Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who has lost most finals?

The Argentine star suffered his 13th career final loss in the Leagues Cup 2025.

Seattle Sounders dashed Lionel Messi’s hopes of lifting his third trophy with Inter Miami as they effortlessly beat them to clinch the trophy.

It was an upsetting defeat for the Argentine, who helped his team cruise to the final with a brace in the semi-final and was eager to lift his third trophy with the club.

However, it ended in despair, adding another defeat to his unfortunate record of losses in the final. This is not the first time Lionel Messi has lost a final in his career.

Over this playing tenure, the forward has suffered many setbacks in championship games, and the defeat in the Leagues Cup final was his most recent, nearly five years after his previous one, 13 overall.

But when we compare this unwanted record to his long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo, where do both stand when it comes to losing the most finals in their career?

Ronaldo vs Messi: Who has suffered the most defeats in the finals of any competition?

As per World Soccer Talk, Lionel Messi has appeared in 44 finals in his playing career. They have come for FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami, and the Argentina national team. In those finals, he has won 31, handing him a brilliant success rate of 70.45%. Messi has thus suffered 13 defeats in finals.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has featured in 40 finals, playing for Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al Nassr, and the Portugal national team. However, out of those matches, he has only won 26, taking his winning rate to 65%. It means he has lost 14 finals, one more than Messi.

Hence, the former Barca player has won most finals. But the defeat in the Leagues Cup final was a big setback. It also ended his record of not losing a final in nearly five years.

His last final defeat came in playing for Barcelona, when he lost to Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup 2021. Since then, he had never lost a championship game until now.

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