TThe sporting rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has added a new chapter to its history. While both stars continue to shine for the team, Leo has caught up with the 41-year-old Portuguese and also shares the historic milestone of 900 official career goals.
Nevertheless, there are crucial differences in their records, causing debate among fans.
Who will reach 900 goals first and who will have to play fewer games?
The second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 match against Nashville SC at Chase Stadium ended 1-1, with Inter Miami holding the lead for most of the match thanks to Messi’s goal in the 7th minute, but Cristian Espinoza equalized in the 74th minute. However, a 0-0 draw at Geodis Park left the outcome of the series undecided, although the opponents advanced to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Despite being eliminated from the tournament once again, the Argentine number 10’s goal was more than special. It was his 900th goal.
With this, he joins Cristiano Ronaldo as the only two players in football history to reach this milestone, although Leo has achieved this milestone in far fewer games and in a shorter amount of time since his debut for Barcelona in 2005, when he scored his first professional goal at the age of 17.
Cristiano became the first player to reach the milestone in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Croatia in the Nations League in September 2024, but the Inter Miami captain reached 900 goals in 1,142 games, almost 100 fewer than the CR7 required of 1,236 games.
Most of Messi’s goals came during his time at Barcelona, during which time he scored 672 goals. He went on to add another 32 goals for Paris Saint-Germain, and has already scored 81 for Inter Miami. Additionally, he scored 115 goals with the Argentina national team, which recently won the 2022 Qatar World Cup. This title will be defended in a new tournament to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11th to July 19th.
The Portuguese forward has scored 451 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United and 101 for Juventus, and has already scored 121 for Al Nasr and five more for Sporting CP. He also scored 143 goals for Portugal.
Despite this, Cristiano has not scored in just over two weeks since he was substituted with a hamstring injury in the 3-1 match between Al Nasr and Al Faiha on February 28. On medical advice and in accordance with an agreement with the club, Ronaldo traveled to Madrid, Spain, to undergo specialized rehabilitation.
His total score is 965, but he is expected to return to the field against Al Najma around April 3rd. However, Portugal’s availability for the final two World Cup warm-up friendlies against Mexico and USMNT on March 28 and 31 respectively remains in doubt.
While both stars continue to build on their legacies, this statistic adds a new chapter to the eternal debate of who is the greatest of all time.
