Comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s records in the 2020s so far | OneFootball

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo‘s rivalry defined the 2010s – and the two superstars were still somewhere near the top of their game as we entered the 2020s. But which of them has performed better in their veteran years so far this decade?

It feels a long time ago now, but Messi was still at Barcelona when the 2020s began. That was the post-Neymar era, and the final days of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s infamous reign as president, when the Argentinian largely carried club amid questionable recruitment and baffling board decisions.

The Catalan club’s financial woes eventually saw Messi request a transfer, only to eventually wave a tearful goodbye after an underwhelming final season played behind closed doors.

Subsequent years have seen Messi win back-to-back Ligue 1 titles during his time with PSG and continue to rack up the silverware since moving to Inter Miami, but really the story of his twilight years has been on the international stage – with two Copa America titles bookending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Messi might no longer be playing at the elite European level, but his numbers remain as impressive as ever – with over 200 goals and over 100 assists in just over 300 appearances in the 2020s so far.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has slowed down exponentially when it comes to silverware. He did help fire Juventus to their ninth successive Scudetto in 2019-20, and he won the Coppa Italia in his final season in Turin, but five years on that remains his last major honour in the club game.

His return to Manchester United did not prove successful, although he did score goals in his first season back, and he departed for Saudi Arabian outfit Al Nassr after failing to get his hands on any silverware in his second stint at Old Trafford.

The veteran goalscorer has continued to score at a prolific rate as he chases down goal number one thousand out in the Middle East, but for now all he has to show for his time at Al Nassr is a relatively minor Arab Champions Cup.

He did, though, continue to defy father time by captaining Portugal to victory over Spain in the 2025 UEFA Nations League final, while he could yet get his hands on the World Cup as he gears up for a sixth and final tournament in the United States this summer.

Ignoring the trophies and collective context, Ronaldo has outscored Messi over the past five and a half years, although he’s lagging considerably behind on the assists front since he adapted his game to more of a pure penalty box finisher.

Those goalscoring numbers are a little inflated by how many Ronaldo penalties has stepped up to take in recent years, something that has only increased since his move to the Saudi Pro League. He’s scored over 40 more penalties than Messi so far this decade, and taken over 50 more.

If you take away penalties, the goalscoring numbers are remarkably close. Messi has actually scored one more non-penalty goal (188) than Ronaldo (187) in the 2020s so far.

Here’s the full breakdown of their career stats so far this decade.

Lionel Messi in the 2020s

Trophies Won:  11⭐

Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2020s

Trophies Won: 5

Ballon d’Or: 0