A rivalry forged in the heat of competition, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have gone back and forth dominating the world’s best individual awards and winning their respective clubs multiple titles. When it counts most in Spain, who has been the better player in El Clásico: Real Madrid‘s Cristiano Ronaldo or FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi? Let’s discuss.
Leo vs. Cris. LM10 vs. CR7.
A rivalry that has raged for eight seasons and is moving into its ninth season now. The two have played in their fair share of Clásicos in their career, and Saturday will mark Messi’s 37th appearance against Real Madrid, and Ronaldo’s 29th against Barca.
The debate has gone on for years on end, with Messi and Ronaldo both winning five Ballon d’Ors apiece. So, with the help of Goal.com, we take a closer look at the two’s stats and overall performances in this huge rivalry match.
Let’s get into it.
Goals
Lionel Messi: 36 appearances, 24 goals, 125 shots, 19.72% shot conversion
Cristiano Ronaldo: 28 appearances, 17 goals, 117 shots, 22.5% shot conversion
In eight more appearances, Messi beats out Ronaldo by 7 goals on 8 more shots. The only category Cristiano has the Argentine forward beat in is shot conversion percentage. I am a bit surprised that Ronaldo has not scored more goals in his time with Real Madrid as in recent years, as Cristiano has scored in so many El Clásicos it seems.
Something to take into consideration is that Ronaldo has been at Real Madrid since 2009 and Messi has been with Barca since 2004.
Assists
Lionel Messi: 36 appearances, 13 assists, 65 chances created
Cristiano Ronaldo: 28 appearances, 1 assist, 14 chances created
This stat does not surprise me at all. The reason I said before I was surprised CR7 hadn’t scored more goal in this matchup is because he shoots and looks to score almost all the time.
That is reaffirmed by looking at his shots and chances created when facing the Catalan side.
Messi has been great in front of goal while also adding a solid number of assists and helping his teammates score some as well.
Even if Ronaldo were to see this stat, it is hard to imagine him caring about this stat or making any change to his to play style. CR7 has an eye for goal first, and second to pass to a teammate.
Overall El Clásico record
Lionel Messi: 16 wins, 8 draws, 12 losses
Cristiano Ronaldo: 8 wins, 7 draws, 13 losses
Yet again, Messi beats out Ronaldo for wins and points when facing Los Blancos. Winning 16 out of 36 and picking up points in 24 of 36 is a sizeable number for sure.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, has won a shockingly low 8 matches out of 28. With points in 15 out of 28, Ronaldo hasn’t had the best team showing. As of late, however, Ronaldo and Real have played better against their rivals.
My thoughts on the debate
As a Real Madrid fan and writer about the team, I will always back Cristiano Ronaldo and his great play and career. While it may pain me to say this, Messi has been the better of the two in this huge rivalry match.
Doing a better job getting his teammates involved and scoring important goals like the late-winner in the Santiago Bernabéu in April, there’s no denying it.
I will say in defense of Cristiano he has played in fewer games and was a member of a couple Madrid teams that were going through some coaching and personnel issues. Plus, I think he scored one of the best goals in the last 10 or so years in this match with his rip of a shot in the Spanish Super Cup in August.
This match will come down to the play of these two superstars Saturday and it could very well decide the fate of the league title for this season.
(All stats came courtesy of Goal.com)
Next: Three things to watch out for as Real Madrid faces Barcelona in La Liga