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| Before the age of 36, Messi owned 807 goals compared to 762 goals of Ronaldo. The assists index of M10 is also slightly better than the Portuguese superstar (357 compared to 225 assists). Worth mentioning, Messi played 15 matches less than Ronaldo. |
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| Both outside and in the penalty area, Messi has a slightly higher number of goals than Ronaldo. Former Barcelona star scored 89 goals compared to 56 goals outside the penalty area of CR7. In the penalty area, the striker who used to wear MU has 515 goals compared to 547 goals of Messi. |
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| On penalties, Messi scored 108 goals out of 139 attempts. This number of Ronaldo is 134 goals after 160 situations 11 m. |
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| Thanks to Messi’s superior height (1.87 m), Ronaldo scored 130 goals with his head compared to only 26 goals of M10. |
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| If counted at the same age of 35, Messi played 54 matches at the age of 35 (4,803 minutes of play), scored 38 goals and contributed 25 assists. Meanwhile, Ronaldo played 48 matches (4,083 minutes), scored 40 goals and contributed 8 assists. Messi also scored a hat-trick and scored 4 goals on the free kick. While Ronaldo has no hat-trick and only scored 2 goals from set pieces. |
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| Also at the aforementioned milestone, Messi takes an average of 126.4 minutes for a goal, less than Ronaldo (102.1 minutes/goal). But the Argentine superstar only took an average of 76.2 minutes to make an assist compared to CR7’s 85.1 minutes. |
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| In terms of titles, Messi owns the 2022 World Cup, 4 Champions League, 7 Golden Balls and crowns in La Liga and Ligue 1. While Ronaldo has 5 Champions League titles, 5 Ballon d’Or, 1 championship EURO and a series of titles in the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga. The World Cup is the missing title in CR7’s career. That is why the Portuguese superstar is inferior to Messi before the age of 36. |
Argentine football is not only famous for 3 World Cups, with Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, they are also known for the violence on the pitch and the deep problems of the domestic league. All in Football, Violence and Social Identity compiled by authors Richard Giulianotti, Norman Bonney, Mike Hepworth.
