query: who has most goals between messi and cristiano ronaldo

pos: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry Messi–Ronaldo rivalry The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry is a football rivalry between fans of Argentinian forward Lionel Messi and Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo and supposedly between the athletes themselves. Having won a combined ten Ballon d'Or/FIFA Ballon d'Or awards (5 each), both are widely regarded not only as the two best players of their generation, but also regarded by many as the greatest of all time. Both players have regularly broken the 50 goal barrier in a single season and have scored over 600 goals each in their careers for club and country. Sports journalists and pundits regularly argue the individual merits

pos: Lionel Messi City 4–0. On 1 November, Messi scored his 54th Champions League group stage goal in Barcelona's 3–1 away loss to Manchester City, surpassing the previous record of 53 goals held by Raúl. On 12 November, Messi placed second in the 2016 Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who claimed the award for the fourth time. He finished the year with 51 goals, making him Europe's top scorer, one ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimović. After placing second in the 2016 Ballon d'Or, on 9 January 2017 Messi also finished in second place – behind Cristiano Ronaldo once again – in the 2016 Best

pos: Raúl (footballer) League history, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and the fifth most capped player. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the team and retained that position until his departure from the club in 2010. In La Liga competitions, Raúl is the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of the competition with 228 goals, behind Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Telmo Zarra and fellow Real Madrid legend Hugo Sánchez. He is also the highest Spanish scorer in European leagues, with 256 goals, scoring 228 goals in La Liga and 28 goals in the Bundesliga. He is also the second-most capped player in

pos: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry did not think it was the end for them. In recent years, it has been said that the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been "encapsulated" by the individual rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi, with neither player ever participating in a goalless "El Clásico". Messi–Ronaldo rivalry The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry is a football rivalry between fans of Argentinian forward Lionel Messi and Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo and supposedly between the athletes themselves. Having won a combined ten Ballon d'Or/FIFA Ballon d'Or awards (5 each), both are widely regarded not only as the two best players of their generation, but also

pos: El Clásico he was "concerned" that due to the rising hatred between the two clubs, that this could cause friction in the Spain team. In recent years, the rivalry has been "encapsulated" by the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Following the star signings of Neymar and Luis Suárez to Barcelona, and Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to Madrid, the rivalry was expanded to a battle of the clubs attacking trios, BBC (Bale, Benzema, Cristiano) against MSN (Messi, Suárez, Neymar). Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, and in the week prior to the first meeting of the teams in

pos: UEFA Team of the Year for best coach was discontinued. After the votes are cast, they are tallied and the final team is announced on the UEFA website. The player with the most appearances in the team is Cristiano Ronaldo, having appeared twelve times. Second is Lionel Messi, having appeared nine times. Joint third are Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Ramos, who all have six appearances each. The most consecutive appearances in the team is eleven for Cristiano Ronaldo (2007–2017), followed by Iker Casillas with six (2007–2012), and both Thierry Henry (2001–2005) and Lionel Messi (2008–2012) with five. The teams with the

pos: Lionel Messi d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins. Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons d'Or, including an unprecedented fourth. His best campaign statistically to date was the 2011–12 season, in which he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer in official competitions in March 2012. The following two seasons, Messi finished twice second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. Messi regained his best form during the 2014–15 campaign, breaking

pos: Antonio Di Natale nine consecutive league seasons. He won the Serie A top goalscorer award in 2010 and 2011, and was also awarded the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award for his performances in 2010. A late bloomer, unlike most strikers, he enjoyed his most prolific seasons in front of goal well after age 30; between 2009 and 2011, Lionel Messi (82) and Cristiano Ronaldo (86) were the only two players to have scored more league goals than Di Natale (67). In 2015, "France Football" rated him as one of the ten-best footballers in the world who are over age 36.

pos: Neymar 39 goals in all competitions and 10 in the Champions League, making him joint highest scorer with Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Lionel Messi in the latter competition. He was the first player apart from those two to top the competition's scoring list, since compatriot Kaká in 2006–07. Barcelona's attacking trio of Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", ended with 122 goals, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football history. Due to having the mumps, Neymar was expected to miss the 2015 UEFA Super Cup and the 2015 Supercopa de España. On 17 October, Neymar

pos: 2013–14 La Liga final match. Cristiano Ronaldo won the league scoring title with 31 goals. Messi was second and Costa third. Ángel Di María had most assists with 17. Thibaut Courtois won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper. Barcelona was the least penalised team. The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round. The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by newspaper "Marca" to the player who scores the most goals in a season. Source: pichichi.es The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper "Marca" to the goalkeeper with least goals-to-games ratio. Keepers must play at least 28 games of 60 or

pos: 2011–12 FC Barcelona season press conference. On 14 April, Barcelona came back to defeat Levante 1–2 at the Ciutat de València. Lionel Messi lead with a brace and took his tally to 41 goals in the league, that left him tied with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo for the league lead. They also surpassed the record of 40 goals in a season set by Cristiano Ronaldo last season. On 18 April, Barcelona lost its first match in this season's Champions League, 1–0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London. Even though they dominated every aspect of the match, they were defeated at the stroke of

pos: Lionel Messi in his 122nd European club appearance, Messi scored his 97th UEFA Champions League goal, and his 100th in all UEFA club competitions, in a 3–1 home victory over Olympiakos. Messi became only the second player after Cristiano Ronaldo to reach this century milestone, but accomplished it in 21 fewer appearances than the Portuguese counterpart. On 23 October, Messi finished as the runner-up behind Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017 Best FIFA Men's Player award for the second consecutive year. On 4 November, he made his 600th appearance for Barcelona in a 2–1 home win over Sevilla in La Liga. Following the reception

pos: Neymar March 2015, Neymar had the fourth highest social media rank in the world among sportspeople, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and David Beckham, with 52 million Facebook fans. He has over 100 million Instagram followers, the second highest for a sportsperson (after Cristiano Ronaldo), and inside the top 10 most followed people. In ESPN's list of active sportspeople in 2016, Neymar was ranked the fourth most famous athlete in the world. To mark the World Cup commencing in Brazil, in June 2014, Neymar appeared with supermodel Gisele Bündchen on the front cover of "Vogue"'s Brazilian edition. In November 2014, Neymar

