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15 Solid Reasons Cristiano Ronaldo is Currently Better Than Lionel Messi
The comparisons between Cristiano Ronaldo
and Lionel Messi have been discussed in
virtually every media format for nearly five
years now, Yesterday Here On
Gurusloaded.com It was talk All About 10
differences between MESSI and RONALDO.
Since Ronaldo left Manchester United to join
Real Madrid, he has aligned himself opposite
Messi in virtually every aspect of the game.
Messi is an athlete sponsored by Adidas, while
Ronaldo wears his own Nike line. Ronaldo can
be standoffish with opponents and officials on
the field, while Messi rarely shows his
discontentment. As they grow older, even
their playing styles are becoming different.
Messi now runs less in order to preserve his
energy, while Ronaldo charges forward at full
sprint to take advantage of counter attacking
opportunities.
In the last two seasons, Ronaldo has made his
case to be the superior player and cultural
figure among the pair. He has opened his own
museum, had a cartoon character created from
his image, won the UEFA Champions League,
and defeated Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden
in the UEFA World Cup Qualifying playoffs.
Ronaldo has also maintained a clean public
image, while Messi’s has been tarnished with
allegations of tax evasion.
This is not the final word in the Messi vs.
Ronaldo debate, but as they currently stand,
Ronaldo is the superior player. He is coming
off a season where he won his first FIFA
Ballon D’Or Award as the world’s greatest
player. Ronaldo has scored 50 goals in four
consecutive seasons, something Messi has
never done. Ronaldo has excelled in multiple
leagues and earned a European Golden Shoe
award as the top scorer while playing in both
England and Spain. Here are ten reasons why
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently greater than
Lionel Messi.
15. European Golden Shoe in Two Different
Leagues
Ronaldo has actually played in three different
leagues to Messi’s one, and by virtue of his
thirst to take his skills on a tour of Europe, he
has managed to win the prize for Europe’s top
scorer on two occasions in separate leagues.
His first award came in 2007/08 for Manchester
United, in what was arguably his best season in
club football. The Portuguese striker notched
31 times in the league in 34 appearances (three
were off the bench), as United romped to the
league title. To add to this he also scored 8
goals in eleven Champions League games,
including one in the final in Moscow. The
second award came in 2010/11, when he had
moved on to Spain with Real Madrid. A
ridiculous haul of 40 league goals in 34 league
appearances was only bettered by the fact that
the total across all competitions was 53 goals
in 54 games.
14. Ronaldo has More Goals per Minute in La
Liga
Ever since Real Madrid splashed out some £80
million on Ronaldo in the summer of 2009, it
has become a constant competition between
the two to score more goals than the other.
Now, even though Lionel Messi has a better
goals to game ratio since Ronaldo arrived, the
Portuguese has the superior record when it
comes how many minutes it takes to score
each goal. Ronaldo hits the back of a net on
average once every 79 minutes, whereas it
takes Messi 10 minutes longer to score.
13. Ronaldo is Deadly From Free Kicks
One of Ronaldo’s major assets is the way that
he hits a dead ball, and it means that anything
within almost 40 yards of the posts is fair game
for the striker. This has translated to a total of
41 goals from free kicks over his entire career
of 504 games at both club and international
level, as of this writing. Messi, in comparison,
has scored from just 15 free kicks and even
though he still has a few years on Ronaldo, it’ll
be some effort to catch up.
12. Ronaldo Has More International Goals
When it comes to Lionel Messi and his national
team, it rarely “works” – the polar opposite of
the kind of impact Ronaldo has had for
Portugal. This is most notably obvious when
the goals column is compared. Messi has hit
the back of the net 37 times in 83 caps and as
you’ll find out, most of these have not been in
games that count for much. Ronaldo, on the
other hand, is one off his half century (49
goals) in 110 caps, and four of his most recent
goals directly influenced his country’s path
into the just concluded 2014 World Cup in
Brazil.
11. Ronaldo Scores More Headers
To be considered the best player of this or any
generation, one must have a set of tools that
makes you a threat in any position –
something that Cristiano Ronaldo has when
goals are concerned. This is especially the case
when in the air, where he has developed a leap
that an Olympic gymnast would be proud of. It
has meant scoring SIX TIMES as many headed
goals as his arch nemesis. As of the end of the
2014 La Liga seasons winds down, the
Portuguese superstar has scored 60 of his
goals with his head compared to Messi’s 14.
10. Ronaldo Won the UEFA Champions
League Last Season
Ronaldo made history last season when he
scored in the UEFA Champions League final
against Atletico Madrid. He became the first
player to score in a Champions League Final
for two winning teams. His goal sealed Real
Madrid’s victory and gave Ronaldo an
opportunity to show the world his abs in
celebration. While Ronaldo’s fitness for the
final match was in doubt in the run up to the
match, he played the full 120 minutes and was
rewarded for his efforts.
Messi on the other hand crashed out of the
Champions League in the quarterfinals to
eventual finalists Atletico Madrid. Messi’s
Barcelona team again fell short against Atletico
Madrid on the final day of the La Liga season
in a match that ended 0-0. Messi was contained
by Madrid’s defense and his inability to break
through caused Barcelona to miss out on the
La Liga title. Despite both players missing time
due to injury, Ronaldo managed to return to
his club under duress and lead them to victory.
