Who has scored more goals in their career, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Will we ever see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the same soccer field again? That’s the question on everybody’s lips after the Portuguese star was ruled out of Al Nassr’s Riyadh Season Cup friendly against the Argentine’s Inter Miami on Thursday due to injury.

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Messi and Ronaldo’s individual and team success

The duo’s list of achievement over the last 20 years or so is too long to list in full, but 13 Ballons d’Or between them, 19 league titles, eight Champions Leagues and five Best FIFA Men’s Players awards give us some idea of the incredible impact they have had on the sport.

But it is when it comes to goals that the real mind-boggling statistics lie. Before Messi and Ronaldo came along, few players in recent memory had prolonged periods of almost guaranteeing a goal-per-game over a prolonged period of time, which the Portuguese achieved in six of his nine seasons in Madrid and the Argentine in five of his 17 campaigns with Barça.

So what are their actual figures? Perhaps it useful to break them down by competitions and games most associated with them before looking at their totals.

Messi vs Ronaldo, Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Messi vs Ronaldo will forever be associated with Barcelona vs Real Madrid and LaLiga title battles. In the Spanish top flight, the Argentina captain unsurprisingly leads the way with 474 goals (520 games, 17 seasons) for the Catalans, with the Portugal skipper finding the net on 311 occasions (292 matches, only nine seasons) for Los Blancos.

The Inter Miami playmaker is also the all-time top goalscorer in El Clásico with 26 strikes (in 45 appearances), eight more than the Al Nassr striker, who played 15 games fewer.

Messi vs Ronaldo in the Champions League

Ronaldo has often been referred to as “Mr Champions League” as he holds the record for most goals in that particular competition with 140 (in 183 games). Messi’s tally of 129 goals in 163 matches means their goals-per-game ratio is similar, although fans of the Portuguese will point to his superior knockout-round record (67 goals in 85 matches compared to 49 in 77).

Messi vs Ronaldo at the FIFA World Cup

In 2021, Ronaldo became the all-time leading goalscorer in international soccer, a record he has since extended to 128 goals (in 205 caps for his country). Messi isn’t too far behind on 106 (in 180 games) but has fared better in the World Cup, largely thanks to his seven goals in Qatar in 2022 as Argentina lifted the trophy. The former Barça man has netted 13 times in 26 World Cup matches, five more than Ronaldo’s eight for Portugal in 22 games.

Ronaldo outscores Messi but...

When Messi’s spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami are factored in, along with Ronaldo’s stints with Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester United, Juventus and Al Nassr, the Argentine has scored 821 career goals, 52 fewer than Ronaldo, currently on 873. However, at two years and four months younger, Messi has played only 1047 matches as a professional to Ronaldo’s 1204.

Will the Inter Miami captain be able to catch up with his old foe by the time he ends his career? Given the Al Nassr striker’s recent scoring rate in Saudi Arabia (30 goals in 31 appearances in 2023-24), it appears rather unlikely. But given the two have pushed each other to limits we never thought possible in the past, perhaps we shouldn’t rule anything out. You never know, we might even see the 36 and 38 year olds go head to head one last time, despite this week’s rain check.