- Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as the all-time greats
- Both players have their armies of loyal supporters when it comes to the GOAT debate
- Which superstar reigns supreme when all things are considered?
When the debate arises over the greatest of all time, only two names normally crop up: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite the fact that the two superstars are without a doubt the finest players the 21st century has ever seen, they have often been forced to share the spotlight as they compete with one another on the field to see who can be the most brilliant. Despite the fact that their abilities have diminished over the last several years, they continue to attract attention wherever they go.
When it comes to proclaiming one of these heavyweights as the finest fans have ever seen, there are few discussions that are waged as furiously as this one. Additionally, their brilliance often causes opinions to be divided.
So, with a little assistance from the statistics and several previous professionals, let’s address the question of who is the greatest of all time.
What do the stats say?
To begin, let’s keep things simple.Messi is three years younger than Ronaldo, and it should come as no surprise that Ronaldo has played more football throughout the course of his stellar career. It is important to note that he has participated in more than 1,200 matches for both his club and his nation, eliminating performances at the Olympics and at the young team level for Portugal. On the other hand, his competitor from Argentina has earned more than 1,000 matches.
It makes perfect sense that Ronaldo leads the way in goals scored, with 879 to Messi’s 836, given that Ronaldo has played in slightly more games than Messi, which is just under 150 more games. Messi, on the other hand, reigns supreme when it comes to the number of goals scored every game, with a rate of 0.77 goals per match, whilst Ronaldo’s rate is 0.73 goals per match.
Given their respective playing styles, it is reasonable to assume that Messi has a higher amount of assists, and this assumption would be accurate. During his time at Barcelona, the former star player has often impressed with his inventiveness on the right flank, where he has registered an astounding 405 assists. Throughout his career, Ronaldo has been used more often as a goal-getter than a facilitator, and this is reflected in his assist statistics, which total just 283 throughout the course of his career.