Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Complete Statistical comparison which shows who had a better 2021
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are well into their 30s but they are still going strong. In fact, they are still among the best footballers on the planet and their longevity is simply staggering. Messi just won his seventh Ballon d'Or and Ronaldo is the top goalscorer at Manchester United this season. They might not be as dominant as they used to be in their heydey but they are still more than a handful to deal with in any given game.
The Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi debate rages on
The question of who is the better player between Ronaldo and Messi is a debate that might not ever get settled. One thing we can do is compare how both players fared in 2021. It's been a great year for football fans with plenty of action taking place at both club and international levels.
Without further ado, let's compare Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's stats from 2021.
#13 Goals [Cristiano Ronaldo - 47, Lionel Messi - 43]
Cristiano Ronaldo managed to outscore Lionel Messi in 2021. In 65 appearances for club and country, the Manchester United man scored a total of 47 goals while Messi scored 43 in 61.
Lionel Messi records to end 2021:
Most Ballon d'Or: 7 wins
Most Pichichi: 8 wins
Highest South American goal scorer of all time: 80 goals
Most goals all time in South American World Cup qualifiers: 27 goals https://t.co/h5s7MVDB2J
#12 Assists [Cristiano Ronaldo - 6, Lionel Messi - 18]
This is a very important aspect to review. While Ronaldo has managed to evolve into more of a goalscorer after passing his prime, Messi's exemplary playmaking skills have become very useful. Messi outshines Ronaldo in the assists department, racking up 18 assists against Ronaldo's six.
#11 Minutes-per-goal [Cristiano Ronaldo - 116.2, Lionel Messi - 123.1]
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals than Lionel Messi in 2021 and also has a better minutes-per-goal record. Messi played a total of 5,295 minutes this past year as opposed to Ronaldo's 5,347.
#10 Minutes per G/A [Cristiano Ronaldo - 102.8, Lionel Messi 86.8]
Here is another metric where Messi clearly outshines Ronaldo. The Argentinian might not have hit the ground running in Ligue 1 but he still managed to be directly involved in a goal every 86.6 minutes in 2021.
#9 Hat-tricks [Cristiano Ronaldo - 2, Lionel Messi - 1]
Ronaldo managed to score two hat-tricks in 2021. He first scored a perfect hat-trick for Juventus against Cagliari in Serie A in March. Ronaldo then scored the 58th hat-trick of his career against Luxembourg for Portugal.
Messi's only hat-trick of 2021 came against Bolivia in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier.
⚽ Ronaldo 10'
⚽ Ronaldo 25'
⚽ Ronaldo 33'
First-half hat-trick 😎 https://t.co/H0lz2BKK3E
#8 Penalties scored [Cristiano Ronaldo - 10, Lionel Messi - 6]
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 10 penalties and missed two in 2021. Lionel Messi scored six penalties but missed two as well. We have to say that Ronaldo edges Messi on this metric.
#7 Freekicks scored [Cristiano Ronaldo - 0, Lionel Messi - 5]
It's worth noting that back when Ronaldo was excellent from free-kicks, Messi wasn't even on set-piece duties. It is a skill that he has added to his repertoire over the course of time. There is only one winner here. Ronaldo is clearly not effective from free-kicks anymore, whereas Lionel Messi continues to be one of the best in the business.
Nelson Semedo says he never saw Messi practice a free kick 🤯 https://t.co/BUarg40uki