40 Fun Facts About Messi vs Ronaldo

On what did a Barcelona director write 13-year-old Lionel Messi's first contract in December 2000?

A paper napkin was the only paper Carles Rexach had to hand when Barcelona were given an ultimatum to prove they were serious about signing the boy.

Which Brazilian won the 2007 Ballon d'Or ahead of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi?

Kaká, then at AC Milan, was the last winner before Messi and Ronaldo shared the next ten awards between them.

Which shirt number, once worn by George Best and David Beckham, did Cristiano Ronaldo get at Manchester United?

7 was not his choice: Ronaldo asked for 28, his old number in Lisbon, and later said the famous shirt became an extra source of motivation.

Which club did Cristiano Ronaldo join in 2018, ending nine seasons of Clásico meetings with Lionel Messi?

Juventus paid €100 million, at the time the highest fee for a player over 30, and the rivals then met just once more in a competitive match.

Which Croatian midfielder won the 2018 Ballon d'Or, ending ten years of wins by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

Luka Modrić had helped Real Madrid win the Champions League and Croatia reach their first World Cup final that year.

Which nation lost major finals to both Ronaldo's Portugal at Euro 2016 and Messi's Argentina at the 2022 World Cup?

France lost the first at home in extra time and the second on penalties, handing each rival the biggest international trophy of his career.

What kind of operation did Cristiano Ronaldo have at 15 to fix a condition that threatened to end his career?

Heart surgery with a laser cured a racing heartbeat called tachycardia; Ronaldo left hospital within hours and was training again days later.

Which Major League Soccer club did Lionel Messi join in 2023, the year both rivals left European football?

Inter Miami won the first trophy in their history weeks later, the Leagues Cup, with Messi finishing as its top scorer and best player.

In which city did Messi's Barcelona beat Ronaldo's Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final?

Rome was where Messi sealed a 2–0 win with a rare header, in a match billed as a duel to decide the world's best player.

Which medical condition, diagnosed when Lionel Messi was 10, threatened his future as a professional footballer?

Growth hormone deficiency therapy cost at least 1,000 pesos a month, and his father's health insurance covered only two years of it.

Which Saudi Pro League club did Cristiano Ronaldo join in 2023 after his Manchester United contract was terminated?

Al-Nassr won the Arab Club Champions Cup for the first time months later, with Ronaldo finishing as the tournament's top scorer on six goals.

At which Portuguese club did Cristiano Ronaldo begin his senior career before Manchester United signed him in 2003?

Sporting CP signed him at the age of 12 for a fee of just £1,500, after a three-day trial that took him away from his island home.

In which Argentine city on the Paraná River was Lionel Messi born and raised before moving to Spain at 13?

Rosario is also the birthplace of the revolutionary Che Guevara, and Messi grew up in its Las Heras district.

Which Portuguese island, whose airport is now named after Cristiano Ronaldo, is the forward's birthplace?

Madeira renamed its airport for him after Portugal won Euro 2016, and a bust of his head was presented at the unveiling in 2017.

In which country did Lionel Messi finally lift the World Cup in 2022, at his fifth attempt?

Qatar staged the first World Cup played in November and December, moved from summer to avoid the heat, and Messi scored twice in the final.

Which underdog nation beat teenage Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the Euro 2004 final in Lisbon?

Greece had also beaten the hosts in the tournament's opening game, in which a 19-year-old Ronaldo scored his first international goal.

Which sportswear brand became Lionel Messi's biggest sponsor in 2006, while Cristiano Ronaldo's boots came from Nike?

Adidas made Messi the first footballer with his own sub-brand of boots in 2015, and he became the company's leading brand endorser.

Which coach moved Lionel Messi into a 'false nine' role at Barcelona and won six trophies with him in 2009?

Pep Guardiola, a former Barcelona captain, had Messi drop deep from the centre of the attack to give the team an extra man in midfield.

Which coach led Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid to three straight Champions League titles from 2016 to 2018?

Zinedine Zidane became the first coach to win the competition three years running, and did it in his first three seasons in the job.

Which former manager has Cristiano Ronaldo described as his father in sport and a key influence on his career?

Alex Ferguson signed him for Manchester United at 18 for £12 million, days after Ronaldo starred against his team in a friendly.

Which Manchester United midfielder's goal beat Barcelona in 2008, in the first tie between Messi and Ronaldo?

