Ronaldo and Messi broke all kinds of goalscoring records at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, great rivals where the two icons enjoyed the peak years of their careers.

We're now in the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign, where Ronaldo is unthinkably a bench player for a side in the Europa League, while Messi appears to be enjoying a resurgence after an uncharacteristically ordinary debut season at PSG.

So it's time to accept that the two modern greats are extremely unlikely to ever reach the heights that they were once at, by far and away the two best players in the world for an unthinkably long amount of time.

But who was the best while at the peak of their powers? We've decided to take a look back and compare the two in terms of their records from their best individual years – 2011-12 for Messi, and 2014-15 for Ronaldo.

Interestingly, despite the two players racking up obscene numbers of goals and assists, they each had much more collective success in other campaigns.

Messi was astonishing in 2011-12, but Barcelona finished runners-up to Ronaldo's Real Madrid that year, while he missed a costly penalty in their Champions League semi-final defeat to Chelsea, though they at least lifted the Copa del Rey.

Meanwhile, while Ronaldo was enjoying his best individual season, Messi was winning the treble alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar for Luis Enrique's all-conquering Barcelona.

Here's how the two icons, Ronaldo and Messi stack up against one another while they were at their very best.

Lionel Messi (2011-12)

Games: 60
Starts: 56
Sub appearances: 4

Goals: 73
Assists: 29

Penalties scored: 14

Hat-tricks: 10
Free-kicks: 3

Minutes per goal: 71.5
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 88.4
Minutes per goal or assist: 51.2

Trophies Won: Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Copa del Rey

Cristiano Ronaldo (2014-15)

Games: 54
Starts: 52
Sub appearances: 2

Goals: 61
Assists: 21

Penalties scored: 13

Hat-tricks: 8
Free-kicks: 2

Minutes per goal: 76.1
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 96.6
Minutes per goal or assist: 56.6

Trophies Won: UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

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The European Golden Boot or European Golden Shoe is awarded annually to the leading goal scorer in league matches in the top divisions of European football. First awarded in 1968, this prestigious honour is judged on a points-based system.

Also Read: Players with the most champions league titles

Golden Boot: Rules

The winner is not simply the player with the most goals in the season. There is a weighting system where the goals scored in the top-ranked leagues are worth more. Players from the five highest ranked leagues according to UEFA (based on results of each league's clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons) get 2 points per scored goal, leagues ranked 6-22 get 1.5 points per goal and the remaining leagues get 1 point per goal.

The top five ranked leagues in 2022 were Germany, Spain, England, Italy, and France. The winners usually come from the top-ranked leagues.

Historical Overview

Between 1968 and 1991, the award was given by L'Équipe to the highest goalscorer in any European league. Between 1991 and 1996 there were no official awards given to the top goal scorers, but the leading goalscorer for those years have since been recognized.

Since the 1996–97 season, the award, given by European Sports Media, has used a weighted points system.

Most Golden Boots win

Lionel Messi has won the European Golden Boot a record six times (2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19). The next closest is Cristiano Ronaldo with four (2007-08, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15).

Let's take a look at the most Golden Boots win in football history.

Also Read: Manchester United Trophy Cabinet

Most Golden Boots win in football history (All Time)

1. Lionel Messi | 6 Times

2. Cristiano Ronaldo | 4 Times

3. Luis Suárez | 2 Times

4. Thierry Henry | 2 Times

5. Robert Lewandowski | 2 Times

The Champions League has always been a huge honour for any team. Teams like Real Madrid have won the trophy as many as 15 times while AC Milan, FC Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich have won found success in Europe's biggest club competition. 

As a result, the players from such elite teams as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, and AC Milan dominate the charts of players with the most Champions League titles.

Also Read: Most Champions League titles won by Football Clubs

Players who have won the most Champions League titles

Iconic Real Madrid left-winger Paco Gento used to hold the record for the most Champions League titles by a player. He has won six trophies in his 18 years at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, Real Madrid legends Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Nacho have equalled his record and became the only players to win six Champions League titles in the UCL era. 

Former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is tied up at 5 UCL titles with players like Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Larence Seedorf as well as other Real Madrid giants in Hector Rial and Marquitos, Lucas Vázquez, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and a few others.

