The debate as to who the better player is between FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo is one that will seemingly never end. Here are eight incredible head-to-head statistics involving them that you might not be aware of!
Click through the gallery to see eight remarkable Messi vs Ronaldo stats, according to michelacosta.com.
The Portuguese superstar is currently in his 18th season as a professional footballer, while the 32-year-old Argentine is in his 16th professional campaign. Since their breakthroughs many years ago, no player has quite had the impact they have had, and it is hard to foresee a future without them.
Both Messi and Ronaldo are sadly ageing, although the conversations surrounding their eternal rivalry as the world's two best players will seemingly never die down.
Supporters often cannot bring one's name up without mentioning the other, and although the comparisons become understandably tiring for some, it will not end as long as they are both still alive and well.
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One perhaps surprising statistic, according to michelacosta.com, is that while Ronaldo was in Spain with Real Madrid, he scored at a faster rate in LaLiga than his longstanding counterpart has over his career. The Portuguese found the back of the net every 80 minutes and 45 seconds in the Spanish top flight, while Messi scores every 86 minutes and 13 seconds.
Another interesting piece of data is that the two five-time Ballon d'Or winners went up against one another on 30 occasions in El Clasico over a nine-year period, with Messi scoring just two more goals than Ronaldo did.
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A remarkable 18% of Ronaldo's 702 career goals have been scored with his head, while Messi comes in much lower for headed goals in his career, during which he has scored on 680 occasions for both club and country – click through the gallery above to see some more surprising Messi vs Ronaldo statistics!
Which of these two superstars would you rather have in your team? Let us know in the comments section below.
