.Lionel Messi has surpassed the goal-scoring record of Cristiano Ronaldo in European club football – in 105 games fewer.
Messi netted his 19th club goal of the campaign as Paris Saint-Germain recorded a two-goal victory in Ligue 1 away at Nice on Saturday. It was the 702nd goal of his club career and took him one clear of his long-term rival Ronaldo.
The Argentine’s future in the French capital looks more uncertain than ever after the club put contract talks on hold over financial concerns, but he continues to set multiple records and remains lethal when in front of goal.
Ronaldo completed an eye-catching move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in January to end his spell in European football. He said at the time: "I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football. I feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in Asia."
That ensured his goal tally for European clubs ended at 701, the majority of which (450) came at Real Madrid and bagging 145 across two spells with Manchester United, five for Sporting CP and 101 across three seasons at Juventus.
Ronaldo’s nine years in Madrid saw him obliterate the club’s goal-scoring record with a scarcely believable 450 goals in just 438 appearances, before leaving for Juventus in 2018. Messi’s 672 goals across 16 Barca matches was not just the club’s highest-ever goal tally, but more than tallies of the second-highest, third-highest and fourth-highest combined.
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In 2018, when Ronaldo was asked by Piers Morgan what record he would like to set before retirement, he said: "The most Ballon d'Ors in the history of football. I will love it and I think I deserve it... I know I'm one of the greatest ever in the history of football."
He and Messi have shared a remarkable sporting rivalry for more than a decade. They won 12 of 13 successive Ballon d’Or titles between them, with Messi edging out Ronaldo with seven individual honours compared to the Portuguese superstar’s five gongs (Luka Modric, in 2018, was the only player to break the sequence).
Conversely, Ronaldo leads Messi in Champions League titles won with his five crowns eclipsing Messi’s three in Europe’s premier club competition (the Argentine also featured in Barca’s 2006 success, but not in the latter stages of the competition). Messi has won more league titles but Ronaldo – who is two years his elder – has scored more goals at both club and international level.