pos: Lukas Podolski second place with Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Maxi Rodríguez, Hernán Crespo and Zinedine Zidane. Podolski was named the World Cup's Best Young Player ahead of players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In a Euro 2008 qualifying game against San Marino in Serravalle Podolski netted four goals in Germany's record 13–0 thrashing. He is one of only four German players to score four goals in an international match. He was the third after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack, and since this, Mario Gómez has accomplished this feat. In Germany's 4–1 win against Slovakia in Bratislava on 11

pos: Lionel Messi by "Time", in 2011 and 2012. His fanbase on the social media website Facebook is among the largest of all public figures: within seven hours of its launch in April 2011, his Facebook page had nearly seven million followers, and by November 2013, he had become only the second sportsperson, after Cristiano Ronaldo, to amass over 50 million followers. He has over 97 million Instagram followers, the third highest for a sportsperson, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. According to a 2014 survey by sports research firm Repucom in 15 international markets, Messi was familiar to 87% of respondents around the

pos: Ballon d'Or the only African recipient, became the first non-European to win the award in the year that rules of eligibility were changed. Ronaldo of Internazionale became the first South American winner two years later. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won the award a record five times each. Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff of Ajax and Barcelona, Michel Platini of Juventus and Marco van Basten of Milan. With seven awards each, Dutch, German and Portuguese players won the most Ballons d'Or. Spanish club Barcelona has the most winners, with 11 wins. Between 2010 and 2015

pos: Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker winger for and captains both the Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC and the Indian national team. Popularly known as "Captain Fantastic," having scored joint 2nd highest number of goals in international matches among active players with Lionel Messi after Cristiano Ronaldo. He is both the most-capped player, and all-time top goalscorer for the Indian national team, with 65 goals in 103 appearances. He is the former captain of the national team. Sunil Chhetri was named an 'Asian Icon' by AFC on

pos: Eden Hazard with his finishing and inability to be dispossessed easily led to his former coach Claude Puel dubbing him "little Messi", in reference to the Barcelona player. Puel's sentiments were later echoed by former Marseille manager and media personality Rolland Courbis who commented "At times it looks to me like Lionel Messi on the right-hand side". Hazard's "flair and tricky" style of play has been described as being similar to Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo; a comparison later repeated by former French international Christophe Dugarry. His vision, described as being the trait he has improved on the most, has also allowed

pos: European Golden Shoe with Barcelona. Messi holds the all-time record for goals in a single season with 50 in 2011–12; it also accumulated to a record 100 points. Messi was also the youngest player to win the award for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time. Bayern Munich's Gerd Müller was the first player to win the award twice, in 1969–70 and 1971–72. Messi was the first player to win the award three times, Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to win the award four times, and Messi again was the first, and so far only, player to win it five times. Only

pos: 2010–11 FC Barcelona season season. On 16 April, the first of four "Clásicos" was disputed at the Santiago Bernabéu, ending in 1–1 with penalty goals respectively by Messi (53rd minute) and Cristiano Ronaldo (82nd minute). The draw ended Barcelona's "Clásico" winning streak at five since manager Pep Guardiola took over the side for the 2008–09 season. The match was the start of four "Clásicos" between the two Spanish giants, including the league, Copa del Rey Final and the semi-finals of the Champions League. On 20 April, Barcelona lost the final of the Copa del Rey to Real Madrid 0–1 after extra time, with Cristiano

pos: Tsubasa Oozora real-life player Rivaldo becomes his mentor during the manga "Road to 2002". In 2016, Takahashi compared Tsubasa with Lionel Messi—another Barcelona player. Takahashi highly enjoyed drawing Tsubasa's life in the Barcelona team. Since the manga started, Takahashi has been inspired by the Barcelona team. Takahashi also linked Tsubasa to Andrés Iniesta, who inspired him during a fictional match between the Real Madrid and Barcelona from the manga "Road to 2002". The rivalry between Tsubasa and another character Kojiro Hyuga was also linked with the rivalry between Messi and Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo due to their powerful clashes. When Japan

pos: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry and Messi 181 million, though Messi does not have a Twitter account. In 2007, Ronaldo and Messi finished as runners-up to A.C. Milan's Kaká in both the Ballon d'Or, an award rewarded to the player voted as the best in the world by an international panel of sports journalists; and the FIFA World Player of the Year, an award voted for by coaches and captains of international teams. In an interview that year, Messi was quoted as saying "Cristiano Ronaldo is an extraordinary player and it would be brilliant to be in the same team as him". They first played

pos: 2012–13 FC Barcelona season Iniesta from Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. This marks the third season in a row that at least two finalist are from Barcelona and the six year in a row that Messi makes the final three. On 1 December, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 5–1 at home with two goals by Lionel Messi and one each by Gerard Piqué, Adriano, and Cesc Fàbregas. With this win Barça set up the best ever start of any team in La Liga. Messi's two goals made him equalize with César Rodríguez as Barcelona's top scorers in La Liga with 190 goals. On

pos: Lionel Messi an economic crisis, it was reported that three of the national team's security staff told Messi that they haven't been given their salaries for six months. He stepped in and paid the salaries of the three members. Among his contemporary peers, Messi is most often compared and contrasted with Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of an ongoing rivalry that has been compared to past sports rivalries like the Muhammad Ali–Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing, the Björn Borg–John McEnroe rivalry in tennis, and the Ayrton Senna–Alain Prost rivalry from Formula One. Although Messi has at times denied any rivalry, they

pos: Lionel Messi Liga, as he surpassed the 59-year record of 251 league goals held by Telmo Zarra. Three days later, he scored another hat-trick against APOEL, overtaking Raúl's 71 goals to become top scorer in the history of the Champions League. A third hat-trick, scored against city rivals Espanyol on 7 December, allowed him to surpass César Rodríguez as the all-time top scorer in the "Derbi barceloní" with 12 goals. Messi again placed second in the FIFA Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, largely owing to his second-place achievement with Argentina at the World Cup. At the start of 2015, Barcelona were perceived

