Who is fastest footballer to reach 850 goals? Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

Messi set a new benchmark after scoring 850 career goals.

At the age of 37, Lionel Messi continues to make new records. The forward has once again set a new mark when he scored against Atlanta United in the MLS Cup playoffs.

However, his side failed to progress further after disappointment in the best of three series in the competition, and their quest for the MLS Cup trophy concluded heartbreakingly. 

Lionel Messi has now joined his national team (Argentina) for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. The former Barcelona man will expect to add more goals to his tally when he returns to action for the South American giants. 

Messi’s latest record saw him eclipse one of his oldest rivals, Cristiano Ronaldo. After he found the back of the net against Atlanta through a header, Messi set a record as the fastest player to reach 850 goals. 

But is he really the fastest player? Given the speed with which Ronaldo has been regularly scoring goals despite being 39. 

Who is the fastest footballer to reach 850 goals? Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?

With the pace Cristiano Ronaldo has scored goals, it’s no surprise that he is now at over 900 career goals. If he continues to play for more years, then certainly he will be able to make history by scoring 1000 goals in his career. 

But the forward has taken a lot of games to get to 850 when comparing it with Messi who has done it in fewer matches. The Argentine recently achieved this milestone of scoring 850 in fewer matches than Ronaldo.

Ronaldo needed 1179 matches to reach that mark, while the former Paris Saint-Germain player did it in just 1081 games. Messi needed 98 matches less to score that many goals. Ronaldo scored his 850th career goal during Al Nassr’s 5-1 win at Al-Hazm in the Saudi Pro League on September 2, 2023.

Ronaldo was also the first to surpass the 800 goals mark. It came three years ago during his second stint with Manchester United. Ronaldo is currently at 908 goals, while Pelé, with 765, is third, behind Messi who is on 850 goals according to FIFA.

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