As 2025 draws to a close, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue their ageless legend, breaking numerous records throughout the calendar year. While most of their contemporaries have long retired, they remain as motivated as ever, exerting a decisive influence at both club and national team levels.
For Messi, 2025 was a fruitful year. He led Inter Miami to win the MLS Cup for the first time in club history, claimed the MLS Most Valuable Player award for the second consecutive year, and posted his best individual goalscoring figures since the 2018-19 season. In 2025, he made 54 appearances for club and country across all competitions, scoring 46 goals and providing 28 assists, involved in a goal every 61.3 minutes on average.
He was particularly prolific during the MLS Playoffs, contributing to 13 goals in 6 games to help Inter Miami lift their first-ever MLS Cup trophy. On the international stage, Messi only featured 5 times for Argentina in 2025 but still delivered masterful performances, scoring 3 goals and registering 3 assists in matches against Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Angola.
For Ronaldo, his 2025 success was more prominent on the international stage, winning the UEFA Nations League title with Portugal for the second time. He earned 9 caps for the national team in 2025, netting 8 goals including one in the final against Spain.
At club level, Ronaldo made fewer appearances than Messi in 2025, resulting in relatively lower direct output this year. He featured 37 times for Al Nassr, scoring 33 goals and setting up 4 assists, involved in a goal every 85.9 minutes on average. In total for club and country, he scored 41 goals (5 fewer than Messi) and provided 4 assists (24 fewer than Messi).
Although Messi’s overall performance in 2025 may edge Ronaldo’s, Ronaldo has a chance to take the initiative in 2026. With the new MLS season not resuming until late February, Ronaldo is eager to add to his goal tally in the coming period. In fact, as of press time, his career total goals have reached 956, only 44 goals short of making history and hitting the 1000-goal milestone. Ronaldo himself recently admitted he will not consider hanging up his boots until he reaches this magical number.
"To keep going is hard, but I still have the motivation," Ronaldo said at the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony in Dubai. "My passion is still high and I want to continue. It doesn’t matter where I play, in the Middle East or Europe. I always enjoy playing football and I want to carry on. You know what my goal is. I want to win trophies and reach that number (1000 goals) you all know about. If I stay injury-free, I will definitely hit that figure."
2025 Detailed Stats Comparison: Messi vs Ronaldo
| Stats Category | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 54 | 46 |
| Goals | 46 | 41 |
| Assists | 28 | 4 |
| Goal Involvements (G+A) | 74 | 45 |
| Penalty Goals | 3 | 10 |
| Free-kick Goals | 3 | 0 |
| Avg Mins Per Goal | 98.6 | 95.5 |
| Avg Mins Per Non-penalty Goal | 105.4 | 126.3 |
| Avg Mins Per Goal Involvement | 61.3 | 86.9 |
| Trophies Won | 1 (MLS Cup) | 1 (UEFA Nations League) |