pos: Lionel Messi annual sports events. Off the pitch, Ronaldo is his direct competitor in terms of salary, sponsorships, and social media fanbase. According to "France Football", Messi was the world's highest-paid footballer for five years out of six between 2009 and 2014; he was the first player to exceed the €40 million benchmark, with earnings of €41 million in 2013, and the €50–€60 million points, with income of €65 million in 2014. Messi was second on "Forbes" list of the world's highest-paid athletes (after Cristiano Ronaldo) with income of $81.4 million from his salary and endorsements in 2015–16. In 2018 he was

pos: FIFA Ballon d'Or FIFA Ballon d'Or were dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of their ongoing rivalry. Barcelona's Messi won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 2010 and went on to win three in a row, after his wins in 2011 and 2012. Ronaldo, who plays for Juventus, won successive awards in the next two years. The final FIFA Ballon d'Or was presented to Messi in 2015. Its awarding bodies subsequently ended their partnership; for 2016, "France Football" reintroduced the previous format of the Ballon d'Or, while FIFA created The Best FIFA Men's Player award. Historically, the leading individual awards in

pos: Association football culture changes. He is also married to the former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, and his relationship difficulties were widely reported in the UK press in 2004 and 2005. Statues have been made of him, notably at a Buddhist temple as well as made out of chocolate. Beckham was for a long time an Armani model, famous for his underwear advertisements. In late 2009, Beckham was replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo as Armani's primary footballer/model. Nine of the top ten most followed sportspeople on Facebook are footballers, including the top six, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Beckham, Neymar, Ronaldinho and Kaká, with Cristiano also the

pos: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry League history. They dominated the Ballon d'Or/The Best FIFA Men's Player awards since 2008, and UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award since 2014, however, in 2018 their roughly decade-long triumph was ended by Luka Modrić, seen as "end of an era". However, Modrić stated in an interview for the "France Football" that "history will say that a Croatian player, representing his small country, won the Ballon d'Or after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are players at another level. Nobody has the right to compare themselves to them. They are the best in the history of this sport", and

pos: Lionel Messi for the Argentina national team. As a result, Messi remained virtually injury-free during the next four years, allowing him to reach his full potential. Despite his injuries early in the year, his performances in 2008 saw him again voted runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award, both times behind Cristiano Ronaldo. In his first uninterrupted campaign, the 2008–09 season, he scored 38 goals in 51 games, contributing alongside Eto'o and winger Thierry Henry to a total of 100 goals in all competitions, a record at the time for the club. During his first

pos: Luis Suárez shared the European Golden Shoe with Cristiano Ronaldo. On 21 May 2014, Suárez ranked number one on "Europe's most influential player" list of the year, ahead of Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to a study by Bloomberg of the top five European leagues. On 11 July 2014, Suárez agreed with Barcelona on a five-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee. However, according to a leaked document by Football Leaks, the fee was £64.98 million (€82.3 million), making him one of the most expensive players in world football history. "Barça" confirmed Suárez would wear the number 9 shirt

pos: Alfredo Di Stéfano successful teams of all time. He scored 216 league goals in 262 games for Real (then a club record, since surpassed by Raúl and Cristiano Ronaldo), striking up a fearsome partnership with Ferenc Puskás. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all-time highest tally in the European Cup. It has since been surpassed by six players, initially Real Madrid's Raúl in 2005 and most recently by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014 and Karim Benzema in 2016. Di Stéfano scored in five consecutive European Cup finals for Real Madrid between 1956 and 1960, including a hat-trick in the

pos: Spanish football rivalries of the top playing talent and have stadia which are among the largest in Europe. In the early 21st century, a significant rivalry developed between the two most prominent forwards in each team, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentinian Lionel Messi, who consistently vied to break goalscoring records and win global individual awards in addition to helping their clubs to several major finals, with their mutual levels of performance seldom seen in the past – this added a new element to the matches between them and generated even more attention from media and supporters. The third team in the original triad

pos: 2013–14 FC Bayern Munich season place on 29 April. Real Madrid won the second leg 4–0 with two goals from Sergio Ramos and two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo's goals set a new single–season record. His goals brought him to 16 goals in the current Champions League season. Lionel Messi had the previous record with 14 goals during the 2011–12 season. Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League final with a 5–0 aggregate win. This is the first time Real Madrid had won in Munich. They had nine losses and a draw prior to the win. Xabi Alonso picked up a yellow card in the

pos: Zinedine Zidane that he is back in the French international team." Zidane has been lauded by sportsmen outside football; having witnessed Zidane's goal against Deportivo La Coruña in January 2002, where he dragged the ball right then left, turning the defender inside out, before scoring with a left foot finish, basketball player Magic Johnson stated, "One of the most inspiring nights of my life. Zidane is a phenomenon." Zidane has been named FIFA World Player of the Year three times, a feat achieved only by Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2002, ESPN described Zidane as "the greatest player in the

pos: Lionel Messi record, scoring his 366th La Liga goal from a free kick in a 4–2 away win against Real Sociedad. On 4 March, he scored his 600th senior career goal from a free kick in a 1–0 home win over Atlético Madrid, in La Liga. On 14 March, Messi scored his 99th and 100th Champions League goals in a 3–0 home win over Chelsea, becoming only the second player after Cristiano Ronaldo to reach this landmark, and achieving it at a younger age, in fewer appearances, having played fewer minutes, and having taken fewer shots than his Portuguese counterpart; his opening

pos: 2012–13 FC Barcelona season half, Barça's CB Gerard Piqué suffered a sprained left foot and will be out for two to three weeks. On 22 September, Barcelona defeated Granada at home 2–0 behind a goal from Xavi late in the 87th minute and an own goal in stoppage time to seal the victory. On 28 September, Lionel Messi won his third consecutive Onze d'Or presented by the French magazine "Onze Mondial". With 47.45% of the votes, Messi beat out Cristiano Ronaldo and Atlético Madrid forward Radamel Falcao for the trophy. On 29 September, Barcelona came from two goals down to claim a 3–2 victory

