Messi vs Ronaldo: FDOR’s live graphics show how the statistics of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo changed during their time in Spain.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been two of the best players in the history of association football.
Even after Ronaldo’s departure from Real Madrid, the two continue to push each other for further greatness, as was evident last week. After Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and steered Juventus into the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Messi obliged with three goals against Real Betis.
The Argentine superstar also received a standing ovation from the opposition fans for his performance.
For nine years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played against each other in Spain, before the Portuguese footballer left for Juventus last year.
Messi vs Ronaldo in Spain:
Cristiano Ronaldo began his career in Sporting Lisbon and joined Manchester United in 2003 – more than a year before Messi made his debut for Barcelona.
Due to positional differences between both the players during Ronaldo’s time in England, the rivalry between the two in Spain turned out to be one of the healthiest ones of our times.
Both the footballers played for the sides of near-equal quality which consistently challenged for top honours in domestic and European competitions. Both the players were also the main men for their sides, which provides for another strong base for comparison.
Moreover, they faced similar opposition in Spain – including each other.
Football dor released a live graphic-comparison of statistics between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during their time in Spain.
The video documents the pair’s goals and assists, as well as their La Liga and Champions League triumphs over the course of nine years.
It looks better for Lionel Messi.
While Messi won six La Liga titles, Ronaldo only won two. However, thanks to Real Madrid’s late boom in Europe’s premier competition under Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo overtook Messi in number of Champions League titles. (4-2)
Ronaldo has also scored more goals than the number of appearances in La Liga, but Messi has the most goals, as well as more assists than the Portuguese forward.
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What next?
There is a possibility of the duo meeting each other this season in the Champions League. Both Juventus and Barcelona qualified for the quarterfinals last week. While Barca faces Manchester United, Ronaldo and his men face Ajax.
