REVEALED: How Messi is officially ‘clear’ of Ronaldo
Tom Hancock
- 1 Aug 2023 14:48 BST
- 3 min read
The enduring debate over who is the greatest – Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo – has, at last, been settled (well, sort of…).
These two modern icons – who have won the Ballon d’Or 12 times between them – may be plying their trade more than 7,000 miles apart these days – Messi in the USA and Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia – but their battle for supremacy rages on.
Messi – who made his Inter Miami debut last month – has just been revealed as the footballer with the most Guinness World Records: a whopping 41 (although Al-Nassr’s Ronaldo is right on his tail with 40).
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As a mark of how much Messi and Ronaldo have dominated at the very highest level since both beginning their careers around two decades ago, no other player is even into double figures for Guinness World Records.
Robert Lewandowski has nine such titles to his name, followed by Kylian Mbappe with five and Neymar with four.
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For now, Messi is clear of Ronaldo 👀
Lionel Messi has 41 @GWR titles whereas Cristiano Ronaldo has 40... pic.twitter.com/rrXt10puFF— Guinness World Records (@GWR) August 1, 2023
A history-making duo
Among the records Messi currently lays claim to are the most World Cup appearances by a player (26 – which he reached while captaining Argentina to glory in Qatar last year), and the most World Cup man of the match awards (11).
The former Barcelona and PSG star is also the only player to provide assists at five separate editions of the World Cup.
As for Ronaldo, the Portugal skipper holds the records for the most international caps and goals in men’s football (200 and 123 respectively).
The ex-Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus man is also the all-time leading scorer in the Champions League, with 140 goals in Europe's elite club competition to second-placed Messi’s 129.
