Messi vs Ronaldo: Who is the King of Soccer?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are considered to be the best soccer players in the world for the past 15 years. However, being in the top always has its cons. Both of them have been compared with each other right up to the very last detail and, even though there is no real feud, social media has taken care of creating a fake rivalry. But, who is actually the better player?

MESSI VS. RONALDO: WHO IS BETTER?

Let’s begin with the facts. Cristiano is 37 years old while Messi is 35. This age gap has given him the advantage to play 1,144 matches throughout the totality of his career, while the Argentinian has just played his 1,000th match against Australia in the Qatar World Cup. Meanwhile, even though Ronaldo has scored more goals (819 vs 789), Messi has the best stats in general, including more goals per match, from outside the area and without penalties.

Messi, who has won seven Ballon D’Or, a thropy given to the best soccer player of the year, while Cristiano has received five. Most of Messi’s have been due to his performance on the Spanish team Barcelona, where he played for more than 20 years. He is also the all-time top scorer for Barcelona and the Argentine national team, in La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the non-European player with the most goals in the UEFA Champions League. Recently, in 2021, and in not the best of terms, he ended his contract with Barcelona and was transferred to Paris Saint Germain, where he remains until today.

On the other hand, Ronaldo has also had disputes with his former soccer teams, which include Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Manchester again. He has gained the title of the top scorer in the history of professional soccer and the top scorer in history for Real Madrid.

MONEY AND FAME

Cristiano Ronaldo is undeniably much more popular as a public figure than Messi, reaching a whopping 515 million followers on Instagram, making him the most followed person in the world. But Leo is not far behind him, taking second place with 384 million. However, if we are talking about money, Ronaldo might still have a lower net worth than Messi.

Ronaldo made a deal with Nike in 2003 that amounts to around $1 billion for a lifetime and has a net worth of around $500 million USD. According to Forbes, he was the third highest-paid athlete in 2022, earning $115 million- $60 million on field and $55 million off of it- thanks to sponsors such as Nike, Herbalife and Clear shampoo, plus investments.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has a total net worth of over $600 million and topped the Forbes list with $130 million just in 2022 alone. He has earned $75 million thanks to his PSG contract and $55 million just on sponsors, including a $20 million-a-year partnership with Socios, which adds to an endorsement portfolio that includes Adidas, Budweiser and PepsiCo.

WHO ARE MESSI AND RONALDO’S WIFES AND CHILDREN

Both Messi and Ronaldo have been able to form beautiful families.

Leo met his now wife Antonela Roccuzzo when they were just seven years old in their native Rosario, Santa Fe, in Argentina. She was his friend’s cousin, but nothing happened between the two of them at the time because he was already starting his career in Newell’s Old Boys and would later move to Spain.

However, love eventually found its way and they have now been together for over 15 years. In 2017 they had a luxurious wedding in Rosario and are the loving parents of three boys: Thiago Messi (10), Mateo Messi (7) and Ciro Messi (4).

Cristiano, on the other hand, has had a very different love story. After ending his five-year relationship with supermodel Irina Shayk, he met Argentinian model Georgina Rodríguez in the Gucci shop where she worked at, in 2017, and have been together ever since.

The soccer player, who already had a son called Cristiano Jr (12) from a previous relationship, welcomed twins Eva and Mateo via surrogate just a couple months after meeting Georgina.

But their family didn´t stop growing there. When the twins were born, Rodríguez was already pregnant and gave birth to little Alana five months after. In 2021, they announced they were expecting another set of twins, but the happy news ended in tragedy. During labor the newborn boy died and only their daughter Bella survived.

SO, WHO IS ACTUALLY BETTER?

In reality, there is no real, definitive answer. It is easy to see why both are considered the best soccer players in the world. With their careers coming to an end, fans will follow their personal journeys for the rest of their life and support them just the same. The fake feud was already shut down when they posed together for a Louis Vuitton campaign a couple of weeks ago, and everytime the subject comes up they refer to each other with respect and admiration.