9. Ronaldo Pays His Taxes
Lionel Messi is currently embroiled in an
ongoing tax evasion case. Messi and his father
are scheduled to appear in Spanish court later
this fall to face the charges that the pair
evaded taxes on Messi’s image rights. Messi
initially paid €5 million to repay the unpaid
taxes and interest, but a judge ruled that Messi
had knowledge of the fictitious corporate
structure used to shelter his assets.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has never been accused of
tax evasion and according to sources pays a
tax rate of 51.9%.
8. Ronaldo Has Been Managed by the Best
Early in his career, Ronaldo had the good
fortune of being transferred to Manchester
United. Thanks to this move, Cristiano had an
opportunity to play under the tutelage of the
great Sir Alex Ferguson. His time with Sir Alex
Ferguson was fundamental in the development
of the world’s greatest player. During his time
with United he won three Premier League
titles and one UEFA Champions League title.
After moving to Real Madrid, Ronaldo played
for another managerial great, Jose Mourinho.
Under Mourinho’s guidance, Ronaldo won his
first La Liga crown. Currently, he plays for one
of the greatest coaches of the last two decades,
Carlo Ancelotti, who led him to his first
Champions League title with Real Madrid.
7. Ronaldo Scored More Goals in 2013-14
Ronaldo scored over 50 goals for the fourth
consecutive season last year for a grand total
of 65. That is far better than Messi who scored
only 41 goals in all competitions. Ronaldo
outscored Messi in La Liga by three goals and
in the Champions League by an impressive
nine goals. Both players excel at putting the
ball into the net, but Ronaldo’s versatility
allows him to create more opportunities where
Messi would be unable. Ronaldo’s height and
jumping ability make him a threat on set
pieces…which brings us to our next point.
6. Ronaldo is a More Complete Player
The physical differences between Ronaldo and
Messi create the differences in their styles of
play. Messi is short and compact which allows
him to make runs between defenders and run
with the ball at pace. Ronaldo’s taller physique
with a stronger upper body allows him to
punish defenders with strength and speed.
Cristiano also possesses world class jumping
ability which has helped him score in a variety
of situations, notably in the 2008 Champions
League final against Chelsea. In addition to
these strengths, Ronaldo can also run with the
ball at tremendous pace, hit free kicks with
power and accuracy, and shoot from distance.
5. Ronaldo Has Won With Two Different
Teams
Ronaldo holds the unique distinction of being
the only player to score in the Champions
League final for two different teams. Ronaldo
has been steering his clubs to victory since his
early days with Manchester United. Ronaldo
captured two Football League Cups, one FA
Cup, three Premier League titles, and one
Champions League title before even joining
Madrid. Messi has earned his fair share of
hardware as a crucial member of one of the
most influential and memorable Barcelona
teams of all time. He is a Barcelona legend.
However, Ronaldo has earned the undying
love and respect of fans from two of the
biggest clubs in the world. This makes Ronaldo
more marketable and gives him a larger fan
base.
4. Ronaldo is Incredibly Charitable
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both
tremendously charitable individuals, but
Ronaldo always seems to go the extra mile for
his charities. After learning a boy wearing a
Ronaldo jersey had been stranded during the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Ronaldo visited
Aceh, Indonesia and raised funds for
reconstruction. Ronaldo has also donated to
build schools in Gaza and paid for a number of
operations for sick children. Following the
hospital in his hometown of Madeira saving
his mother’s life, Ronaldo paid for the hospital
to build a cancer treatment center. Cristiano
works with Save the Children to combat child
hunger and obesity. He is also an advocate of
mangrove conservation.
On top of that, the terrible haircut pictured
above was apparently done to give
encouragement to a young boy who had
undergone a brain operation, that Ronaldo
paid for.
3. Ronaldo Has His Own Museum
Cristiano Ronaldo came up with a unique idea
when his trophy cabinet became too full. He
opened a museum in his hometown of
Madiera, Portugal. The museum is run by
Ronaldo’s brother and contains over 150
trophies and medals among hundreds of other
pieces of memorabilia. It is the most popular
museum on the island and attracts tourists
from all over the world. The museum takes
fans through Ronaldo’s progression from
childhood phenomenon to international
superstar and even includes a life sized statue
of Cristiano Ronaldo himself.
2. Ronaldo Scored Against Every La Liga
Club in a Single Season
Despite having played five fewer seasons in La
Liga than Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to
accomplish a feat that no other player,
including Messi, has achieved. During the
2011-12 La Liga campaign, Ronaldo scored
against Mallorca on the final day of the season
to successfully score a goal against each of the
other 19 clubs in La Liga. The win over
Mallorca also gave Real Madrid 100 points in
La Liga, the highest total of any club to ever
win the competition. It was a thoroughly
dominant season for Ronaldo.
1. Ronaldo is the Best Portuguese Footballer
of All Time
Lionel Messi is a spectacular footballer.
Unfortunately, because of his body dimensions
and nationality, he will always be playing in the
shadow of comparison to the legendary Diego
Maradona. Until Messi wins a World Cup for
Argentina, he will forever be considered to be
the second best Argentinian footballer of all
time. Cristiano Ronaldo does not have the
burden of being compared to past Portuguese
greats like Eusebio and Luis Figo, because
Ronaldo has already surpassed them. Ronaldo
will pass Figo to become the most capped
player in Portuguese history, while Messi still
has a way to go to overtake Javier Zanetti.
Ronaldo is the leading scorer in Portuguese
history, while Messi still needs 14 more goals
to overtake Gabriel Batistuta. From this point
forward, Ronaldo is competing only with
himself to further the legacy he leaves on
Portuguese football. That’s not to sayt that
Eusebio and Luis Figo weren’t incredible
players, but Ronaldo is truly one of a kind. 
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