Two of the greatest football players have ever seen are in the latter stage of their careers and have achieved great success along the way.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have brought so much joy to our television screens for most of their careers. Their media and fan-fueled rivalry have been fascinating to watch. In sports betting, fans are always sentimental towards whichever clubs and countries these football stars are a part of.
Both born with natural talent and a never-say-die attitude, Messi and Ronaldo have plundered ridiculous numbers throughout their careers. They have smashed every record they have come face-to-face with whilst winning countless trophies between them.
Manchester United’s Ronaldo has proven himself in three different leagues in three countries. At the same time, Messi was a constant mainstay at Barcelona before last summer’s move to PSG, yet no matter where they’ve been, they’ve never let anyone down.
Here is all you need to know about their incredible careers and the success they’ve had.
Appearances
Messi has always bled the colors of Barcelona. After coming through the academy ranks, he went on to spend the first 17 years of his career at the Catalan club, going on to make a total of 778 appearances across all competitions that began with his debut in 2004-05 and ended with his final game in 2020-21.
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He made the most appearances during the 2011-12 seasons, playing 60 games in all competitions.
Following his ground-breaking transfer to PSG last summer, it took a little while for Messi to come into the fold, but he made 34 appearances for the French club during his first season. He has since featured 10 times in the 2022/23 campaign to take his career total to 822 appearances, and he will continue to break more soon.
Ronaldo has been around for slightly longer than Messi has, what with being two years older than his rival, and has therefore played more games since making his debut in 2002-03 for Sporting Lisbon, and has since totaled 941 appearances in all competitions over 21 seasons for four different clubs – including two spells at Man United.
CR7 made 31 appearances for Sporting Lisbon in the 2002-03 season, 292 from 2003-2009 for Man United, 438 for Real Madrid between 2009-2018, and 134 for Juventus from 2018-20. Since his return to Man United, a further 38 came during the 2021-22 season, while he has featured eight times in the current campaign.
His most appearances in a single season came in both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons for Real Madrid, appearing 55 times in both campaigns.
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Messi made his international debut for Argentina in 2005 and has represented his nation every year since, despite initially retiring after their Copa America 2016 Final defeat.
In total, Messi has scored 688 goals in 822 competitive games across all competitions for two clubs and scored more than 30 goals a season for 13 consecutive seasons for Barcelona between; 2008-09 and 2020-21 – with a record 73 goals in 60 games.
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