Also Read: Top 5 Defenders with the Most Champions League Goals

Former Barcelona superstars, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, and Gerard Pique won four titles as a player. 

List of Players who have won more than four UCL titles:

El Clasico is one of football’s biggest rivalries, between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Over the years, they’ve played many exciting and emotional matches, full of great goals and big moments. With stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Roberto Carlos, these games are always packed with talent and drama.

10. Real Madrid 5-0 FC Barcelona, 1995

The Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match on January 7, 1995, at the Santiago Bernabeu was unforgettable. Zamorano netted a hat-trick, leading Real Madrid to a commanding 5-0 victory in this LaLiga clash. It was one of the most one-sided El Clasico matches ever, with the home team fully dominating Barcelona.

The match gave Real Madrid an edge in the title race for La Liga.

9. Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona, 2014

The Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, hosted the 2014 Copa Del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona on April 16. The match seemed headed for extra time, but a brilliant 85th-minute goal from Gareth Bale secured the victory for Real Madrid. It marked their 19th Copa del Rey title.

8. FC Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, 2010

After dominating El Clasico the previous season, Barcelona, led by coach Pep Guardiola, continued their strong form in 2009-10. Real Madrid had spent big to rebuild their "Galactico Era," bringing in stars like Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Madrid’s firepower wasn’t enough. Barcelona crushed them 5-0 at the Camp Nou, with David Villa scoring twice. Messi didn’t score but played a big role in most of the goals.

Read Also: Barcelona vs Real Madrid trophy battle: Which club has won more trophies

7. FC Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid, 2007

This LaLiga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid took place at Camp Nou on March 10, 2007, and ended in an exciting 3-3 draw. Both teams played their hearts out, making it one of the greatest El Clasico matches in recent years.

Messi scored a hat-trick, while Van Nistelrooy scored twice and Ramos added one for Madrid. A fierce, high-scoring clash that highlighted both teams' firepower.

6. Real Madrid 4-2 FC Barcelona, 2005

The early 2000s saw Real Madrid stacked with stars like Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, and Ronaldo Nazario. Despite Barcelona boasting talents like Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Xavi, Madrid outclassed them with a 4-2 win—Zidane and Ronaldo struck early, while Raul and Owen sealed it in the second half.

5. Real Madrid 3-1 FC Barcelona, 1960

Real Madrid’s clash with Barcelona in the 1960 European Cup Semifinal is seen as a key moment in El Clasico history. Madrid won 3-1 and reached the final. Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas found the net for Real Madrid, sealing their victory in the semifinal against Barcelona.

The match showed the strong rivalry and attacking power of both teams. It's still remembered today as one of the greatest El Clasico matches and a major turning point in their history.

4. FC Barcelona 4-0 Real Madrid, 2015

During the peak of the MSN era at Barcelona, the team looked unstoppable in Spain. But for the first El Clasico of the season, Messi was out with an injury. Surprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t make much impact, while Luis Suárez and Neymar stepped up. They led Barcelona to a dominant 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Read Also: Youngest goalscorers in El Clasico: Lamine Yamal breaks 77-year-old record to become the youngest ever

3. Real Madrid 4-2 FC Barcelona, 1988

With both teams playing attacking football and creating plenty of chances, this was the greatest El Clasico match of the 1980s. Butragueno gave Real Madrid the lead, but Gary Lineker put Barcelona ahead. Goals from Schuster and Michel made it 3-1 for Madrid. Julio Salinas gave Barca hope, but a late goal from Hugo Sanchez sealed the win for Real Madrid.

2. FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid, 2011

One of the most intense and dramatic El Clasicos happened in 2011 during the Supercopa de Espana. The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu, but the second leg had everything—goals, fouls, and lots of drama.

Iniesta put Barcelona ahead, Ronaldo equalised, and Messi sealed it with two goals, including a late 88th-minute winner. The match turned chaotic after a foul on Fabregas sparked a brawl, leading to four red cards and Mourinho infamously poking Vilanova in the eye.

1. FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid, 2017

Debatably the greatest El Clasico match of the modern era, took place in the 2016-17 LaLiga season. Real Madrid was leading the league and hoping to extend their lead, while Barcelona needed a win to stay in the title race.

What made this match unforgettable happened in the final moments. The ball was passed to Messi just outside the Real Madrid penalty area. Instead of taking a wild shot, Messi calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner, securing a crucial victory for Barcelona at their biggest rivals' home.