pos: Lionel Messi Ronaldinho lost form, Messi became Barça's new star player at only 20 years old, receiving the nickname "Messiah" from the Spanish media. His efforts in 2007 also earned him award recognition; journalists voted him the third-best player of the year for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, behind Kaká and runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo, while international managers and national team captains voted him second for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, again behind Kaká. Although he managed to score 16 goals during the 2007–08 campaign, the second half of his season was again marred by injuries after he suffered a torn

pos: Luis Suárez unable to score, Suárez claimed the distinction of scoring more goals and assists in his first 100 matches in Spain than both Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi; Suárez contributed 88 goals and 43 assists in his first 100 matches for Barcelona, compared to Ronaldo's 95 goals and 29 assists, and Messi's 41 goals and 14 assists. Suárez opened his UEFA Champions League account for the season with two goals in a 7–0 defeat of Celtic; this was followed by another goal in a 5–1 defeat of Leganés. On 11 January 2017, Suárez scored his 100th goal for Barcelona in a Copa

pos: Mauro Icardi against Crotone and Fiorentina. In the last match of 2016, Icardi scored another brace against Lazio to help Inter finish the year on a high. He finished the first part of the season with 14 goals and 5 assists, being the most efficient striker in top 5 leagues, overtaking stars such Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Guardian named him the world's 49th best player, winning 33 positions compare to last year ranking. On 15 January 2017, in the 3–1 home win against Chievo which was the fifth consecutive win in league, Icardi scored his 15th league goal of the

pos: FIFA (video game series) As of "FIFA 18", Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus is the face of the franchise, appearing on the front cover of the series and in promotional campaigns and advertisements. Lionel Messi appeared on four straight covers from "FIFA 13" to "FIFA 16". Since the release of "FIFA Mobile" in 2016, forward Marco Reus, playmaker Eden Hazard and Cristiano Ronaldo have appeared on the cover. As of 2011, the "FIFA" franchise has been localised into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed in "Guinness World Records" as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, by 2018, the "FIFA" series

pos: UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or. It also replaced the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to win the award three times as well as twice in a row. Since its inception, the award has been won by Lionel Messi (2011, 2015), Andrés Iniesta (2012), Franck Ribéry (2013), Cristiano Ronaldo (2014, 2016, 2017) and Luka Modrić (2018). Female players are awarded the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award, introduced in 2013. According to UEFA, the award "recognise[s] the best player, irrespective of his nationality, playing for a football club within the territory

pos: AB de Villiers Waar" with his friend and South African singer Ampie du Preez. He is also a Manchester United fan, having followed the club since Ryan Giggs's debut. De Villiers said that his favourite footballer is Lionel Messi as he was asked by a fan to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on Twitter. AB de Villiers Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984), commonly known as AB de Villiers, is a former South African cricketer who played for the South African national team. He holds many batting records, including the world's fastest One-Day International (ODI) 50, 100 and 150,

pos: Luis Suárez history of the club to reach the milestone of 35 goals in a single season. On the final day of the 2015–16 La Liga season, Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 victory at Granada to win the Spanish championship for "Barça" and registered 40 league goals for the season to win the Pichichi Trophy, for which Suárez became the first player since 2009 to win both the Pichichi and the European Golden Shoe other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Fourteen of his goals came in his last five matches. Suárez also led the league in assists, tied at

pos: Real Madrid C.F. at the club), he is also Real's most capped international player while with 127 caps (47 while at the club). Cristiano Ronaldo is Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer, with 450 goals. Five other players have also scored over 200 goals for Real: Alfredo Di Stéfano (1953–64), Santillana (1971–88), Ferenc Puskás (1958–66), Hugo Sánchez (1985–92) and the previous goalscoring record-holder Raúl (1994–2010). Cristiano Ronaldo also holds the record for the most league goals scored in one season (48 in 2014–15), alongside being Real's top goalscorer of all time in La Liga history with 311 goals. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58

pos: Didier Drogba club in 2006, Drogba reportedly pointed out several favoured clubs in the interview, identifying Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan or Internazionale as possible future destinations, he later admitted he regretted this and was 100% committed to Chelsea. Drogba made it up to the fans by scoring in Chelsea's 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough on 20 October 2007, against Schalke 04 in the Champions League four days later, and two goals against Manchester City. In December 2007, Drogba was voted fourth (after Kaká, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year. Drogba continued scoring goals but suffered

pos: Aleksandrs Čekulajevs Trans. Soon after joining he found himself as a first eleven player, capable of scoring in almost every match he played. By the end of the season, he had scored 46 goals in 35 appearances, not only being the top scorer of his team and the league, but also setting a new goalscoring record for the division. In June 2012 he was named the third top scorer in Europe by the UEFA league point system, thanks to his 46 goals, coming after Cristiano Ronaldo (46) and Lionel Messi (50). After his great performance, various European clubs showed their interest in

pos: Michael Murphy (Gaelic footballer) Michael Murphy (Gaelic footballer) Michael Murphy (born 4 August 1989) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who captains Donegal. Widely regarded as the one of the best Gaelic footballer's in the game today, "The Irish Times" has described him as "one of football's most conspicuous talents", and he has earned comparisons with the soccer players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as a result of the skill and intensity with which he is capable of changing games. A club player with Glenswilly and graduate of the Phoenix Elite Academy, Murphy has captained the Donegal senior inter-county football team since 2011, when he

pos: Lionel Messi Adidas boots, the Adidas Messi. As a commercial entity, Messi's marketing brand has been based exclusively on his talents and achievements as a player, in contrast to arguably more glamorous players like Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham. At the start of his career, he thus mainly held sponsorship contracts with companies that employ sports-oriented marketing, such as Adidas, Pepsi, and Konami. From 2010 onwards, concurrently with his increased achievements as a player, his marketing appeal widened, leading to long-term endorsement deals with luxury brands Dolce & Gabbana and Audemars Piguet. Messi is also a global brand ambassador for Gillette, Turkish

