Comparing Messi and Ronaldo’s stats over their last 100 international appearances | OneFootball

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the three most capped international players of all time, but how do their records compare over their last 100 matches? We’ve crunched the numbers.

With both players now in the twilight years of their careers, we simply have to sit back and enjoy watching them while they’re still doing the business.

Ronaldo continues to be Portugal’s figurehead, despite now being in his forties, and Messi is arguably still Argentina’s most important player at the age of 38.

For the purposes of this article, we’ve compared their international records from their last 100 appearances for Argentina and Portugal.

In the case of Messi, his last 100 appearances stretch back to November 2014, shortly after Argentina had lost the World Cup final in Brazil against Germany.

Since then, he’s made 100 appearances for Argentina, has scored 70 goals and has provided 34 assists, averaging a goal contribution every 81 minutes.

During that timeframe, he’s also managed to win four trophies with Argentina, including the World Cup, two Copa America titles and the Finalissima.

Of his 70 goals, 15 of them were penalties, eight were free-kicks and eight were open-play goals from outside the box.

In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, he’s been in sharp form too, having scored three goals and provided three assists in his last three international appearances.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, also boasts a superb international record over his last 100 appearances for Portugal.

His last 100 appearances stretch back to June 2016, at the start of Euro 2016, which Portugal ended up winning.

In that timeframe, CR7 has scored 85 goals and has provided 15 assists, averaging a goal contribution every 82.6 minutes, which is freakishly close to Messi’s record.

Of his 100 goals, 18 have been penalties, five were free-kicks and seven were open-play goals from outside the box.

Like Messi, Ronaldo has also got his hands on international silverware over his past 100 games, having won Euro 2016 and the Nations League on two occasions.

He’s the all-time highest-scoring international player of all time with 143 goals and is still adding to his tally today.

In his last eight appearances for Portugal, he’s scored eight goals and continues to be a crucial player for Roberto Martinez.

However, after being shown a straight red card in his last game against Ireland, there’s the possibility that he could miss Portugal’s opening game of the 2026 World Cup.

Portugal can appeal that decision, but for the time being, he’s set to serve a suspension in all FIFA-related international matches.

Here’s the full breakdown of how Messi and Ronaldo’s international records compare over their last 100 matches.

Lionel Messi