Paul Scholes scored the only goal of the two-legged Champions League semi-final, after Ronaldo had missed a penalty in the first leg.

Which manager won his first Real Madrid trophy when Ronaldo's header beat Messi's Barcelona in the 2011 cup final?

José Mourinho ended Real Madrid's 18-year wait for the Copa del Rey, with the only goal coming in extra time at Valencia's Mestalla.

Whose 40-year-old record of 85 goals in a calendar year did Lionel Messi beat by scoring 91 in 2012?

Gerd Müller set his mark in 1972 for Bayern Munich and West Germany, and it fell when Messi scored twice against Real Betis that December.

Whose all-time record for men's international goals did Cristiano Ronaldo surpass in September 2021?

Ali Daei of Iran had held the record for years, and wrote that he was honoured it would now belong to Ronaldo.

Which defender finished a close second to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d'Or vote, with Cristiano Ronaldo third?

Virgil van Dijk finished just seven points behind Messi after helping Liverpool win the Champions League that year.

Which substitute scored Portugal's extra-time winner in the Euro 2016 final after Cristiano Ronaldo went off injured?

Eder struck a low shot from 25 yards in the second half of extra time, long after Ronaldo had left the pitch midway through the first half.

Which German substitute's extra-time goal beat Lionel Messi's Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final?

Mario Götze had come on shortly before the end of normal time, then chested down a cross and volleyed in the only goal of the match.

Which nation beat Lionel Messi's Argentina on penalties in back-to-back Copa América finals in 2015 and 2016?

Chile won both shoot-outs after goalless draws, and Messi, who missed his kick in the second, announced an international retirement he later reversed.

Which teammate's goal won the 2021 Copa América final and gave Lionel Messi his first senior international trophy?

Ángel Di María ran onto a long pass and lobbed the goalkeeper, ending Argentina's 28-year trophy drought 16 years into Messi's international career.

Which African nation knocked Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal out of the 2022 World Cup in the quarter-finals?

Morocco won 1–0 through a first-half Youssef En-Nesyri goal and became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.

Which Argentine club did Lionel Messi join as a child, starring in a youth side nicknamed 'The Machine of '87'?

Newell's Old Boys saw him score almost 500 goals in six years, and Messi has remained a lifelong supporter of the club.

Which Barcelona youth academy, where Lionel Messi trained, produced all three Ballon d'Or finalists in 2010?

La Masia is named after the old farmhouse beside the Camp Nou where it began, and Andrés Iniesta and Xavi joined Messi on that podium.

Which teammate's scooped pass set up Lionel Messi's first senior Barcelona goal, against Albacete in May 2005?

Ronaldinho had told the squad after their first training session together that the 16-year-old would become an even better player than himself.

Which award for La Liga's top scorer, named after an Athletic Bilbao striker, did Lionel Messi win a record eight times?

Pichichi Trophy winners are chosen by the sports newspaper Marca, not the league, so its tallies can differ from the official match reports.

In which Olympic host city did Lionel Messi win gold with Argentina's under-23 team, beating Nigeria in the final?

Beijing brought Argentina a second straight Olympic title, part of a record run of 12 consecutive wins in the men's football tournament.

Against which German club did Lionel Messi become the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match?

Bayer Leverkusen conceded seven that night in March 2012, having already lost the first leg of the tie on their own ground.

Which striker, who left Real Madrid for Schalke in 2010, lost the club's scoring record to Cristiano Ronaldo?

Raúl González scored 323 goals for Real Madrid, and had himself broken Alfredo Di Stéfano's long-standing club record only in 2009.

Which former Fiorentina striker's record as Argentina's top scorer did Lionel Messi break at the 2016 Copa América?

Gabriel Batistuta lost the record to a Messi free kick in a semi-final against the United States, days before Argentina lost the final on penalties.

What happened to 18-year-old Lionel Messi on his senior Argentina debut, a 2005 friendly against Hungary?

He was sent off after the referee judged he had fouled defender Vilmos Vanczák, yet he went on to become Argentina's most-capped player.

Which club teammate was red-carded at the 2006 World Cup moments before Cristiano Ronaldo winked at Portugal's bench?

Wayne Rooney had stamped on defender Ricardo Carvalho, and the referee confirmed the next day that the dismissal was solely for that offence.