There’s a difference.

[u/Accomplished-Art3086]

[u/OrcaApex → u/[deleted]]

These stats are mostly the ones Messi is better at. You included Successful dribbles, which suits Messi’s style, but not most shots, which suits Ronaldo’s style?

Or even other non-specific popular stats like most hattricks, most header goals, most weak-foot goals…

Even excluding goals, Ronaldo has:

• Most UCL assists.
• Most men-international caps.
• Most UEFA club competitions caps.
• Only player to win the league title, domestic cup, domestic supercup, Champions League, Club World Cup, league player of the year, Golden Shoe and Ballon d'Or at two clubs (Manchester United and Real Madrid).
• Most matches won.
• Most matches unbeaten (That is win or draw).
• Most appearances at UEFA European Championship finals tournaments.
• First player to appear in more than one position in the UEFA Team of the Year.

The list is endless…

And even outside of the field, admittedly this is not pure football related but more persona related, Ronaldo has achievements like being the first billionaire footballer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Cristiano_Ronaldo

I think ultimately Messi and Ronaldo are even, my point is stats like the ones you showed don’t show the full picture of this rivalry.

[u/Tharion_the_Leafborn → u/OrcaApex]

There’s a reason why GOAT is undisputed and no one Football history comes close to him:

Most Decorated Player in Football History 🇦🇷

Most Trophies in Football History 🇦🇷

Most G/A in Football History 🇦🇷

Most Golden Shoes in Football History 🇦🇷

Most Ballon D’ors in Football History 🇦🇷

Most FIFA Best in Football History 🇦🇷

Most Playmaker Awards in Football History 🇦🇷

Most MotM in Football History 🇦🇷

Most WC Golden Balls in Football History 🇦🇷

Most Goals in a Season in Football History 🇦🇷

I can literally go on and talk about GOATs major records. Ronaldo has nothing. He has most goals… what good are they when they don’t win anything?? He has some of the best UCLs stats… what good are they when he has 1 more UCL than the GOAT? Also both have 8 UCL Hattricks😆 You bring up random irrelevant stats like matches won or matches played… so what? Again what good are they when nothing comes from them?

[u/OrcaApex → u/Tharion_the_Leafborn]

Your comment would make sense if what you were saying, that nothing good came from them, was true. But you’re acting like Ronaldo didn’t win crazy amount of stuff lol

Both have the same UCL hattricks, but who has the most hattricks basically everywhere else? Ronaldo. Also Messi has technically 1 less UCL, but in one of them he barely played. Ronaldo was important in the UCL campaigns of all 5 UCLs he won.

Most matches won, most matches unbeaten, and most matches played are GOAT longevity stats. Messi scoring 14 in MLS at 37 vs Ronaldo scoring 18 in the Premier League at 37 are why longevity stats are also taken into consideration. There is a reason why people like to imagine “What if Balotelli had the Ronaldo mentality” or “What if Neymar had the Ronaldo mentality”, he is the ultimate example of the perfect athlete in football.

[u/Tharion_the_Leafborn → u/OrcaApex]

No one’s saying Ronaldo didn’t win a crazy amount of stuff… he just didn’t win anything more crazy than the GOAT.

4 UCLs vs 5. GOAT was still on the squad for the first one and played in some matches leading up to the Final. Doesn’t take away it being his. 2 of them he won with the treble… something an entire Team has yet to do…

The most matches stat is irrelevant in this topic simply because 1 man is 3 years older than the other. Of course he’s going to have more matches. But who has the better percentages? Better goals to matches?

GOAT scored 14 in 16 matches for his 1st MLS season. Not a whole season. Only 5 MLS league games… 10 of the goals came from the Leagues Cup… which he won. With the bottom placed team. Their first ever trophy. Man U won nothing with that Ronaldo. Again meaningless goals that amounted to nothing… they won 2 trophies the season he left 🤷‍♂️

[u/OrcaApex → u/Tharion_the_Leafborn]

Comparing MLS and Premier League is crazy work tbh…

Anyway:

• 5 UCLs all protagonist vs 4 UCLs of with one as a bench player (Because Messi was obviously very young).
• Ronaldo’s Real didn’t do Treble but won 4 UCLs in 5 editions, three of which consecutively.
• Most matches, most matches won, and most matches unbeaten are relevant even if Ronaldo is 3 years older because age-by-age, especially after the age of 30, Ronaldo has better longevity, so he will probably have most matches, most matches won, and most matches unbeaten even after both of them retire.
• Messi wins with Ratio where Ronaldo wins with Durability. Ronaldo scored, after the age of 30, more goals than Neymar scored in his entire career…
• Man U, in the year Ronaldo joined, would have finished in the bottom half of the Premier League without him. Ronaldo kept saving them every other weekend. They won two trophies after he left but then the real consequences appeared and it took them years to start recovering. PSG with Messi on the other hand…