All Time Comparison of Total Goals Scored by Messi and Ronaldo

As far as the footballers go in terms of establishing themselves, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the greatest players to have ever graced this beautiful game of football. It’s a dream for forwards to achieve tons of goals before they hang up their boots. What others dream of, Ronaldo and Messi live in that in the most fashionable way possible. Whether it be a wonderful header or a monstrous goal on their weak foot, the sensational pair has made it easy to find the back of the net for fun almost on every occasion.

With them on the pitch, goals are guaranteed in every game, at least their goal-scoring record says so. Over a period of more than 15 years, Messi and Ronaldo have scored hundreds of goals in their illustrious career, hurting opponents in the worst possible manner across all competitions. If you take a closer look at the total goals scored by Messi and Ronaldo, your mind will be blown by the number. Having said that, we at Sportsdunia have made a comparison between the career goals and stats of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. In this article, we have mainly focused on the total goals scored by Messi and Ronaldo.

Messi Career Goals vs Ronaldo Career Goals

Who has More Goals Messi or Ronaldo

The Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is the top goal scorer in the history of football. The former Real Madrid legend, Cristiano Ronaldo career goals tally stands at 943 right now, taking a handsome 64-goal lead over his closest nemesis, Lionel Messi, who comes second in the scoring metric. The Inter Miami forward, Lionel Messi's career goals are a total upto 879 goals in 1120 games in his career currently, with both the greatest footballers in history going strong even in their twilight career stage.

Ronaldo has always been a star in front of goals with his natural ability to bury the ball in the back of the net through his thunderbolt strikes and quick headers. Both superstars have demonstrated the highest level of clinical marksmanship. Now let's find out who has more goals Messi or Ronaldo, but in detailed sections, from free kicks to penalties separately.

Goals Per Minute & Game (Ronaldo 112/88, Messi 105/73)

This stat shows the consistency of Lionel Messi in terms of scoring goals compared to his rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentine skipper averages 0.78 goals per game and has scored a goal in 105 minutes, while the Al-Nassr ace averages 0.73 goals per game. Ronaldo has mostly played as a striker and a winger in his whole career, barring his Manchester United stint. On the flip side, Messi has always been deployed in the middle or on the right, and has never been utilised as an out-and-out forward like Ronaldo. Despite playing as a playmaker in the deep of the pitch, Messi has shown more sharpness in scoring.

Hat-tricks (Ronaldo – 66, Messi – 59)

Lionel Messi is almost two years younger than Cristiano Ronaldo and has played nearly 165 fewer games than the latter. Still, the Inter Miami attacker has seven fewer hat-tricks as he has scored on most of his appearances, unlike Ronaldo, who has torn the opponents apart on every given opportunity in his career. With 66 hat-tricks under his belt, Ronaldo has the record of scoring the most hat-tricks in world football in this century. Since 2000, these two monsters have been the only footballers to have scored more than 50 hat-tricks. The Portuguese forward nodes headed in the overall hat-trick race in comparison to the total scored by Messi and Ronaldo.

Penalty Goals of Ronaldo and Messi (178/111)

Cristiano Ronaldo has always been a go-to choice for penalties wherever he has played after Manchester United in his club career, while Lionel Messi shared the spot-kick responsibilities during his years-long career at Barcelona. The former Real Madrid galactico has scored 178 goals from spot-kicks in 211 attempts, and his old foe Messi has recorded 111 penalty goals from 142. However, despite almost similar records in this, Ronaldo is considered more reliable in the penalty box, thanks to his composure in crucial moments of the games.

Free-kick Goals (Ronaldo – 64, Messi – 69)

The former Barcelona attacker is more lethal than Cristiano Ronaldo in free-kicks. Messi’s curling strikes with a blend of magic and clinicality are some sights to behold. Ronaldo may be deadlier from the penalty spot, but Messi is superior in free kicks due to his shooting accuracy. Both Ronaldo and Messi have terrorised goalkeepers whenever they stand for the long-range set pieces.

Stronger & Weaker Foot Goals (Ronaldo 607/179, Messi – 738/109)

Well, these goal-scoring stats between Messi and Ronaldo are quite interesting. The Argentine wonder man has 738 goals with his magical left foot, with which he has done wonders, while the Portuguese legend has only 607 goals with his strong right foot. But, this stat doesn’t deny the scoring supremacy of Ronaldo, who can score with both of his feet without any problem, as both his right and left feet have found the back of the net, meaning the Al-Nassr ace has a wide array of finishing touches. Messi might have been blessed with the most lethal left foot the world has ever seen, but the functional ability of his right foot will always be questioned.

Headers (Ronaldo – 155, Messi – 28)

There is no competition when the goal-scoring metric through headers of Ronaldo and Messi will be discussed. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United man is a clear winner in this race, thanks to his tall physique, which has helped him take mountainous leaps in the opposition boxes to head home. Fans will always remember Ronaldo’s unbelievable header goal for Juventus against Sampdoria in Serie A. The Portuguese icon has clocked 155 headers while Messi has only managed 28 in his whole career so far.

Note: All these numbers or stats mentioned in the article above for the total goals scored by Messi and Ronaldo were considered/taken from sources like messivsronaldo.app.