Messi–Ronaldo rivalry

[1] They spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly while playing for rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.

They are two of the most decorated players ever, having won 77 official trophies in total (Messi 44,[A] Ronaldo 33) during their senior careers thus far, and have regularly broken the 50-goal barrier in a single season.

[15][16][17] In 2007, Ronaldo and Messi finished as runners-up to AC 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.

[24] The 2009 UEFA Champions League final was contested between Manchester United and Barcelona on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.

[30][31] Barca successfully kept United at arm's length to win 2–0, with Messi scoring a rare header for his team's second goal.

[35][36] From 2009 to 2018, the two played against each other at least twice per season during El Clásico matches but also met many other times in competitions such as the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, and a two-legged Champions League semi-final in 2011.

The two players alternated as top scorers in La Liga and the Champions League during most seasons while they were with Real Madrid and Barcelona.

[44] The two players faced each other whilst representing their international sides for the first time on 9 February 2011, as Argentina played Portugal in a friendly in Geneva, Switzerland, their first meeting for 40 years.

The match was ugly and ill-tempered, with Madrid's Pepe sent off and both Madrid's coach José Mourinho and Barcelona's substitute goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto sent to the stands, before Messi scored two goals,[58][59][60] including one described as "one of the best goals in Champions League history",[61] to give Barcelona a two-goal lead in the tie.

[67][68] Having been drawn against each other in the Copa Del Rey quarter-finals later in the month, Ronaldo scored a goal in each game, but Barcelona advanced 4–3 on aggregate.

[69][70] On 21 April 2012, Ronaldo scored the winning goal in El Clásico as Real Madrid won 2–1 and closed in on the league championship.

[79] In the Copa Del Rey semi-final second leg, Ronaldo scored two goals to help Real Madrid advance to the final in a 3–1 victory.

[85] In the second El Clásico of the season on 23 March 2014, Messi became the all-time top scorer in the fixture after he scored a hat-trick, including two penalty kicks, as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 4–3, while Ronaldo also scored a goal from the penalty spot which initially put Real Madrid 3–2 in front; it was a match described as "astonishing", "thrilling" and "the best Clasico in recent years".

The British press called the match an "international version of the Premier League's 39th game", which claimed that it "offers unique opportunity for a new seam of support to become embroiled in the Ronaldo v Messi arguments".

[100] On 6 December, Ronaldo overtook Zarra's record of 22 La Liga hat-tricks, which he jointly held with Alfredo Di Stéfano, when he scored three against Celta Vigo.

[104][105] The continuous record breaking was said be down to the pairs' "spellbinding skill, relentless application, athletic charisma",[106] while journalist Sid Lowe said that this latest accomplishment "probably doesn't count as a story any more".

[112] His four-goal haul equalled a club record in the competition, jointly held by Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, and Hugo Sánchez.

[118] On 21 January 2023, the two played each other for the first time in over two years, as a combined team featuring Al-Hilal and Ronaldo's Al-Nassr was defeated 4–5 by Messi's Paris Saint-Germain in an exhibition friendly in Riyadh.

[123] Both transfers were credited as being crucial in popularizing the sport in the Middle East and North America, and in helping establish them as the two rising powers in football outside of Europe.

"[131] It is widely argued and documented that there is an atmosphere of competition between the duo, with Guillem Balagué claiming in the book Ronaldo that he refers to his Argentine counterpart as a "motherfucker" behind his back.

[132][133] Ronaldo denied the claims in a post on Facebook and threatened to take legal action over the remarks made by Balagué, writing that he has "the utmost respect for all my professional colleagues, and Messi is obviously no exception.

"[137] During a joint interview at the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award ceremony in 2019, Ronaldo said he would like to "have dinner together in the future", to which Messi later replied: "If I get an invitation, why not?

Throughout the existence of the rivalry, the pair have dominated awards ceremonies and broken a multitude of goalscoring records for both club and country, feats which have been described as "incredible", "ridiculous" and "remarkable".

Messi is also the only player in history to win the Ballon d'Or with 3 different clubs (Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and Inter Miami).

He was the Champions League top scorer on seven occasions, with Messi achieving this feat six times (including in 2015 when the pair finished joint-top).

[154][155] The following year, Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup trophy, where he won a record second Golden Ball award.