Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who has more goals in 2024?

Both Messi and Ronaldo continue to score goals.

The ongoing competition between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continues to shape the world of football as the years go by. These two superstars continue to enthral fans and experts around the world week after week, more than 20 years after their professional debuts, with their talent, inventiveness, and most importantly, their goalscoring prowess.

Their 2024 stats continue to rank among the sport’s most impressive scorers. Both are among the all-time top scorers quite vividly.

Cristiano Ronaldo has the advantage in this year’s head-to-head competition. With his games with Al-Nassr and the Portugal national team, CR7 has already scored 35 goals in all competitions. In contrast, Leo has scored 28 goals with Argentina and Inter Miami this season.

The majority of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2024 goals resulted from his club performance in Saudi Arabia, where he scored 30 goals in the King’s Cup, the AFC Champions League, the Saudi Super Cup, and the Saudi Pro League. He has recorded five goals for Portugal, including two in friendlies and three in the UEFA Nations League.

Lionel Messi’s goal distribution is comparable. Including games in Major League Soccer and the CONCACAF Champions Cup, 22 of his 28 goals this season have come with Inter Miami. Three of the remaining six goals came in the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament, one in the 2024 Copa America, and two in friendlies with the Argentina national team.

Their performances for their different national teams in important events this year are a noteworthy aspect of their scoring records. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in Portugal’s round-of-16 match against Slovenia and failed to score in the 2024 UEFA Euro tournament. After losing to France, they ultimately left the tournament in the quarterfinals.

Lionel Messi and Argentina’s 2024 Copa América campaign produced strong results, with Argentina winning the tournament after defeating Colombia in the final. However, Messi scored just once—against Canada in the semifinals—and his individual impact was limited due to injury.

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