Are you an avid football fan? If so, there is no doubt that you keenly follow Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. These players have come to define the entire sport and their impact cannot be denied. However, which footballer possesses more talent? If you were to place a wager on who would win a one-on-one match, what would your choice be? Although this may be a slightly loaded question, it is still interesting to explore in greater detail. Let’s compare the strengths of Messi and Ronaldo in order to draw an unbiased conclusion. 

The Basics

Let us first look at the statistics of each player, as these will provide us with a transparent starting point. Here are those associated with Messi:

• 779 apps
• 268 assists
• 672 goals

Here is how the same figures stack up for Cristiano Ronaldo:

• 896 apps
• 194 assists
• 676 goals

Although both players seem to be rather equal, it is important to note that Messi tends to score goals more frequently (68 minutes per contribution) when compared to Ronaldo (84 minutes per contribution).

However, the real differences begin to emerge when looking at all-time domestic cup figures. Messi currently has 56 goals while Ronaldo trails at 45. In terms of assists, Messi trumps Ronaldo with 33 as opposed to 10. It would therefore appear that those who place real-time wagers on sites such as Betsafe would automatically lean towards Messi. There are nonetheless other factors to take into account.

Awards and Recognition

Footballers are partially defined by the awards that can be attributed to their names. Of course, both Messi and Ronaldo excel in this category. It does still seem that Messi has a slight edge over Ronaldo in terms of the Ballon d’Or (six versus five) as well as the Player of the Year (six versus four). However, Ronaldo has been crowned the best FIFA Men’s Player more often and he holds tone more UEFA Player of the Year award. Once again, these two are in close race.

Team Cohesion

Perhaps the one major difference between these two players involves a bit of psychology. Messi has always been seen as somewhat of a lynchpin in terms of how he is able to pull a team together (his stint at Barcelona is a perfect example of this observation). Ronaldo does not appear to possess this quality to such an extent. Therefore, Messi could very well represent the better choice in terms of overall leadership and team cohesion.

The Verdict

So, which player is the best? Would would you place a wager upon in the event that both were engaged in head-to-head competition? Each possesses his own unique strengths and it still seems as if the outcome would be nearly impossible to call. Perhaps the decision would be based more off of personal preferences. Either way, both of these professionals ae amazing to observe in action.