Kiko’s curious question to Streller: “How does Ronaldo actually smell?”
Next Tuesday there will be a big duel between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League. In “A ball for two”, the “blue” expert analyzes the two superstars from Barça and Juve.
06.12.2020
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Group F between Barcelona and Juventus is all about group victory, but tonight’s clash is much more than a duel between two big clubs: for the first time since May 2018, two of the greatest players in history are facing each other again.
So far, Messi and Ronaldo have competed against each other 35 times, with the slightly better statistic for the Argentine: Messi is ahead with 16 wins and 22 goals, Ronaldo has ten full wins and 19 goals. Nine clashes between the two ended without a winner, just like the last duel in May 2018, when both Messi and Ronaldo were able to excel as goalscorers in the Clásico.
In the Champions League there have been five direct duels between the two exceptional talents. What stands out: “Mister Champions League” Ronaldo was still without a goal in these 450 minutes. At the same time, Messi scored three goals against Ronaldo Royal.
In addition, «la pulga» provided his teammates with twelve assists in the 35 clashes, while the Portuguese only booked one assist.
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In contrast, Ronaldo has succeeded in the premier class more often than his rival. The Portuguese currently leads with 132 to 118 goals. But what is more impressive is what the two superstars achieved together in the Champions League: In twelve consecutive seasons (2007/08 to 2018/19), the top scorer in the premier class was always Messi or Ronaldo before Robert Lewandowski was able to break this eerie streak last year.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have scored eight hat-tricks each in their careers in the Champions League. In addition, “their” teams won seven out of ten possible Champions League titles between 2009 and 2018.
When it comes to the premier class title, Lionel Messi is just behind with four finals. Cristiano Ronaldo has already lifted the pot five times. Record!
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Messi or Ronaldo: who is better?
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The career statistics
With his goal against Dynamo Kiev, Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated an anniversary on the fifth matchday of the Champions League: 750 career goals – a mark that so far only the legendary Josef Bican has surpassed with his 805 stalls. Messi stands at 712 goals.
The undisputed favorite opponent of the two superstars is Sevilla FC. Ronaldo netted against the Spaniards 27 times, Messi even has 37 goals.
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Two who shaped an era: Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Image: Keystone
It’s like with Federer and Nadal: Enjoy while you can
Now the two will face each other for the 36th time on Tuesday. And the possibility exists that it could also be the last meeting. After eleven years in which the two always played against each other at least once, the direct comparison was missing for the first time in 2019 – of course due to Ronaldo’s departure from Real. But the two exceptional athletes are also getting older, and they are slowly but surely running out of time on the big football stage.
Messi and Barça in particular have been in a serious crisis for some time. It is currently difficult to predict where the Argentine will play in the coming season. In any case, forecasts in times of the corona pandemic are always characterized by a lot of uncertainty.
It is therefore important to enjoy the direct duel to the full as long as it still exists. A bit like the tennis oldies Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have challenged each other 40 times on the ATP tour – and thus only four times more than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The end of an era is looming.
