Settling the Debate: Why Messi is Better than Ronaldo

Playing an easy game against Almeria in April of 2015, Cristiano Ronaldo was sprinting toward the opposition’s goal and looking for a cross from his teammate. The cross came, but another teammate, Alvaro Arbeloa, ran directly in front of him and buried his first goal of the season into the back of the net. As Arbeloa immediately turned around to celebrate with his teammates, Ronaldo angrily punted the ball into the back of the net and walked off, muttering to himself and shaking his head.

While YouTube can provide several moments similar to this one—Ronaldo calling for an offside, complaining to the referee about a foul even after one of his teammates scored, or even interfering when a teammate has an easy look at the net and costing his team a goal—it can also provide countless examples of Lionel Messi passing up an easy opportunity to send a perfect pass to a teammate who has a better shooting angle. That is the difference between Messi and Ronaldo.

Messi grew up in Rosario, Argentina. At just 11 years old, he learned that he had a growth hormone deficiency and required hormone treatments. However, Messi was gritty and tenacious. He didn’t let his disorder dictate his path any more than he lets defenders do the same today. Unlike Ronaldo, who throws himself if any opposing player comes within three feet of his precious hair, Messi continues to fight with no other choice as defenders slash at his legs and grab his jersey, just as he did after he learned that he needed unaffordable treatment if he wanted to be tall enough to compete at a professional level. Just three years later, he was signed by European giant FC Barcelona.

A popular question asked by the media to players who have played with both Ronaldo and Messi is simple: “Who’s better?” Most players, with expected diplomacy, refrain from giving a direct answer and praise both superstars instead. However, controversial striker Carlos Tevez, who played with Messi on the Argentinian national team and with Ronaldo on a championship-winning Manchester United club team, was very clear about who he considered the superior athlete.

“I think it is only right if Cristiano Ronaldo does believe he is the best in the world. Any guy who gets 37-40 goals a season has a right to believe that, but if you push me, I am always going to go on the side of Messi,” he said.

Gerard Pique, who was Ronaldo’s former teammate on Manchester United before joining Messi in Barcelona, gave a similar response to Tevez. Despite his immense respect for Ronaldo, when asked which of the two he thought was a better player he said, “I think that they are both amazing. I always said that Messi has some talent that no one has. Cristiano Ronaldo is such a different player. He is tall, strong; he’s really complete. But for me, it’s like Messi is not human but Cristiano is the best of the humans.”

A shallow comparison of Messi and Ronaldo would show that Ronaldo has scored more goals than Messi during their respective careers. However, since the ‘08-’09 season, the first season for which their statistics are comparable in terms of appearances, Messi has a netted .972 goals per game in club play compared to Ronaldo’s .955. Furthermore, in the same span, Messi has recorded .376 assists per game, a whopping .114 assists per game more than Ronaldo’s total.

Under the premises that the main objective of soccer is to win and that an attacker’s job in soccer is to create points for his team, thus giving them the best chance of victory, what gives any soccer player value is their ability to score points. The ultimate test of a player’s ability to create points is a combination of their goal and assist averages. Messi has averaged an astounding 1.358 points while Ronaldo has averaged a significantly fewer, but nonetheless astounding, 1.069 points. That means, in a average 38 game La Liga season, Messi would score 11 more points for his team than Ronaldo would.

And while it is indisputable that Ronaldo, with his 6’2” frame, has superior physicality to Messi, who comes in at just 5’7”, the fact that Messi has nevertheless performed at a higher level than Ronaldo only speaks to the intangibles that make Messi the greatest active player in the world. A plethora of videos contrasts Ronaldo throwing himself on the ground and immediately calling for a foul to Messi fighting for and winning the ball despite being slashed, pushed, and pulled, sometimes even making a pass after being knocked to the ground.

Additionally, the fact that Messi has only received one red card in his entire career, which occurred in the first minute of his career and is considered a botched call, as opposed to Ronaldo’s 10 red cards and several suspensions reflects the difference in character between the two athletes. Finally, after winning his fifth ballon d’or (Messi also has five), soccer’s highest praise, Ronaldo proclaimed himself the greatest player of all time. Everybody hates when athletes do that.