Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo stats on the day they turned 36 - there's a clear winner | OneFootball

Lionel Messi turns 36 today (June 24th).

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Happy birthday to possibly the greatest player to have ever played the game.

The Argentine is still going strong - although will continue to do so outside of Europe with Inter Miami.

Who is better: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Throughout his legendary career, Messi has always been compared to the equally legendary Cristiano Ronaldo.

Who is the GOAT? Who has scored the most goals? Who has the most assists? Who has won the most trophies? Who has won the most Ballons d'Or?

The comparison is only natural. After all, these two freaks of nature are playing in the same era - and were direct rivals at Barcelona and Real Madrid.

But comparing stats is always a little unfair on Messi.

Why? Because Ronaldo is more than two years older than Messi. How is it fair to compare goals scored and achievements gained when Ronaldo has had two extra seasons in his career?

Therefore, the only fair way to compare statistics is by creating a level playing field.

And that's exactly what we've done.

Messi's 36th birthday is the perfect opportunity for us to do that.

We headed to MessivsRonaldo to compare the stats between the two players on their 36th birthday - and there's a clear winner.

Messi is the clear winner

So, despite playing 15 fewer games than Ronaldo - and fewer minutes - Messi has scored 45 more goals. He's also registered 132 more assists during that time.

It means that Messi's goals per game, minutes per goal and minutes per goal/assist betters Ronaldo.

When it comes to the types of goals scored, Ronaldo has 134 penalties to his name compared to Messi's 108. But Messi has scored five more free-kick (62 to 57).

Messi is also the king when it comes to goals from outside of the penalty area with 89. Ronaldo has 56 from 12 yards or more. Messi has also scored more from inside the box.

Unsurprisingly, Messi dominates with his left foot while Ronaldo dominates with his right foot.

And there's no competition when it comes to the heading department with Ronaldo scoring 130, compared to Messi's 26.

We're not entirely sure what 'other body part' means but Messi has three, compared to Ronaldo's two.

Surely that settles it. Messi clearly dominates Ronaldo when it comes to stats at their 36th birthday.

And that's before we even talk about trophies, Ballons d'Or and the World Cup...

Ronaldo had 36 trophies at the age of 36, while Messi has 38 to his name.