Lionel Messi Has Statistically Annihilated The Debate Between Him And Ronaldo

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On Sunday night, following chaotic scenes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Lionel Messi and the Argentinian national soccer team won the 2024 Copa America title — the team’s third major trophy following their wins at the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 Copa America (which was originally set to take place in 2020).

The three trophies have elevated Messi’s international career resume to another level, as his previous lack of success with Argentina used to be considered perhaps the only stain on his record.

Now, however, with that aspect of his career just as successful as his storied club career, Messi has put such a gap between him and Ronaldo that you could create a hypothetical player whose career achievements are the trophy gap between the two. In layman’s terms: Messi has *a lot* more trophies than Ronaldo now.

In their club careers, Messi has made 853 appearances with Barcelona, PSG, and Inter Miami, and has scored 701 goals. Ronaldo, two years old, has made 936 club appearances for Sporting Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al-Nassr, scoring 712 goals.

On the international level, Messi has 175 caps and 102 goals for Argentina while Ronaldo has posted 201 caps and 123 goals for Portugal.

In terms of trophies, Messi has seven Ballon d’Ors, four Champions Leagues, 11 domestic league titles, 7 domestic cup titles, two Copa America titles, and a World Cup Trophy.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has five Ballon d’Ors, five UCL titles, seven domestic league titles, six domestic cup titles, and a European Championship trophy.

Messi, now playing in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, suffered an ankle injury in the Copa America Final on Sunday against Colombia that will likely keep him out of action for the majority of the summer. Inter Miami currently sits second in MLS’ Eastern Conference with 47 points.