

Depending on the team you have picked up, you get to the corresponding stage of the competition: preliminary round, first qualifying round, second qualifying round, third qualifying round, play-off round, group stage, knockout phase.įor instance, the FC Sheriff Tiraspol started its path in the Champions League in the first qualifying round, while Real Madrid started in the group stage. Messi has got his hands on the European Golden Shoe a record six times, which is two more than Ronaldo, and is marginally ahead of his rival overall, but the fact that both have been on the FIFPro World XI 14 times is an illustration of how closely fought the battle has been.In Football Heads: 2021-22 Champions League, you can choose from 79 European football clubs featured in the tournament. Of course, it must be said that Ronaldo has won the Player of the Year award in England, Spain and Italy. Ronaldo does boast more of FIFA's new 'The Best' awards and has been crowned UEFA Player of the Year on more occasions, but Messi has won more league Player of the Year accolades. Messi went ahead of Ronaldo in the Ballon d'Or stakes when he won his sixth in 2019 and cemented his superior status in that field with his seventh in 2021. The individual battle between Ronaldo and Messi has been the defining feature of modern football for the past decade and more. Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Individual awards Additionally, Messi has an Olympic gold medal. But he finally got his hands on the Copa in 2021, before going to win the 2022 Finalissima and then the 2022 World Cup. Messi endured considerable heartache with Argentina early on in his international career, with four unsuccessful Copa America campaigns, three of which saw them lose in the final. The Manchester United star has also enjoyed notable success on the international stage with Portugal, winning the European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo has an edge over Messi in the Champions League, his love affair with the competition earning him the moniker 'Mr Champions League'. Ronaldo has seven league titles, but unlike Messi, he can claim to have won the league in three different countries (England, Spain and Italy) - something that increases his claim to the GOAT crown in the eyes of some. Messi and Ronaldo have similar enough trophy hauls, but Messi edges things when it comes to league titles, having won La Liga 10 times with Barcelona and Ligue 1 once with PSG. *National Cups refers to the main national cup competition in a country only, e.g. Interestingly, while Ronaldo's seasonal totals have declined somewhat in recent years - he failed to break the 30-goal mark in 2018-19 during his first season at Juventus - Messi's have remained consistent, though the Argentine's rate slowed after joining PSG. Ronaldo's highest season return was 61, which he achieved in 2014-15, and he surpassed the 50-goal mark every season for six years between 2010-16.

While Ronaldo currently has more goals overall, Messi has the edge in the scoring department, with a higher season average (37.9 to 35), having hit a high of 73 goals in 2011-12, though his average dropped after a disappointing maiden campaign at PSG in 2021-22. Ronaldo has scored more club goals than Messi, but only just and it should be noted that the Manchester United star benefits from having played two more seasons than his Argentine nemesis thus far.Įach of them has remarkably netted over 690 club goals in their career so far, with the five seasons between 2009-15 proving particularly golden as they pushed each other to greater heights.
