They broke all records. But will they be able to win the World Cup?
Top illustration: Nazario Graziano / Agency Rush.com Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shaped each other’s career paths, legacies and worlds of football for over a decade. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup Final.
They can match each other. Resize previously unmapped heights. But they have different philosophies.
Mee Messi — shorter, more reserved is a natural football genius who shares his creativity with the team. Assist almost as many goals as he scores. And then there’s Ronaldo—the taller. A physical specimen who struggles through defense, graft acceptance and training until he outperforms everyone else on the pitch.
But for all their rewards Neither of them has ever won a World Cup. The Qatar 2022 tournament could be their last chance to determine whether one of them will be able to win the biggest trophy.
See how star players are paired up. Back to professional debut
Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi
Aug 2002
Ronaldo made his professional debut at 17 years old, Plays for the Portuguese team Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Aug 2003
won the first Portuguese championship 18, to replace Kazakhstan
Oct 2004
at 17 years old, Messi takes the lead 778 appearances for Barcelona At the time, he was the youngest ever to represent the club in an official game.
Aug 2005
debuted against Argentina at 18 years old, Came on as a substitute in a friendly against Hungary. But was fired just 2 minutes later.
June 2006
Scored the first of seven goals in four World Cup tournaments to become At 21 years old, he is the youngest Portuguese player. to score goals in the World Cup
become youngest player to represent Argentina in the World Cup and to score inside 13 minutes became the sixth youngest scorer in the competition’s history.
Apr 2007
Score his biggest goal as he weaves in several Getafe defenders. One of 672 shots for barça
May 2009
It inspired Barcelona to beat Ronaldo’s Manchester United in the Champions League final. Two of the four titles He finished the tournament as top scorer.
July 2009
Join Real Madrid from Manchester United for a world record. 130 million US dollars fee.
Nov 2009
After inspiring Barça to win three historic trophies in a single season. 22 years old became the first Argentine to win the Ballon d’Or.
Dec 2009
Received his first Puskás Award for his remarkable work. target 40 yards – The ball moves at an average speed. 64 mph — For Manchester United and Porto
July 2010
Argentina eliminated World Cup 2010 by Germany in the quarterfinals Messi is named in the team of the tournament. But he allegedly cared more about the club than the country.
Apr 2011
Time magazine named Messi the One of the most influential people in the world For the first time in two consecutive years
Mar 2012
at 24, He broke Barcelona’s scoring record and scoring record. 91 goals in the same calendar year
Apr 2014
Time magazine named Ronaldo one of the 100 most influential people of the year.
July 2014
Argentina lost to Germany in the World Cup final. Messi has won four Man of the Match awards in a single World Cup tournament. and won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament as well seven doors
Nov 2014
Messi becomes La Liga Top scorer of all time After a hat-trick against Sevilla Breaks Telmo Zarra’s record of 251 goals.
The Galaxy CR7 is named after a soccer star. By the end of the season he enjoyed the most prolific campaign of his club career, scoring. 61 times in 54 games
Oct 2015
also became Real’s all-time top scorer. 324 doors He ended his career with Real Madrid. 450 goals from just 438 games played
June 2016
A goal in the Copa America Centenario quarter-finals made him the Argentina’s all-time top scorer after La Albiceleste was defeated in the final He announced his retirement from playing for the national team. a decision he rescinded shortly thereafter at the plea of the Argentine president.
July 2016
Winning the first major international trophy at the European Championship in France, but was injured and shed tears soon after. 25 minutes of the final
Initially sentenced to imprisonment 21 months Imprisoned for tax fraud but also escaped US$ 2.3 million Fine instead of Messi and George. His father Messi was found guilty of defrauding Spain. US$ 4.6 million Between 2007 and 2009
Apr 2017
Score a hat-trick against Bayern Munich, becoming the first player to score. 100 Champions League goals
Mar 2018
his score 100th goal in the Champions League Achieve goals in fewer games than Ronaldo Only he and Ronaldo have scored at least 100 goals in the competition to date.
May 2018
first player He won the first with Manchester United in 2008, before winning it with Real Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
June 2018
that Russia 2018 has become first man to score eight consecutive major international competitions
July 2018
at age 33Ronaldo signs with Juventus in Italy US$ 117 million transfer agreement
Oct 2018
Kathryn Mayorga is accused of rape who claims she was paid. $375,000 to sign an NDA; The case was later dismissed. he denied the allegations.
July 2019
Messi was sacked in minute 37 of the Copa America playoff third place He refused to accept a third-place medal and was banned from international football for three months, including a $50,000 okay.
July 2021
Aug 2021
Returns to Manchester United and finishes first season as Club top scorer Relations with the team crumbled after a heated interview in November 2022.
signal on two years Agreement with Paris Saint-Germain The Frenchman put an end to his long-term relationship with Barça, with the Catalan club struggling financially.
Sep 2021
Breaking international goalscoring records with two goals against Ireland 117 goals in 191 national teams and reinforces his status as the all-time great.
Feb 2022
first to arrive 400 million instagram followers
Sep 2022
beat record 164th place Argentine hat and score international goal 90, This made him third on the men’s all-time international scoring charts. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup Final
Nov 2022
Aiming to win the championship First World Cup after four failed attempts If he does score, he’ll become the first man to score in five World Cups. He’ll need three more goals to overtake Eusebio and become Portugal’s all-time top scorer in the tournament.
Aiming to win the championship First World Cup after four failed attempts If he plays in Qatar He will make it into a great team. Because only three players have competed in the previous five World Cups. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup Final
