently being led by Lionel Messi (11 goals)
FIFA BEST/Ballon d’Or winner (2017)– N.A.
GOAL TALLY
Lionel Messi: 50 in 51
Cristiano Ronaldo: 39 in 44
