The sporting rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has added a new chapter to its history. While both stars continue to shine for their teams, Leo has caught up to the 41-year-old Portuguese player, and now they also share a historic milestone: 900 official career goals.
Despite this, there is a key difference between their records that has sparked debate among fans.
Who reached 900 goals first, and who needed fewer matches?
In the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 against Nashville SC at Chase Stadium, which ended 1-1, Inter Miami held the lead for most of the match thanks to a goal by Messi in the 7th minute, until Cristian Espinoza equalized in the 74th minute. However, their opponents advanced to the quarterfinals on the away goals rule, following a 0-0 draw at Geodis Park that left the series undecided.
Despite being eliminated from the tournament once again, the Argentine No. 10’s goal was more than special: it was his 900th.
In doing so, he joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only two players in soccer history to reach this milestone, although Leo has achieved it in far fewer matches and in less time since his debut with Barcelona, when he scored his first professional goal at age 17 in 2005.
Although Cristiano was the first player to reach the milestone in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Croatia in the Nations League in September 2024, the Inter Miami captain reached 900 goals in 1,142 matches-nearly 100 fewer games than the 1,236 CR7 needed to achieve it.
Most of Messi’s goals came during his time at Barcelona, where he scored 672 times. He then added another 32 with Paris Saint-Germain and has already scored 81 with Inter Miami. Additionally, he scored 115 goals with the Argentina National Team, with whom he recently won the World Cup in Qatar 2022-a title he will defend in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19 in a new edition of the tournament.
The Portuguese forward, for his part, scored 451 goals for Real Madrid, 145 with Manchester United, another 101 goals with Juventus, has already tallied 121 goals with Al-Nassr, and another 5 with Sporting CP. Additionally, with the Portugal National Team, he has reached 143 goals.
Despite this, Cristiano has not scored in just over two weeks, after suffering a hamstring injury following Al Nassr’s match against AlFayha (3-1) on February 28, where he had to be substituted. On medical advice and following an agreement with the club, Ronaldo traveled to Madrid, Spain, to undergo specialized rehabilitation.
His tally stands at 965, though he is expected to return to the field around April 3 in the match against Al-Najma; however, his participation in Portugal’s final two World Cup warm-up friendlies against Mexico and the USMNT on March 28 and 31, respectively, remains in doubt.
Both stars continue to build their legacies, but this statistic adds a new chapter to the eternal debate over who is the greatest of all time.
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