Argentina vs. Portugal: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Stats, Records, More
Old Trafford will play host to an international friendly of dazzling proportions on Tuesday evening, when Lionel Messi's Argentina face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal under an English setting.
The two captains will naturally steal the headlines as the fixture's focus, a meeting of the world's best two players that we don't often get the chance to see under international circumstances.
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Lionel Messi |
| Portugal all-time top scorer (52) | Argentina second-highest all-time scorer (45) |
| Most goals in European Cup/Champions League season (17) | Joint all-time highest scorer in Champions League (71) |
| Most consecutive Champions League matches scored in (8) | Joint-most goals scored for Argentina in calendar year (12) |
| Portugal's joint-highest scorer at European Championships (6) | Most Ballon d'Or awards (4) |
| Most European Golden Shoe Awards (3, shared) | Most European Golden Shoe Awards (3, shared) |
| Most goals scored in European Championship matches (23) | Barcelona all-time top scorer (354) |
| Most consecutive El Clasico matches scored in (6) | La Liga second-highest all-time scorer (243) |
Coming into this week's meeting, 29-year-old Ronaldo bests his arch nemesis in the goal count while representing his national team. He's scored 52 goals in 117 appearances for Portugal, while Messi has 45 goals in 96 outings for Argentina.
However, Barcelona's leader is the more clinical of the two in that sense, boasting a ratio of one goal every 2.13 games while his Real Madrid counterpart is just slightly below that, netting every 2.25 games on average.
| Appearances | Goals | Goals Per Game Ratio | |
| Ronaldo (Portugal) | 117 | 52 | 0.44 |
| Messi (Argentina) | 96 | 45 | 0.47 |
Should Ronaldo be able to bag a hat-trick and Messi fail to hit the back of the net on Tuesday, Fernando Santos' marvel can draw level with his rival in terms of international accuracy.
Prior to last month's El Clasico meetingโwhich Real Madrid won 3-1โGuillem Balague discussed the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry and how each player has lined up positionally this season:
Coming into the collision, Messi has been eager to play down the head-to-head, and in an interview with Argentinian magazineย Oleย (h/t Inside Spanish Football), insisted the development of Gerardo Martino's tactics is first priority:
"If it was for points, it would be important. In that sense, itโs not relevant. Itโs important for our national team for sure, as we continue to see the things that โTataโ wants from us, for us to keep growing as a team and to adapt ourselves to the new questions of our manager.
Itโs important for that reason, itโs important to win, because it helps us to keep working with calm, but when it comes to to Cristiano and myself, thereโs nothing. Seriously, itโs just another game for us.
"
And no matter how powerful these two giants of the sport may be, it's the teams around them that will shape the rare international meeting. After all, no one player is a team alone.
As such, the two have seen a somewhat balanced split in results during their most recent meetings. Messi Stats provides a closer look at which of the two has reigned triumphant in direct competition:
"The previous 26 clashes between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for club (26) and country (1): - 12 wins Messi - 7 wins Cristiano - 7 draws
โ MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) November 18, 2014"
Heading for the Theatre of Dreams, one would have to argue that Ronaldo has the upper hand in scoring form at present, helping guide Real Madrid to the summit of La Liga.
However, Argentina have the more impressive selection of attacking options and, asย The Sun illustrates, Messi has taken more pride as a provider of goals this season, as opposed to finishing them:
With the likes of Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain among those selected, La Albiceleste can hope that depth outweighs any individual brilliance Ronaldo may bring to the fore.
That hasn't stopped Messiโtwo years younger than Ronaldoโstacking up his share of silverware at club level, however, andย Metro details just how close the Blaugrana icon is to claiming yet more records in his career:
For Portugal, striking options are and have for a number of years been something of a weakness, putting a greater emphasis on Ronaldo to win his personal showdown.
Messi has his own pressures to deal with, contributing a string of one-man displays in helping Argentina to this year's World Cup final. Try as he might, Ronaldo couldn't carry Portugal out of their group.
The fixture itself may be termed as a friendly, but the race to cement one's spot as the world's biggest talent is anything but, and matches such as these provide ample opportunity to win plaudits.
Messi and Ronaldo are sure to have a massive bearing on which of these two sides can realise their hopes at the Theatre of Dreams, a clash of titansย that must not be missed.