Laliga clubs regularly own some of the biggest names in the world of football. Many of their top stars have come from abroad, often moving from the Premier League to La Liga. However, some superstars were not so successful in Laliga after the transfers. 
Trent Alexander Arnold is more likely to be the next biggest football transfer from the Premier League to Laliga. 
Discover the 10 biggest football transfers from the Premier League to Laliga, featuring players like Eden Hazard, and Phillipe Coutinho and legends like Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

10 biggest football transfers from Premier League to La Liga:  

10. Conor Gallagher | Chelsea to Atletico Madrid | €35 million:

Conor Gallagher was one of the key players for Chelsea in his final season. He is a Chelsea academy player, despite being an academy graduate of Chelsea, the Blues sold him to the Laliga side Atletico Madrid for €35 million and became one of the players with the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga.

He has seemed a perfect fit for Diego Simeone’s managed side, though he has rotated with other midfielders. Gallagher scored an important Champions League goal against Real Madrid, during a round of 16 match in which Atletico was heartbreakingly beaten on penalties.

9. Ferran Torres | Manchester City to FC Barcelona | €46 million:

FC Barcelona paid €46 million to Ferran Torres from Manchester City in 2022. But he was never able to prove his worth in FC Barcelona, he was one of the failed yet one the biggest transfers from the Premier League to Laliga.

The winger had never scored more than 10 goals in a single campaign for the La Liga giants. Torres played 145 games at Barcelona and has started almost exactly half (73), which shows the coaches he has played under have been aware that he cannot impact games.

8. Raphinha | Leeds United to FC Barcelona | €50 million:

Raphinha was not a major signing for FC Barcelona, yet among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. In the first season, Raphinha scored 14 goals and contributed in 15 goals. However, in the 2024/25 season, Raphinha found his lost form under Hansi Flick as he scored 27 goals and delivered 20 assists. Now the Brazilian winger is one of the players who is getting Ballon d'Or shouts in 2025.

7. Diego Costa | Chelsea to Atletico Madrid | €57 million:

Costa played for Atletico Madrid on a few different occasions. He had already left once before coming back in 2010 by the time he moved to Chelsea in 2014, and four years later, he was back, with Atletico Madrid paying €57 million for him.

Diego Costa was one of the players also among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. In his final season before leaving for the Premier League, Costa scored 36 goals, and in three seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored 59 goals and 21 assists. The Spanish forward 81 games in four seasons after his return but scored just 19 goals in that time.

6. Luis Suarez | Liverpool to FC Barcelona | €75 million:

Barcelona had seen enough from Suarez in just two and a half seasons at Liverpool to sign him for an initially reported fee of £75million. That he’d move onto bigger things was unsurprising after notching 31 goals and 13 assists in his final season in the Premier League.

Luis Suarez was one of the key players also among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. The Uruguayan forward scored 195 goals and assisted 113 in 283 games, in his second season at Barca, scoring a remarkable 40 La Liga goals, along with 18 assists. Across all competitions that season, Suarez scored 54 goals and assisted 24.

5. Julian Alvarez | Manchester City to Atletico Madrid | €80 million:

One of the most recent players to the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga, Julian Alvarez moved to Manchester City for Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window of the 2024 season. He already has 23 goals and five assists this season, including eight direct goal contributions in the Champions League. So far, the move looks a positive one for Alvarez.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United to Real Madrid | €80 million:

Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly the best move from the Premier League to La Liga in history. He broke new ground with a transfer worth approximately £80million from Manchester United. The previous world-record transfer was Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid, which had stood for eight years.

Ronaldo was one of the most devastating forwards in the world for his entire spell at Real Madrid, scoring 450 goals and assisting 131 in 438 games. Ronaldo is the most successful and among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 while he was a Real Madrid player.

3. Gareth Bale | Tottenham Hotspurs to Real Madrid | €85 million:

At the time of his transfer to Real Madrid for approximately £85million, Bale’s was a world-record move. Gareth Bale was among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga.  

Bale would win five Champions Leagues with Real, as well as three La Liga titles, among many other honors. Throughout seven seasons, he scored 106 goals and assisted 67 times.