pos: 2014–15 FC Barcelona season Goals from Messi and Neymar and a late goal from youngster Sandro gave Barcelona a comfortable 3–1 win. On 25 October, Barcelona played the first "Clásico" of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu. This was the official debut match of star forward Luis Suárez due to his ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chellini during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Neymar gave Barcelona an early lead but Barcelona could not further capitalize on the lead; a converted penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and goals from Pepe and Karim Benzema resulted in a 3–1 defeat. This was the first defeat for Barcelona

pos: Raúl (footballer) winning the match 4–3 but being eliminated on away goals after draw 6–6 on aggregate. In total, Raúl scored 323 goals for Real Madrid, breaking the long-standing club record of Alfredo Di Stéfano (307) with a volleyed goal against Sporting de Gijón on 15 February 2009. He is presently fifth on the all-time list of La Liga goalscorers, behind Argentine Lionel Messi, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, Spaniard Telmo Zarra and Mexican Hugo Sánchez. Raúl and fellow long-serving teammate Iker Casillas were both awarded "contracts for life" in 2008, the terms of which stipulate the contract will be renewed annually for as

pos: Lionel Messi he was voted runner-up for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, relinquishing the award after a four-year monopoly to Cristiano Ronaldo. During the second half of the 2013–14 season, doubts persisted over Messi's form, leading to a perception among the "culés" that he was reserving himself for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Statistically, his contribution of goals, shots, and passes had dropped significantly compared to previous seasons. He still managed to break two longstanding records in a span of seven days: a hat-trick on 16 March against Osasuna saw him overtake Paulino Alcántara's 369 goals to become Barcelona's top goalscorer in all

pos: Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards, the most for a European player, and is the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 26 trophies in his career, including five league titles, five UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship.

pos: Pep Guardiola managed to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fourth year – last three under Guardiola – in a row after thrashing Shakhtar Donetsk 6–1 on aggregate. Barcelona continued their La Liga crusade for the second "El Clásico" in the Santiago Bernabéu, which ended 1–1. Lionel Messi scored for his team from the penalty spot after Raúl Albiol was sent off. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo later replied from the penalty spot in the 80th minute of the match. Guardiola suffered his first final defeat during the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the

pos: 2009 Ballon d'Or 2009 Ballon d'Or The 2009 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Lionel Messi of Barcelona on 1 December 2009. Messi won the award by a then record margin, 240 points ahead of 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Xavi was the second Barcelona player in the top three, finishing a further 63 points behind Ronaldo. Messi's win made him the first Argentine-born player to win the award since Omar Sívori in 1961; however, Sívori had taken Italian citizenship by that time and is recognised to

pos: 2009 Ballon d'Or have won the Ballon d'Or as an Italian player. Additionally, another player was nominated but received no votes: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid). 2009 Ballon d'Or The 2009 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Lionel Messi of Barcelona on 1 December 2009. Messi won the award by a then record margin, 240 points ahead of 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Xavi was the second Barcelona player in the top three, finishing a further 63 points behind Ronaldo. Messi's win made him the first Argentine-born

pos: Cristiano Ronaldo describing them as an "intentional defamation campaign" with parts significantly "altered and/or completely fabricated", a claim which "Der Spiegel" categorically refuted. Sporting CP Manchester United Real Madrid Portugal Notes Citations Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards, the most for a European player, and is the

pos: Ronaldinho UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, since February 2006. In 2011, he was recruited by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS to promote awareness among young people of the disease and how to avoid it. In March 2015, Ronaldinho was the sixth most popular sportsperson on Facebook, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Beckham, Neymar and Kaká, with 31 million Facebook fans. Source: Source: Paris Saint-Germain Barcelona Milan Flamengo Atlético Mineiro Brazil In 2012, two Brazilian entomologists named a new species of bee, from Brazil, "Eulaema quadragintanovem", stating that "the specific epithet honors the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo de Assis Moreira,

pos: Stephan El Shaarawy playing style has drawn comparisons with FIFA World Player of the Year winner Cristiano Ronaldo. El Shaarawy cites former Milan playmaker Kaká as his role model. Milan legend José Altafini compared El Shaarawy to Brazilian international Neymar and five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi: "El Shaarawy reminds me of Neymar and Messi. They have a low center of gravity. They play with the ball glued to their feet. He has already proven that he's a good player. The important thing is not to bulk him up too much". In spite of his talent, however, he has often struggled with injuries.

pos: 2015–16 FC Barcelona season win, Barcelona becomes the club with the most international trophies in Europe with 19 international titles. On 12 August, UEFA announced Messi, Suárez and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo as the finalists for the 2014–15 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. On 14 August, Barcelona were soundly defeated by Athletic Bilbao 4–0 in the first leg of the 2015 Supercopa de España at the San Mamés Stadium. On 17 August, Barcelona failed to win their second trophy of the season after a 1–1 draw in the second leg of 2015 Supercopa de España. The lone goal from Messi was not enough

pos: Wayne Rooney life. In 2012, Rooney's reported income of US$32.6 million listed him as the world's fifth highest-paid footballer, following Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Samuel Eto'o. In July 2011, jerseys with Rooney's name and number (Rooney, 10) were the best-selling sports product under the auspices of the Premier League – taking over top spot from Liverpool striker Fernando Torres (Torres, 9) and becoming the first United player to top the list since Cristiano Ronaldo’s number 7 jersey in 2008. During the 2009–10 season, Manchester United sold between 1.2 million and 1.5 million shirts and it is estimated that of

pos: European Golden Shoe Ally McCoist (1991–92, 1992–93), Thierry Henry (2003–04, 2004–05), Lionel Messi (2011–12, 2012–13 and 2016–17, 2017–18), and Cristiano Ronaldo (2013–14, 2014–15) have won the award in consecutive years. Diego Forlán (Villarreal, Atlético Madrid), Luis Suárez (Liverpool, Barcelona), Mário Jardel (Porto, Sporting CP) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid) are the only players to have won the award with two clubs. European Golden Shoe The European Golden Shoe or Golden Boot is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of

