The debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has been nothing short of legendary. Both are two of the best players to have ever laced up a pair of boots, and will go down in the history books for generations to come. However, the gap between them has probably never been as wide.
Messi joined PSG last summer after leaving Barcelona, while Ronaldo returned to Manchester United. And while the Portugal captain was able to score 18 in the Premier League despite United’s poor performance, Messi had a difficult time replicating his numbers from Barca.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi – the current state of the debate
This season, Messi has started to produce numbers that we are all more familiar with. While the Argentine doesn’t score all that much, he has assumed more of a creative role.
In Ligue 1, he has three goals and seven assists. While in the Champions League, he scored his first goal of the season against Maccabi Haifa, and also provided an assist. The Argentine also overtook Cristiano Ronaldo for the most clubs scored against in the Champions League, at 39.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot in the Europa League against Sheriff Tiraspol. And he doesn’t seem to fit into Erik Ten Hag’s plans for the season either. Which means that an exit from United could be the way to go for him to revive his career and get back to his best.