Lionel Messi is still trailing the top goalscorer in 2019 so far, while Cristiano Ronaldo is 17 goals behind - here is a rundown of the top 10 most prolific attackers in the world.
Lionel Messi is the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner! Chiellini was speaking at the Gran Gala del Calcio awards on Thursday where he and Ronaldo were honoured, the latter as MVP. Ballon d'Or nominee Virgil van Dijk said in June that Messi deserves the award over him: "I think he deserves it as long as he plays."
He's also won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina at Beijing 2008 and he also won the under-20 World Cup. Last but definitely not least, as well as all of his goals and trophies, he's also won plenty of personal accolades, including an astonishing five Ballon D'Ors when he was voted the world's best footballer.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi won the 2019 FIFA The Best Men's Player award on Monday, beating out Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. Since that separation, every player who has won FIFA's The Best award has gone on to claim the Ballon d'Or as well.
Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini is a Forward who has appeared in 22 matches this season in La Liga, playing a total of 1890 minutes.
Statistics show that Ronaldo is far superior to Messi when it comes to big match performance-level in the latter stages of the tournament. In these games, Messi fails while Ronaldo succeeds.
Lionel Messi has officially moved ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time top goalscorer in Europe's top five leagues. That's according to data collected from OptaJose, which puts the Barcelona captain on ?415 goals and the Juventus ace on 414.
Statistics wise, in terms of free kicks, Ronaldo has scored more goals than Messi during their respective careers. 47 goals scored by Ronaldo (for both club and country) are far more than 26 by Messi. However, Messi is more effective in free kicks.
Ranking
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|
| 1 | Josef Bican | 805+ |
| 2 | Pelé | 784 |
| 3 | Romário | 735 |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 725 |
Ronaldo's explosiveness and direct running from wide positions is key for United, but when he plays as a forward he is not as affective. He can destroy teams on the counter in a blink of an eye. His finishing is great, his ability to shoot from just about anywhere is even greater.
RSSSF credits Ronaldo with 743 career goals to date and Messi with 723.
He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copas del Rey.
Three France stars make the top ten — N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, and Kylian Mbappe — but there is no longer room for Portugal's
Cristiano Ronaldo.
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- Lionel Messi — FC Barcelona.
- Neymar — Paris Saint Germain.
- N'Golo Kante — Chelsea FC.
- Virgil Van Dijk — Liverpool FC.
international goals is the men's record held by Ali Daei. Cristiano Ronaldo rocketed on to 99 with 14 goals in ten appearances for Portugal in 2019.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus
If he wasn't already aware, Monday night's events made it clear that Ronaldo's only hope of winning the 2020 Ballon d'Or is to win the Champions League with Juventus and/or Euro 2020 with Portugal. A Serie A crown with the serial Italian champions just won't cut it.Cristiano Ronaldo reached a career landmark on Monday by scoring his 700th career goal in Portugal's Euro 2020 qualifier at Ukraine. The 34-year-old scored a penalty as Portugal lost 2-1. His 700 goals so far have come from 973 matches - and he has scored at least once in 458 of those.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus
If he wasn't already aware, Monday night's events made it clear that Ronaldo's only hope of winning the 2020 Ballon d'Or is to win the Champions League with Juventus and/or Euro 2020 with Portugal. A Serie A crown with the serial Italian champions just won't cut it.He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,000 professional career appearances and has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country.
RONALDO: All-time top European Championship goal-scorer
Ronaldo has scored nine goals for Portugal at the four European Championships where he has represented his country, putting him level with Michel Platini as the competition's leading scorer. What team will Messi go to?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo share the record for the most hat-tricks in UEFA Champions League history, with eight each.
Of Ronaldo's 54 career hat-tricks, eight have been in the UEFA Champions League (seven for Real Madrid, one for Juventus) – with four of those in the knockout stage.
Lionel Messi has scored 36 La Liga hat-tricks, making him the player with the most hat-tricks in La Liga history, also jointly holding the record for a single season with eight.
Since its creation, more than 100 players have scored at least a hat-trick. Lionel Messi has scored 36 La Liga hat-tricks, making him the player with the most hat-tricks in La Liga history, also jointly holding the record for a single season with eight.
Collectively,
Ronaldo has won 31 trophies in his career, including six league titles, five European Cups and one European Championship. He
has also attained 16 titles from friendly competitions.
European Golden Shoe.
| Season | Goals | Points |
|---|
| 2010–11 | 40 | 80 |
| 2013–14 | 31 | 62 |
| 2014–15 | 48 | 96 |