Messi's best shot conversion rate came in 2012/13 when he scored a staggering 29% of shots. Of course, when you look at their respective builds, the way they play, the way their teams play, these numbers are hardly surprising.

Amazing.

Messi scores a hat trick every 16.1 games, whereas Ronaldo scores a hat trick every 18.2 games. Ronaldo has won the Puskas award though for best goal in a calendar year (2 nominations), whereas Messi has so far failed to win this award despite being nominated 7 times. Barcelona started their 2020-21 campaign with a 4-0 win over Villarreal, Ansu Fati and Lionel Messi doing the damage.

This, along with his superior goalscoring record is enough for Ronaldo to take this category.

In addition to headed goals, Ronaldo has also won 646 aerial duels in the league and Champions League since 2009/10 compared to Messi's 98 aerial duels won. These numbers are so tight, and to add to this, their hat trick count in league games is: 36 hat tricks for Messi and 36 hat-tricks for Ronaldo.

Messi also dominates the throughball statistics, making 379 successful throughballs in that same time period, compared to Ronaldo's 78 successful throughballs. The passing stats point to a clear winner in this category; Lionel Messi.

Messi has racked up an impressive 298 assists in 870 career appearances, compared to Ronaldo's 217 assists in 1017 games.

Messi has scored 0.81 goals per game, whereas Ronaldo has scored 0.73 goals per game. Filter by season: Overall balance 19/20 18/19 17/18 16/17 15/16 14/15 13/14 12/13 11/12 10/11 09/10 08/09 07/08 06/07 05/06 04/05 In terms of golden boots, Messi has finished as the league's top scorer 6 times, winning the European Golden Shoe on each occasion. Lionel Messi - All 600 Goals for FC Barcelona (HD) - YouTube These are the big ones, and it's Messi that edges Ronaldo on both. Ronaldo scores a goal every 130 minutes for Portugal, and Messi scores a goal every 162 minutes for Argentina. Barca have been engulfed by all manner of turmoil since losing 8-2 to Bayern Munich in their previous competitive match on August 14, with the unsuccessful attempt to force a transfer by club talisman Messi undoubtedly the major headline, but as they started their 2020-21 season they proved this is not a team to write off lightly. While Messi certainly did well with all eyes on him, Fati was the standout, even more so given his age. Messi career Champions League goals: 115 (all for Barcelona) Messi Champions League winners’ medals - 4: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15 (all … 68 mins per goal contribution. When it comes to penalties, Ronaldo's numbers are comfortably superior to Messi's, although perhaps not by as much as some people think. The most startling is probably Messi's Guiness World Record for scoring 91 goals in a calendar year in 2012. pic.twitter.com/rmKrPnTSzV. Leading the attack in Suarez's place might help in the long run, but he was practically anonymous here, touching the ball just 30 times (seven fewer than goalkeeper Neto), having only one shot and failing to create a single chance in his 78 minutes on the pitch.

Messi also started his footballing career stuck to the by-line, eventually moving to a more central role as his primary position. No other footballers in history have sustained such elite levels for such a long period of time. As a result of playing much deeper, dribbling is still a major part of Messi's game, completing an incredible 2206 dribbles since 2009/10 in the league and Champions League, compared to Ronaldo's 850 successful dribbles over the same period.

143 Apps; 33 Assists; 115 Goals. How FIFA soundtracks became cultural tastemakers: 'The music you listen to defines your life', Man City's hidden defensive flaw revealed and why Ruben Dias won't resolve it, New season, same old Man City: Guardiola needs to spend and sort defence before it's too late, How 'incredible' Torreira went from Arsenal's missing link to midfield misfit. We compare them both in a number of different categories and let you decide the overall winner.

Have your say on the game in the comments. Messi’s 727th goal leaves him still only 7th in the list of all-time leading goal scorers compiled by RSSSF (Soccer Statistics Foundation). And in the Champions League? Lionel Messi's desire to leave Barcelona showed no sign of impacting his on-pitch performance as he and Ansu Fati led the 4-0 dismantling of Villarreal on Sunday, marking a triumphant start to the Ronald Koeman era. The first five-and-a-bit weeks of Koeman's reign had been anything but straightforward, from watching the fallout of Barca's Champions League humiliation to partaking in the unceremonious dumping of Luis Suarez that – in part – contributed to Messi's disillusionment.

These numbers are not as other-wordly as what they produce for their club sides, but they are still extremely impressive nonetheless. Fati got the ball rolling with an impressive double in a five-minute period, before then winning the penalty that was scored by Messi, who subsequently saw a cross of his turned in by Villarreal defender Pau Torres. Although Messi's passing numbers are clearly superior, Ronaldo's are still impressive.

No other player in history has won more than 3! Ronaldo's stats are clearly better, however he's not as reliable as he is sometimes portrayed, with other elite strikers such as Lewandowski and Ibrahimovic boasting significantly better conversion rates. The figures point toward Messi taking this category; however, Ronaldo has that crucuial international trophy to his name that Messi lacks, and has 5 Champions League trophies to Messi's 4. When you factor in assists, Ronaldo makes a goal contribution every 102 minutes, whereas Messi makes a goal contribution every 101 minutes.

Ronaldo is Portugal's all-time top scorer with 101 goals (in 165 appearances), and Messi is Argentina's all-time top scorer with 70 goals (in . However, Messi converts a higher percentage of his shots, scoring a goal with every 4.97 shots, whereas Ronaldo scores a goal with every 6.47 shots. Many also bring up Messi's big penalty misses, such as in the 2016 Copa America final shootout against Chile, and the 2012 Champions League semi-final miss against Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/rmKrPnTSzV, What does it mean? Miralem Pjanic and Francisco Trincao were also given their debuts as substitutes, with the young Portuguese winger almost adding a fifth goal when stinging the palms of Asenjo, but Villarreal managed to avoid any further embarrassment.