Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who has the better stats in 2020/21? | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both done and dusted for the 2020/21 campaign.

With neither player taking to the field in the Champions League final, the serial Ballon d'Or winners can start to get their heads down and focus on a wild summer of international football.

But before we start hypothesising about how Messi and Ronaldo might perform at the Copa America and Euro 2020, it only makes sense that we look back on their latest season at the top level.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi

Besides, it's astonishing to think that the two superstars, now in their thirties, are still producing the sort of world-class numbers that sees them compete with talents more than a decade their junior.

But let's park the comparisons to the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Braut Haaland for now because let's face it, we're all slightly partial to the infinitely fascinating Messi vs Ronaldo debate.

And now that their 2020/21 seasons are confined to the history books, we have the opportunity to look back on their statistics in club football and see who comes out on top in certain areas.

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Ronaldo and Messi in 2020/21

In the interest of consistency across the stats, we're calling upon the trusty data gurus at WhoScored.com to assess Ronaldo and Messi in some of the metrics that matter the most.

We're not going to take a deep dive into how many passes they average or how many times they scratched their back every 90 minutes, but some of the biggies like, well, goals and assists.

So, without further ado, check out our statistical breakdown of Ronaldo vs Messi for the 2020/21 season in club football down below:

Goals

Lionel Messi 38-36 Cristiano Ronaldo

Nobody could have seen this coming when Ronaldo hit the ground running in late 2020 and Messi seemed physically incapable of scoring from open play, but how the times have changed.

Messi edges out his eternal rival with 30 league goals compared to 29, the two superstars are inseparable in cup competitions and the Barcelona star notched one more strike on the continent.

Assists

Lionel Messi 11-5 Cristiano Ronaldo

No surprises here. Even the most ardent defender of Ronaldo would have to hold their hands up and admit that Messi is the superior playmaker, which is convincingly proven in the statistics.

Trophies

Cristiano Ronaldo 2-1 Lionel Messi

For a second consecutive season, Ronaldo is leading the way for silverware with his Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana triumphs overwhelming Messi's taste of success in the Copa del Rey.

Average match rating

Lionel Messi 8.52-7.68 Cristiano Ronaldo

The fact of the matter is that Messi is simply unstoppable when it comes to average match ratings, so the Barcelona star would have swamped anyone in this category, not just Ronaldo.

Man of the Match awards

Lionel Messi 24-8 Cristiano Ronaldo

Similarly, Messi hoovers up Man of the Match awards like they're going out of fashion and it's mind-blowing to think that his 2020/21 total is quadruple that of Ronaldo's.

Minute-per-goal ratio

Lionel Messi 101.8-102.2 Cristiano Ronaldo

With WhoScored data unavailable for minutes played in domestic cup competitions, Messi and Ronaldo are almost inseparable with their lethality in the league and Champions League.

So, sure, Messi might boast the superior minutes-per-goal ratio this season, but it's by no means a convincing victory and goes to show how closely matched their goal-scoring has been in 2020/21.

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

For me, Messi had the stronger season, which is something I never expected to be saying when Ronaldo appeared to be wiping the floor with him in September, October and November.

But with Messi having scored more goals, provided more assists, won more Man of the Match awards, amassed finer all-round stats and scored a faster rate, there's no debating in my eyes.

You're not going to tell me that Ronaldo winning the Supercoppa Italiana when Barcelona came up short in their own Super Cup is going to be the deciding factor here, after all.

However, at the end of the day, we can't get away from the fact we're comparing two incredible sets of statistics and that second place is by no means a whopping incident of Ronaldo's season.

Besides, what Messi and Ronaldo are achieving deep in their thirties is nothing short of staggering.

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