It is possible that this summer will be the last time that the two most accomplished football players of the 21st century, and perhaps of all time, will compete in international competitions.
The 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo will be the captain of Portugal at the Euro 2024 tournament, while Lionel Messi, who will turn 37 this month, will be the captain of Argentina at the Copa America tournament, which will be held in the United States.
Both Ronaldo and Messi have begun their international careers prior to the release of the iPod Nano. Ronaldo has scored 130 goals in 207 appearances, while Messi has scored 108 goals in 182 matches on the international stage. Ronaldo has played in 31% of the games that Portugal has ever played.
Messi, whose first international cap came in 2005 — he was sent off two minutes after being introduced against Hungary — was by far Argentina’s best player when they won Copa America in 2021 and the World Cup the following year. Ronaldo, who made his debut in 2003, was instrumental in his country’s first tournament triumph at Euro 2016, and Messi contributed to Argentina’s first tournament victory at Euro 2016.
The international careers of the two individuals have been outstanding by any and all objective standards, and The Athletic provides a breakdown of the numbers that support their achievements…
It is highly possible that Messi will surpass Ali Daei of Iran in the coming weeks, as Ronaldo is currently the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football. Messi is currently tied for second place with Ronaldo.
If Ronaldo and Messi end their careers as the two best scorers in the history of men’s international football, it would be a fitting and unsurprising accomplishment for them to achieve this distinction.
Daei’s total was reduced from 109 to 108 by FIFA in 2021 due to the fact that a game that took place in 2000 versus Ecuador, in which he scored, was deemed to have been an event that was not officially sanctioned.
While it took Ronaldo eight matches to score for Portugal, Messi scored his first goal for Argentina in his sixth game with the team.
Twenty years after scoring his first goal, Ronaldo is getting ready to compete in his sixth European Championship. The original goal he scored came against Greece in the opening game of the Euro 2004 tournament. The birth of Antonio Silva and Joao Neves, two members of Portugal’s squad for Euro 2024, occurred after he made his debut for Portugal.
Despite the fact that Messi’s goals-per-game pace was, for a period of time, higher than Ronaldo’s, the 36-year-old has never at any point scored more goals for his country. This is primarily due to the fact that Messi’s tenure with Argentina began two years after Ronaldo’s retirement. In comparison, Messi scores 0.59 goals per game for Argentina, while Ronaldo scores 0.63 goals per game for Portugal.
An analysis of Ronaldo, Messi, and four other all-time greats is presented here, comparing their goalscoring rates on the international stage.
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