Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two players who reshaped the idea of football. Football as a sport emphasizes team performances rather than individual flashes of brilliance. But these players made us look at how team performances can be inspired by a moment of individual prowess.
Messi and Ronaldo portray a different brand of football. Their positions as well as their style of play are miles apart from each other. Ronaldo is a product of hard work and seizing the opportunity by its neck. Cristiano is a goal machine, a marksman who knows the place he needs to be before the moment comes.
If we have a look at Messi football comes naturally to him. Messi is an artist who uses the football pitch as his personal canvas for painting a picture of his own imagination.
People have a tendency to relate to things that occur during their youth. Music for example changes according to the generation in which we live. This attitude occurs in the field of sports as well. If people didn’t incline towards such an attitude Pele or Maradona would have settled this debate long ago.
Yet time goes on. We see a lot of new faces in the world of football. Some fade away before we can even register their faces. While some stay with us in the form of memories for the rest of our lives. Messi and Ronaldo are such players, whose names will remain on our tongues even after they retire.
Messi and Ronaldo’s impact on modern football
The consistency or uniformity of such words cannot sum up what Messi and Ronaldo have produced for the past decade. Their achievements and records speak volumes about the potential they hold within themselves. Yet here is a head-to-head comparison. This is just to get a glimpse of what we have witnessed since their arrival.
| Messi | Ronaldo |
| Games | Goals | Assists | Year | Assists | Goals | Games | ||||||
| 27 | 8 | 11 | 2021/2022 | 3 | 18 | 33 | ||||||
| 47 | 38 | 14 | 2020/2021 | 4 | 36 | 44 | ||||||
| 31 | 24 | 16 | 2019/2020 | 2 | 25 | 32 | ||||||
| 50 | 51 | 19 | 2018/2019 | 10 | 28 | 43 | ||||||
| 54 | 45 | 18 | 2017/2018 | 8 | 44 | 44 | ||||||
| 52 | 54 | 16 | 2016/2017 | 12 | 42 | 46 | ||||||
| 49 | 41 | 23 | 2015/2016 | 15 | 51 | 48 | ||||||
| 57 | 58 | 27 | 2014/2015 | 21 | 61 | 54 | ||||||
| 46 | 41 | 14 | 2013/2014 | 14 | 51 | 47 | ||||||
| 50 | 60 | 15 | 2012/2013 | 12 | 55 | 55 | ||||||
| 60 | 73 | 29 | 2011/2012 | 15 | 60 | 55 | ||||||
| 55 | 53 | 23 | 2010/2011 | 15 | 53 | 54 | ||||||
| 53 | 47 | 11 | 2009/2010 | 7 | 33 | 35 | ||||||
| 51 | 38 | 17 | 2008/2009 | 9 | 26 | 53 | ||||||
| 40 | 16 | 13 | 2007/2008 | 7 | 42 | 49 | ||||||
| 36 | 17 | 3 | 2006/2007 | 15 | 23 | 53 | ||||||
| 25 | 8 | 3 | 2005/2006 | 8 | 12 | 47 | ||||||
| 9 | 1 | 0 | 2004/2005 | 8 | 9 | 50 | ||||||
| – | – | – | 2003/2004 | 7 | 6 | 40 | ||||||
| – | – | – | 2002/2003 | 7 | 5 | 31 |
In terms of trophies, Cristiano’s trophy cabinet shines with a bit more spark. He has traveled a lot and conquered every single region he stepped into.
| Year | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2020/21 | Copa Del Rey, Copa America , Ballon d’Or, Pichichi award | Coppa Italia |
| 2019/2020 | Ballon d’Or | – |
| 2018/2019 | European Golden Shoe, La Liga, Spanish Super Cup | Serie A, Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Nations League |
| 2017/2018 | European Golden Shoe, Copa Del Rey, La Liga | Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, Ballon d’Or |
| 2016/2017 | European Golden Shoe, Spanish Super Cup, Copa Del Rey | Champions League, La Liga, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Ballon d’Or |
| 2015/2016 | Ballon d’Or, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, La Liga | European Championship, Champions League |
| 2014/2015 | Copa Del Rey, Champions League, La Liga, | Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, European Golden Shoe, Ballon d’Or |
| 2013/2014 | Spanish Super Cup | Champions League, European Golden Shoe, Ballon d’Or, Copa Del Rey, |
| 2012/2013 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, La Liga | Spanish Super Cup |
| 2011/2012 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, UEFA Super Cup, Copa Del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, Club World Cup, | La Liga |
| 2010/2011 | Ballon d’Or, Spanish Super Cup, La Liga, Champions League | European Golden Shoe, Copa Del Rey |
| 2009/2010 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, Spanish Super Cup, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, La Liga | – |
| 2008/2009 | Copa Del Rey, La Liga, Champions League | Premier League, League Cup, Community Shield, Club World Cup, Ballon d’Or |
| 2007/2008 | – | Champions League, Community Shield, Premier League, European Golden Shoe |
| 2006/2007 | Spanish Super Cup | Premier League |
| 2005/2006 | Spanish Super Cup, La Liga, Champions League | League Cup |
| 2004/2005 | La Liga | – |
| 2003/2004 | – | FA Cup |
| 2002/2003 | – | Supercopa de Portugal |
All these statistics are one of the bases for debating who is better than the other. However, one can also reflect on how Cristiano and Lionel raised the bar. Some of these records will go down untouched in history. There won’t be another Messi or Ronaldo in the future of football. Even talent, dedication and commitment won’t be enough to get near those records.
It is easy to put the likes of Haaland and Mbappe in the same frame as these players in terms of statistics. But you cannot compare them in terms of the value that they have held. Messi and Ronaldo overshadowed every single player of their generation as well as the ones of the future.
The inspiration to stand on the same platform as these players do has become the driving factor for the upcoming generation. In a world where football saw the shift from individual performances to team efficiency, both these players found a way to shine like Sirius. A star which ah the capability to bring light even in the darkest of nights. Even today Messi and Ronaldo are the players you look up to in the direst of situations.