2006: First goal at the World Cup
16 years ago, Argentina had their opening match at the World Cup in Germany with a 2-1 victory over the Ivory Coast. After that, Albiceleste played the second match against Serbia & Montenegro and won 6-0. In this match, Messi was present at the World Cup for the first time and he scored his first goal in this playground.
A day later, Portugal played their second match in the tournament against Iran. They won 2-0 and Ronaldo also scored for the first time at the World Cup.
2007 - 2009: First Golden Ball
Ronaldo first received the title in 2008 after winning the Champions League with Manchester United. Also in 2008, the new season began and after that, Messi's Barcelona defeated Man United in the 2008-09 Champions League final. El Pulga has also been named the world's best player for the first time.
Since then, Ronaldo has won the Golden Ball 4 more times while Messi has won 6 times.
2010: Captain of the World Cup
Argentina entered the 2010 World Cup under the leadership of the late legend Diego Maradona. Messi was only 22 years old that year but was already wearing the captain's armband. He marked that event with a 1-0 win over Nigeria on the opening day.
Three days later, Ronaldo also had a similar honor but Portugal only had a goalless draw against Irais Island. That year, neither Ronaldo nor Messi passed the quarter-finals.
2010 - 2012: Most goalscorer in La Liga
In 2010-2011, Ronaldo scored 53 goals for Real Madrid in all competitions, only in La Liga when he was 40, breaking the 60-year record for the player with the most goals in a season in this tournament. The following season, Ronaldo broke his own record with 46 goals but Messi did better with 50 goals.
That season, Messi also scored 14 goals in the Champions League, becoming the player with the most goals in a season in this arena.
hat-tricks
Ronaldo started the 2013 2014 season in excellent form when he scored a hat-trick on the opening day of the Champions League against Galatasaray. A day later, Barcelona hosted Ajax at home, Messi also had his own hat-trick.
Continued goal records
Real Madrid won the 2013 2014 Champions League after defeating Atletico Madrid in extra time with a final score of 4-1. CR7's penalty goal late in the match helped him end that year's European Cup campaign with 17 goals, breaking the record Messi had set two years earlier.
In La Liga, Atletico Madrid won the championship that year, leading to more determination for Ronaldo and Messi in the following season. They have scored 129 goals and provided assists. In December 2014, Ronaldo, then 29, scored his 200th goal in La Liga and scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo.
The next day, Messi did the same in the Catalan Derby against Espanyol. El Pulga has reached 200 goals in La Liga after 182 matches of Ronaldo in this tournament.
1,000 goals for both
After Ronaldo won EURO 2016, the following season, the race between him and Messi became more intense than ever. At the end of January 2017, Messi scored in a 2-1 victory over Atletico. That moment marked the time when he and Ronaldo combined to score 1,000 goals in their careers. CR7 then scored a hat-trick against Espanyol in a 6-0 win, helping their both teams increase their tally to 1,003 goals.
In the 2016-17 season, Messi started the Champions League with 2 hat-tricks in 2 matches against Celtic and Man City, helping him have 7 hat-tricks in this playground. Before that, El Pulga and CR7 both had 5 hat-tricks in the highest club tournament in Europe. Now, each person can do it 8 times.
Scoring achievements for the team
In September 2021, Ronaldo became the player with the most goals for the national team with 111 goals after a double against Ireland. About a week later, Messi reached the 79-goal mark for Argentina, making him the South American player with the most goals for the national team.