pos: Mario Götze in training and helping my team to achieve our common goals as soon as possible". In 2011, Götze signed a sponsorship kit deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Nike. He appeared in an advert for the Nike Green Speed II alongside Eden Hazard, Theo Walcott, Raheem Sterling, Christian Eriksen and Stephan El Shaarawy in November 2012. In March 2014, Götze was one of the first players to wear Nike Magista boots. Götze appeared as part of a Galaxy XI in an advertisement for South Korean company Samsung alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao and Iker Casillas in

pos: Michael Laudrup passing and pressing game. He also signed a number of new players, primarily from La Liga, trying to bring the attacking style from Spain to Wales, which saw more goals scored. He said, "You can get a lot of quality for a reasonable amount in Spain right now." Laudrup earned plaudits for maintaining their flowing, attacking brand of football and attractive, passing style of play throughout the season, which saw his side win the League Cup, after beating Bradford City a record 5–0 in the final. "You can't ask players to do things that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are

pos: Antoine Griezmann three forwards in the Team of the Year at the LFP Awards, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. On 22 August 2015, Griezmann scored the only goal as Atlético began the season with a home victory over promoted Las Palmas. He scored both of the goals on 15 September, as they won at Galatasaray in the Champions League group stage. A week later, he repeated the feat to defeat local neighbours Getafe and put Atlético on top of the league. On 18 October, in his return to Real Sociedad, Griezmann chipped goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli in the ninth minute of a

pos: Javier Hernández his debut season. Hernández capped his debut season with Manchester United by winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award on 18 May which was voted for by the fans. On 28 May, Hernández played all 90 minutes in the 3–1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League Final. On 5 July 2011, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics named Hernández as the "World Goalgetter 2011", with 13 goals, ahead of other players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Giuseppe Rossi, and Lionel Messi. After participating in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup with Mexico, Hernández returned to Manchester

pos: Trofeo EFE Trofeo EFE Trofeo EFE is an annual football award given by the EFE news agency since the 1990–91 season to the best Latin-American player in La Liga. Recipients are selected based on assessments from the agency's sports editors. The inaugural winner was Rommel Fernández and the most recent recipient is Keylor Navas. Iván Zamorano and Ronaldo Nazário have won the award twice. Fernando Redondo received a special distinction as the best player of the 1990s decade. Strangely, Cristiano Ronaldo somehow managed to collect the award despite not hailing from Ibero-America. Lionel Messi won the award a record five times, more

pos: Arkadiusz Milik Milik began dating professional Polish model Jessica Ziółek. Milik features on the cover of the Polish version of "FIFA 16" alongside global cover star Lionel Messi. Milik is a devoted fan of Manchester United. Milik says he "dreams of playing for Manchester United", but insists he's "far from it". Milik's childhood football hero is Cristiano Ronaldo; in an interview during Euro 2016, he said he followed Ronaldo closely and had been inspired by the Portuguese striker. Arkadiusz Milik Arkadiusz Krystian "Arek" Milik (; born 28 February 1994) is a Polish footballer who plays as a striker for Italian club Napoli

pos: Inés Sainz of Sainz were featured on such places as "Bleacher Report" and the websites run by "Sports Illustrated" and "Men's Health." Sainz was chosen by the magazine "FHM" as the fifth sexiest woman sports reporter in the world in August 2009. Sainz has interviewed, among others, tennis players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, basketball players Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, baseball players Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and association football players Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. By July 2006, Sainz had covered three Champions League tournaments and four NBA Finals, the 2004 Athens Olympics and

pos: Icons.com Icons.com Icons.com is an online retailer of authentic signed sports memorabilia based in Kentish Town, London. The website was launched in 1999 initially as the leading portal for the personal websites of the world’s top footballers. Since late 2008, it has sold merchandise and memorabilia signed by the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Gareth Bale, Luis Suárez, Sergio Agüero, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Paolo Maldini, Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Pelé and Eric Cantona. In 2010, Icons Shop Limited was awarded the world's first football memorabilia licence by FIFA. It allowed the website to produce a range of official 2010

pos: Manuel Neuer award for four consecutive years between 2013 and 2016), and as one of the best and most complete goalkeepers of all-time, Neuer won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany as well as the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament, and is considered by some in the sport to be the best goalkeeper in football since Lev Yashin. In 2014, Neuer finished third in the voting, behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award. The same year, he was ranked the third-best player in the world by "The Guardian". Neuer played

pos: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or 29 October 2012. There were three voters per FIFA member federation, one journalist and the coaches and captain of the national men's team. Each picked a first (5 points), second (3 points) and third choice (1 point), with their choices made public by FIFA. This was cut to a set of three "finalists" – Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo – on 29 November 2012. The odds-on favourite Lionel Messi won the award. Messi won all three FIFA Ballons d'Or since its inception in 2010 and also won both predecessor awards (the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of

pos: Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (PES 2012, known as World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2012 in Asia) is a video game which is the eleventh edition in the "Pro Evolution Soccer" series developed and published by Konami (and MicroByte in Argentina) with production assistance from the Blue Sky Team. Lionel Messi, who was the cover star for the series since "PES 2009", was replaced by "PES 2008" cover star Cristiano Ronaldo, while Shinji Kagawa replaces Messi as the cover star for the Japanese version. The US and Latin American cover features the back then Santos player Neymar and

pos: Sam Wood (footballer) to the Isthmian League for the first time in the club's history, in the 2003–04 season, and scoring Cray supporters' goal of the season to clinch a 2–0 victory against AFC Wimbledon to end their 78-game unbeaten run. He finished his Cray career with 8 goals from 94 games, and then signed for Bromley, the club whose ground Cray shared, in 2005. During this time he also worked as a body double for the likes of Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Cristiano Ronaldo. At Bromley, Wood won the Supporters' Player of the Year award in 2006 and the Club Player

