Comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s international stats in 2025 | OneFootball

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have now played their last international matches of 2025, but how do their records compare? We’ve crunched the numbers.

It’s been another memorable year for both players on the international stage, particularly for Ronaldo, who won the Nations League with Portugal over the summer.

The 40-year-old played a key role in winning the tournament, scoring in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.

“Winning for Portugal is always special,” CR7 said after lifting the trophy in June.

“I have many titles with clubs, but nothing is better than winning for Portugal. It’s tears. It’s duty done and a lot of joy.

“When you talk about Portugal, it is always a special feeling. Being captain of this generation is a source of pride. Winning a title is always the pinnacle in a national team.”

Along with winning the Nations League, Portugal also managed to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup by topping their qualifying group.

Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo finished the qualifiers as Portugal’s top scorer, although a red card against Ireland means that he could miss the opening game of the World Cup next summer.

Regardless of that, he’s still had a superb year on the international stage. In total, he played nine international games in 2025 and scored eight goals.

Comparatively, Messi hasn’t played as many games as Ronaldo this year, but he’s still enjoyed another strong year with Argentina.

Unlike Ronaldo, he didn’t get the chance to compete for a international trophy this year as he exclusively played World Cup qualifiers and friendlies throughout the year.

With Messi as the focal point, Lionel Scaloni’s side finished top of their World Cup qualifying group, winning 12 of their 18 matches.

For Messi in 2025, he played five international matches and scored three goals and produced three assists.

He rounded off the year with a strong performance against Angola, scoring and assisting in Argentina’s 2-0 triumph.

While the 38-year-old continues to be a key player for Argentina, Scaloni has insisted that his side is just as capable of winning matches without him.

“The team is now in a moment where it can play in the same way with Leo [Messi] or without Leo, which used to be more complex in the past as we had to change some players,” Scaloni said.

“But now we don’t have this necessity and the team works in the same way, that’s good.”

Here’s the full breakdown of how Messi’s international stats compare with Ronaldo’s in 2025.

Lionel Messi 2025 international stats

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