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Messi RonaldoGetty
Mark Doyle

Messi v Ronaldo - who has scored & assisted more goals each season?

Copa America
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Champions League
Summer Olympics
Premier League
LaLiga
European Championship
Manchester United
Sporting CP
Argentina
Copa del Rey
Portugal
Super Cup
Liga Portugal
World Cup
Stats

The Barcelona ace and the Real Madrid superstar have been locked in a fierce battle for supremacy for the past decade - and their numbers are stunning

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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's top-tier Express Pro plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

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Over 28 monthsSave 67%
Protect 10 devices with high-speed VPN
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Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's entry-level Basic plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

The VPN can be applied across 10 different devices simultaneously, and offers Lite Protection that blocks ads and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is available to be purchased as an add-on.

Additionally, ExpressVPN's Basic plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 10MB/month private email relay plus 10 shared aliases.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 80%.

Over 28 monthsSave 80%
Advanced protection across 11 devices with high-speed VPN
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Advanced

Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.

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Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 100MB/month private email relay plus 50 shared aliases and a custom domain, and ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator.

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STATS

Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? It is the debate that has dominated football for the past decade.

Luis Figo once mused, "It's like choosing between white truffle and caviar." And the former Barcelona and Real Madrid winger was right. It really is a question of taste because, as their respective records show, there is so little to choose between the two.

Maradona: I wish Ronaldo was Argentine

Their numbers are mind-blowing. Never before have we seen two men score with such consistency at the highest level for such a sustained period of time.

Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo stats PS

Not since 2010 has Ronaldo failed to rack up more than a half-century of goals for club and country over the course of a single campaign. Messi, meanwhile, has scored at least 40 goals a season since 2008.

Messi pays tribute to 'phenomenal' Ronaldo

In terms of their overall statistics, Ronaldo reached 600 goals with his brilliant double for Real Madrid in their Champions League final demolition of Juventus earlier this month and then added two more in Portugal's win over Latvia.

Messi passed his own milestone this season by netting his 500th goal for Barcelona and the Argentine now has 578 in all competitions, including his strikes for the Blaugrana's B team and its now defunct third team.

Luis Figo Messi Ronaldo PSGetty Images

However, while Ronaldo has scored more goals (602 to 578), which is perhaps unsurprising given he is the elder of the two and started his professional career earlier, it is Messi who has netted more regularly (0.79 goals per game to 0.7).

Perez would have 'loved' Messi at Madrid

Messi also has the edge in terms of assists, though it is perhaps not as one-sided as one would think, given how often the media likes to portray Ronaldo as a selfish forward.

The Portuguese has racked up 204 career assists (it is worth noting that stats from the ongoing Confederations Cup have not been included) to Messi's haul of 237, underlining that both men are as adept at creating goals as they are at scoring them.

Diego Forlan Messi Ronaldo PS

Indeed, rather than get bogged down in the sometimes bitter arguments over who is the superior player, perhaps we should all just be grateful that we live in the era of Messi and Ronaldo.

As Diego Forlan once said, "We are just lucky to be able to watch them at their best. Enjoy them while they last; they are special talents."

The numbers certainly prove that!

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