Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most capped players in the history of football. Both legends have achieved too many milestones for their clubs and country in their careers.
Ronaldo continues to be Portugal’s key figurehead in his forties and Messi is arguably still Argentina’s most important player at the age of 38. For the purposes of this article, we’ve compared their international records from their last 100 appearances for Argentina and Portugal.
In the case, Messi’s last 100 appearances take us all the way back to 2014 shortly after Argentina had lost the World Cup final in Brazil against Germany. Since then, he’s made 100 appearances for Argentina, has scored 70 goals and has provided 34 assists, averaging a goal contribution every 81 minutes.
He has also won four trophies for his country, including the World Cup, two Copa America titles and the Finalissima. 15 out of those 7 goals were penalties, eight were free-kicks and eight were goals from outside the box.
In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, he’s been in sharp form too, having scored three goals and provided three assists in his last three international appearances.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, also boasts an incredible record for his international team over his last 100 appearances. His last 100 appearances stretch back to June 2016, at the start of Euro 2016, which Portugal ended up winning.
Of his 100 goals, 18 have been penalties, five were free-kicks and seven were open-play goals from outside the box. Ronaldo has won Euro 2016 and the Nations League on two occasions.
He’s the all-time highest-scoring international player of all time with 143 goals and is still adding to his tally today. He has scored eight goals in his last eight games for Portugal.
However, after being shown a straight red card in his last game against Ireland, there’s the possibility that he could miss Portugal’s opening game of the 2026 World Cup.
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Here’s the full breakdown of how Messi and Ronaldo’s international records compare over their last 100 matches.
Lionel Messi
- Games: 100
- Goals: 70
- Assists: 34
- Goals + assists: 104
- Penalties: 15
- Free kicks: 8
Cristiano Ronaldo
- Games: 100
- Goals: 85
- Assists: 15
- Goals + assists: 100
- Penalties: 18
- Free kicks: 5
This will be Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup for their country. Both the players have an incredible statistical record in their respective leagues and compared to each other. With these head to head records displayed, who is most likely to star in the World Cup?
Written by: Atin Kevin