2. Eden Hazard | Chelsea to Real Madrid | €130 million:

Eden Hazard was one of the failed transfers yet and second-placed in the list of the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. That he never played 20 La Liga games in a single season, showed how much Hazard struggled, and he retired at just 32 years of age, having played just 10 games in his final season. The Belgian failed to match that single-season total in 76 games across his entire Real Madrid career.

1. Phillipe Coutinho | Liverpool to FC Barcelona | €142 million:

The biggest football transfer from the Premier League to La Liga, Barcelona spent an astonishing £142million to sign the midfielder from Liverpool. At Liverpool, he had become an iconic figure, having a direct hand in 97 goals in 201 games.

 After 13 direct goal contributions in his first 18 La Liga games, Coutinho slowed with only seven contributions in the 32 games he played in the season. The Brazilian left for Aston Villa, after only 39 goal contributions in 106 games at Barcelona.

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The European Golden Shoe is one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, given annually to the leading goal scorer from the top European leagues. Over the past decade, some of football’s biggest superstars have dominated this recognition, showcasing their incredible talent and consistency in front of goal.

In this article from Sportz Point, discover the last 10 European Golden Shoe winners list, featuring stars like Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane, and legendary players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suarez.

Last 10 European Golden Shoe winners List:

Harry Kane | 2024-25 season | Bayern Munich:

Harry Kane is among the greatest strikers to crave his name in the European Golden Shoe winners list. Despite the Bayern forward's failure to win any silverware, he won one of the most prestigious individual awards the Golden Shoe, this award shows his goal-scoring prowess. The Englishmen won the award for scoring 36 goals in the 2024-25 season.

 Erling Haaland | 2022-23 | Manchester City:

Earling Haaland scored 36 goals in the Premier League 2022-23 season to win the prestigious individual award and cemented his name among the top players to win the European Golden Shoe winners list. In that season Earling Haaland and company won their maiden UEFA Champions League title and completed a treble for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.

 Robert Lewandowski | 2021-22 and 2020-21 | Bayern Munich:

Robert Lewandowski won the Golden Shoe Award in the 2021-22 season, as he cemented his name as one of the two players to win the European Golden Shoe multiple times in the list. His goals were more than enough to declare him a Ballon d'Or winner, but he was overshadowed by Karim Benzema in that season. 

In the 2020-21 season, Robert Lewandowski won his first Golden Shoe Award. In that season Robert Lewandowski and his company won a treble for Bayern Munich under Julian Nagelsmann, but he failed to win the Ballon d'Or award as Lionel Messi won the Copa America.

Ciro Immobile | 2019-20 | Lazio:

Immobile scored 36 league goals for Lazio in 2019-20 to win the prestigious individual award and cemented his name among the top players to win the European Golden Shoe winners list. Despite scoring 36 league goals for Lazio but did not get the chance to claim a Ballon d’Or rank as the award was cancelled that year due to Covid.

Lionel Messi | 2018-19, 2017-18, and 2016-17 | FC Barcelona:

Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski are the only players to crave their names multiple times in the European Golden Shoe winners list. In the 2018-19 season, Messi became the last player to win the Golden Shoe and Ballon d'Or in one season. Messi was the only player, who was dragging Ernesto Valverde's managed Barcelona side to the treble and scored 36 goals.

In the 2017-18 season, Messi scored 34 league goals and won his second European Golden Shoe, despite delivering a stinker performance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In the 2016-17 season, Messi scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or that season, but Messi won the European Golden Shoe and became the first player to win the Golden Shoe thrice in the list.

Luis Suarez | 2015-16 | FC Barcelona:

Luis Suarez was a goalscoring machine in 2015-16, as he even managed to outgun the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. The Uruguayan scored 40 goals in La Liga alone, and he became the one and only player to win an individual award in Messi and Ronaldo's era. His goalscoring prowess is the reason, he is on the European Golden Shoe winners list. 

Cristiano Ronaldo | 2014-15 | Real Madrid:

Surprisingly, 2014-15 was the last time that Ronaldo ever won the European Golden Shoe. He enjoyed an excellent individual season, scoring 48 league goals for Real Madrid, but was ultimately overshadowed by Barcelona and Messi who won the treble that year. His excellent goal-scoring skills are the reason he is on the European Golden Shoe winners list. 

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