Ronaldo, Messi, Pele: Who has the most international goals for club and country? | OneFootball

When it comes to the never-ending Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate, 2022 has been fairly one-sided.

It’s been all about Messi, who won the FIFA World Cup for the very first time on December 18th.

Messi scooped the coveted Golden Ball award after scoring seven goals and bagging three assists out in Qatar.

The Argentine genius has also been pretty darn good for Paris Saint-Germain in 2022.

In 2022/23 alone, Messi has 26 goal contributions in 19 appearances across all competitions, a spectacular return.

On the flip side, Ronaldo’s 2022 pales in comparison.

Goals have been hard to come by both domestically and internationally for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. He’s also currently without a club after his acrimonious Manchester United exit.

But while things haven’t been good for the Ronaldo side of the debate in recent times, we must never forget the almost unrepeatable impact he’s had on the game.

That’s been further highlighted in a recent post by the folks over at the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.

They’ve officially named the 27 players with 100 or more international goals for club and country combined.

Needless to say, Ronaldo – the leading scorer in men’s international football with Portugal – is clear of Messi at the top by a considerable distance.

The 27 players with 100 or more international goals for club and country

27. Eusebio (Portugal) – 100 goals

26. Bader Al-Mutawa (Kuwait) – 100 goals

25. Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 101 goals

24. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 102 goals

23. Pele (Brazil) – 103 goals

22. Sergio Aguero (Argentina) – 104 goals

21. Sunil Chhetri (India) – 104 goals

20. Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) – 105 goals

19. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) – 108 goals

18. Romario (Brazil) – 109 goals

17. Thierry Henry (France) – 110 goals

16. Ronaldo Nazario (Brazil) – 112 goals

15. Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) – 113 goals

14. Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine) – 115 goals

13. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) – 115 goals

12. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia & Herzegovina) – 117 goals

11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) – 119 goals

10. Luis Suarez (Uruguay) – 121 goals

9. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary, Spain) – 122 goals

8. Ali Daei (Iran) – 122 goals

7. Raul Gonzalez (Spain) – 123 goals

6. Karim Benzema (France) – 128 goals

5. Neymar (Brazil) – 136 goals

4. Gerd Muller (Germany) – 137 goals

3. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – 178 goals

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 235 goals

Even after Messi’s spectacular World Cup, it’s not even close at the summit.

As well as being the leading scorer in men’s international football, Ronaldo leads the way in terms of Champions League goals.

It’s hard to see the gap being completely bridged before Messi hangs up his boots. However, when it comes to the little man, you can’t rule anything out.

You can find all of the latest football