Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who has more goals in knockout rounds of major international tournaments?

Messi clearly outshines Ronaldo in this regard.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s rivalry has only continued to grow. Even after both players left Europe, the forwards remain at the top of the scoring and assisting charts.

Since both stars have reached an age where they will soon make a decision on their career, there already are quite a few young players who seem to have taken the attention of football such as Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland.

But even with the rise of new, bright stars, Ronaldo and Messi still shape the sport. The focus on their life won’t go away even after they eventually retire. They have shown their consistency in every competition—club or international.

Messi is set to play in his fifth Copa America final after a 2-0 win against Canada in the semi-final while Ronaldo’s side were eliminated from the Euro 2024 competition on penalties by France.

The former Barcelona star has a chance to add another major international trophy to his illustrious career. In contrast, Ronaldo has also enjoyed success with the national team winning Euro 2016 and the Nations League in 2019.

Meanwhile, Messi’s success at the national level came late but the forward seems to have enjoyed more fruitful stints with Argentina than Ronaldo. The former Barcelona player also boasts a better goal-scoring record in the knockout rounds at the international level than the ex-Real Madrid star.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Major international tournaments’ knockout rounds’ scoring record

Ronaldo leads all international scorers with a plethora of accomplishments with Portugal. However, the striker has a dismal knockout rounds record at major tournaments. He has scored fewer goals than his adversary Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo played for Portugal in the World Cup semifinals and the final of the Euros. In 2016, he finally won the Euros and later the Nations League. Ultimately winning a major prize with the national team was the apex of his professional career.

Also read: Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who has scored most free-kicks goals?

Messi, on the other hand, only had heartbreaks with Argentina until he eventually broke the legacy of failing to win a major title with the national team. Despite guiding them to numerous finals, his success with the national team finally arrived in 2021. Since then, he has only tasted glory with them and ultimately won the biggest trophy of football, the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Messi has a stellar knockout rounds record and has always performed better in major tournaments than the Portuguese phenom Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo

• Knockout matches: 20
• Goals: 3
• Assists: 2

Lionel Messi

• Knockout matches: 29
• Goals: 11
• Assists: 17

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