pos: Luis Suárez 2–2 draw against Real Madrid on 6 May to extend their unbeaten streak in the league, with Suárez and Messi scoring the goals for Barca, before Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale drew Real level. Barcelona's record unbeaten streak (43 games) came to an end on 13 May losing to Levante 4–5. Barcelona mounted a comeback after trailing 1–5, with Suárez scoring one and new club record signing Philippe Coutinho scoring a hat-trick. On 2 September 2018, Suárez scored twice for Barcelona in an 8–2 win over newly promoted Huesca. A week later he scored in their 2–1 victory at Real

pos: Antonio Di Natale for a strike rate of 0.78 goals per match. This was also the third-best strike rate in Europe, behind Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi. On 23 October 2011, Di Natale scored a brace in a 3–0 defeat of Novara which sent Udinese to the top of the Serie A table. On 13 May 2012, he opened the scoring against Catania on the final matchday of the Serie A season, and Diego Fabbrini added a second-half strike to secure four-straight Serie A victories and ensure Udinese a place in next season's UEFA Champions League qualifying round. On 4

pos: Iago Aspas FC Shakhtar Donetsk, with the Spaniards emerging victorious. On 21 May 2017, in the last matchday of the campaign, Aspas scored through a penalty in a 2–2 home draw against Real Sociedad, reaching a personal-best 19 goals and winning the Zarra Trophy in the process. The following season he was again the league's top-scoring Spaniard at 22, behind only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suárez overall. He netted hat-tricks in a 5–2 win at UD Las Palmas on 16 October 2017 and a 4–0 defeat of former club Sevilla the following 7 April, in addition to a brace in

pos: Gonzalo Higuaín behind only Lionel Messi and surpassing Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimović, as well as his Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. This season included him scoring his first two goals in the UEFA Champions League and his second hat-trick for the club. In June 2010, Real Madrid extended Higuaín's contract until 2016. On 23 October 2010, he scored Real Madrid's 5,200th league goal, coming against Racing de Santander in a 6–1 thrashing by "Los Blancos". On 4 November of the same year, Higuaín scored the club's 700th goal in the Champions League. During the first weeks of December 2010, Higuaín was diagnosed with

pos: 2018–19 FC Barcelona season Clásico" of the season, and the first since 2007 not to feature Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 5–1 at the Camp Nou, with Luis Suárez scoring a hat-trick. On 3 November, Barca defeated Rayo Vallecano 2-3, two goals from Suárez and another from Ousmane Dembélé earned the Blaugranes a late win at Vallecas. On 6 November, Barca draw Inter Milan 1-1, Malcom's 1st goal was not enough at the Giuseppe Meazza after the equalizing goal of Icardi , but Barça still made the knockout stages with two games in hand. On 11 November, Barca lost 3-4 to

pos: 2017–18 FC Barcelona season out by goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Sergi Roberto was sent off in first-half injury time following an altercation with Marcelo. On 9 May, a much changed Barcelona side defeated Villareal 5-1. Barca's new signings Coutinho, Paulinho and Dembele(2) were all on target with Messi getting the other goal. On 13 May, Barcelona's unbeaten run came to the end when they lost to Levante 4-5. Barcelona mounted a spirited comeback after trailing 1-5 but fell agonizingly short. The only bright spot in the game was a hat trick by Philippe Coutinho. The other goal was scored by Luis

pos: Harry Kane The hat-trick, his sixth of the year in the Premier League (eighth in all competitions), also made him the first player in Premier League history to score six hat-tricks in a year. With a total of 56 goals scored in all competitions for the year, he also became Europe's top goal scorer of 2017, breaking the seven-year dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as Europe's top goalscorer in a calendar year. In January 2018, he scored twice in the 4–0 home win against Everton, and became Tottenham's top goalscorer in the Premier League era, breaking Teddy Sheringham's record of

pos: Gary Hooper This was also the fourth best strike rate in Europe, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antonio Di Natale. On 24 July 2011, Hooper had a penalty saved by Graham Stack in Celtic's first match of the 2011–12 season, a 2–0 win over Hibs. On 13 August, he scored his first goal of the season in a 5–1 win over Dundee United. He also picked up an ankle injury which ruled him out for the next two matches. On 25 August he made his return in Celtic's 3–1 loss to FC Sion. Three days later, he scored both goals in

pos: Filippo Inzaghi On 24 July 2012, Inzaghi announced his retirement from professional football to start a coaching career. With 70 goals, Inzaghi is the fourth-highest scorer in European club competitions, behind only Raúl, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He became the first player to score two Champions League hat-tricks – both with Juventus — when he netted a treble during a 4–4 group stage draw with Hamburger SV on 13 September 2000; his first was in a 4–1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv during the 1997–98 quarter–finals. Inzaghi scored a record third Champions League hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Deportivo de La

pos: History of FC Barcelona to take on Manchester United. In the Copa del Rey Final at the Mestalla Stadium against Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo would convert a header on the 100th minute to win the Copa for Madrid, 1–0. Barça, however, would end up beating Manchester United 3–1 with goals from Pedro, Messi and David Villa to win them the Champions League for the fourth time in club history. Barcelona would also claim La Liga with 96 points to Real Madrid's 92 for the third time in a row to round off a very successful season. The 2011–12 season would kick off with the

neg: Neymar best player in the world and I always get inspired when I watch good football." Ronaldo stated: "Neymar is a great talent, the best we have in Brazil. He is very similar to Messi." Zico said: "I see Neymar like a [Cristiano] Ronaldo or a Messi, the type who appears and makes things happen." After his hat-trick in a 3–1 victory against Internacional in the Copa Libertadores and Messi's five goals scored in the Champions League, Neymar said: "I am a Messi fan. I was told what he did today. I support him to score a lot of nice goals

neg: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry "only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I've never fought with Cristiano". However, it is widely argued and documented that there's an atmosphere of tension between the duo, with Guillem Balagué claiming in "Messi" that Ronaldo refers to the Argentine counterpart as "motherfucker" behind his back, and Luca Caioli saying in his book, "Ronaldo: The Obsession for Perfection", that according to his sources, Ronaldo heats up when watching Messi play. In response to claims that he and Messi do not get on well on a personal level, Ronaldo commented: "We don't have a relationship

