Comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s stats over their last 100 matches | OneFootball

The Messi-Ronaldo rivalry has entered its twilight years, with Lionel Messi now playing in MLS and Cristiano Ronaldo chasing his thousandth goal out in the Saudi Pro League. But which era-defining icon has the better numbers these days?

We’ve compared the pair’s last 100 appearances for club and country, looking at their goals, assists and overall output.

Ronaldo’s last hundred outings date back to early September 2024. In that time, he’s suffered another trophyless campaigns with Al-Nassr – but he finally got won the league title out there last season, adding to the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League victory he won with Portugal.

That’s two trophies that the former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar has won since turning 40.

Messi’s last hundred appearances go back to October 2024, when he was edging towards that season’s Supporters’ Shield with Inter Miami. The following year he won the MLS Cup, while he came remarkably close to adding a second World Cup out in North America in the summer.

How about the numbers, though?

There’s not a great deal in it when it comes to goalscoring. Messi edges it, marginally, with 86 goals in his last hundred outings – six more than Ronaldo across the same sample size.

There’s quite the discrepancy when it comes to penalties, though. Ronaldo has scored four times as many over the past couple of years, and Messi averages a non-penalty goal over 36 minutes more frequently than his old rival.

The major difference is in the assists, with Messi notching a whopping 48 assists in his last hundred appearances – a stark contrast to Ronaldo with just seven over the same timeframe.

Ronaldo has distilled his game down to a pure No.9, a goalscorer intent on reaching number one thousand, while Messi remains just as much of a creative force as he was in his prime years.

Here’s how Messi and Ronaldo stack up against one another over their past 100 appearances:

Lionel Messi’s last 100 games