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo setting the record at 11 goals, including another four-goal haul against Malmö. Despite finishing runner-up to Messi for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo received criticism for his form and performances against top teams, with 14 of his goals coming against Espanyol and Malmö. However, during the second half of the season, his form gradually improved. By scoring four goals in a 7–1 home win over Celta de Vigo on 5 March 2016, Ronaldo arrived at 252 goals in La Liga to become the competition's second-highest scorer in history behind Messi. After netting the match-winning goal for 10-man Madrid in a

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions during the 2007–08 season, his most prolific campaign during his time in England. He missed three matches after headbutting a Portsmouth player at the start of the season, an experience he said taught him not to let opponents provoke him. At the end of 2007, Ronaldo was named runner-up to Kaká for the Ballon d'Or, and came third, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi, in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Ronaldo scored his first and only hat-trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high", while Ronaldo's manager during his time at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, opined that "I don't think the rivalry against each other bothers them. I think they have their own personal pride in terms of wanting to be the best". Messi himself denied any rivalry, saying that it was "only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I've never fought with Cristiano". Responding to the claims that he and Messi do not get on well on a personal level, Ronaldo commented, "We don't

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo finish and a semi-final exit in Europe. In the latter competition, Ronaldo extended his run of scoring away to a record 12 matches with his strike in a 2–0 win against Schalke 04, before hitting a brace in the 3–4 return defeat that allowed Madrid to progress to the quarter-finals. He then scored both of his side's goals in the semi-finals against Juventus, where Madrid were eliminated 2–3 on aggregate. With 10 goals, he finished the campaign as top scorer for a third consecutive season, alongside Messi and Neymar. In La Liga, where Madrid finished second, Ronaldo went on a

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal in a 3–0 defeat of Levante at the Bernabéu to take his overall total for the club to 324 goals. Ronaldo also became the all-time top scorer in the Champions League with a hat-trick in the first group match against Shakhtar Donetsk, having finished the previous season level with Messi on 77 goals. A brace against Malmö FF, scoring in a 2–0 away win on 30 September, saw him reach the milestone of 500 career goals for both club and country. He subsequently became the first player to score double figures in the competition's group stage,

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo million (£80 million). With Real Madrid, Ronaldo won 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, four UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer, Ronaldo scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season and is the only player to reach 30 goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons. After joining Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or three times, behind Lionel Messi, his perceived career rival, before winning back-to-back Ballons d'Or in 2013 and 2014. After

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo Liga goal in his 286th La Liga appearance, making him the fastest player to reach this landmark and only the second player to do so after Lionel Messi. On 18 March, he reached his 50th career hat-trick, scoring four goals in a 6–3 win against Girona. On 3 April, Ronaldo scored the first two goals in a 3–0 away win against Juventus in the quarter-finals of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, with his second goal being an acrobatic bicycle kick. The goal, described as a "PlayStation goal" by Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli, garnered him a standing ovation from the Juventus

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo Shoe for a second time, becoming the first player to win the award in two different leagues. He ended his second season at Real Madrid with a total of 53 goals in all competitions. During the following campaign, the 2011–12 season, Ronaldo surpassed his previous goalscoring feats to achieve a new personal best of 60 goals across all competitions. His 100th goal for Real Madrid came at Camp Nou in the Supercopa de España, though Barcelona claimed the trophy 5–4 on aggregate. He regained a place on the FIFA Ballon d'Or podium, as runner-up to Messi, after scoring hat-tricks against

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo Blatter preferred Messi or Ronaldo, Blatter paid tribute to the work ethic of the Argentine before taking a swipe at Ronaldo, claiming "one of them has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other". Real Madrid demanded – and promptly received – a full apology, and the Portuguese issued his own riposte with a mock-salute celebration after scoring a penalty against Sevilla, after Blatter had described him as a "commander" on the pitch. As his reputation grew from his time at Manchester United, Ronaldo has signed many sponsorship deals for consumer products, including sportswear, football boots (since November 2012 Ronaldo

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo saw him mocking the hostile crowd with a "calm down" gesture during his goal celebration – he would repeat this gesture at the same venue four years later during another goal celebration. His final league goal of the campaign, against Mallorca, took his total to 46 goals, four short of the new record set by Messi, and earned him the distinction of being the first player to score against all 19 opposition teams in a single season in La Liga. Ronaldo began the 2012–13 season by lifting the Supercopa de España, his third trophy in Spain. With a goal in

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo group match against Zürich. His strong start to the season, however, was interrupted when he suffered an ankle injury in October while on international duty, which kept him sidelined for seven weeks. A week after his return, he received his first red card in Spain in a match against Almería. Midway through the season, Ronaldo placed second in the running for the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Madrid's historic rivals. He finished the campaign with 33 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Mallorca

neg: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry itself has been described as one about records and reputation of the players, rather than one based in loathing. Ronaldo is the UEFA Champions League all-time top goalscorer while Messi is second. The two had broken each other's record over the course of 2015 after Messi surpassed the previous record holder Raúl in November 2014. Ronaldo opened a gap in the 2015–16 season when he became the first player to score double figures in the group stage of the Champions League, setting the record at 11 goals. They are the first two players to score 100 goals in UEFA Champions

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo A prolific goalscorer, Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in Europe's top-five leagues (405), the UEFA Champions League (121), the UEFA European Championship (9), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (6). He has scored over 680 senior career goals for club and country. Born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart at age 15. He underwent an operation to treat his condition, and began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United

neg: Cristiano Ronaldo the best player in modern football. It has been compared to sports rivalries such as the Muhammad Ali–Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing, the Borg–McEnroe rivalry in tennis, and the Ayrton Senna–Alain Prost rivalry from Formula One motor racing. Some commentators choose to analyse the differing physiques and playing styles of the two, while part of the debate revolves around the contrasting personalities of the two players: Ronaldo is sometimes depicted as an arrogant and theatrical showoff, while Messi is portrayed as a shy, humble character. In a 2012 interview, Ronaldo commented on the rivalry, saying "I think we push each