Messi vs Ronaldo: Who has better stats in UCL?

Messi vs Ronaldo, there is always a debate among players, and when two giants face play in same era comparisons and debate around them. Since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have started their career, everyone got involved in creating a debate around them, their game, performance and stats.

Lionel Messi with a World Cup victory in Qatar has made a bold statement and added another star in his glorious career. Both these players were part of Spanish La Liga and that's where the battle between the two began. Before Messi vs Ronaldo, debate around Diego Maradona and Brazilian great Pele was usual business in football.

As Lionel Messi basks in the glory of winning the Fifa World Cup with Argentina, his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo is embarking on the next stage of his career. 

Following his departure from Manchester United ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Portugal captain has signed a big money contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr until June 2025. It's reported that the 37-year-old will earn a record £177m a year – and become the "highest-paid athlete in history", said talkSPORT. 

With 12 Ballon d'Or awards, a host of personal records and many team trophies between them, Messi and Ronaldo will go down in history as two of the best footballers of all time.

In his club career Messi spent 21 years with FC Barcelona, but is now playing at Paris Saint-Germain in France. At Barca he won multiple trophies including Spain's La Liga title ten times and the Uefa Champions League four times. He also won his seventh Ballon d'Or award in 2021. He played his 1,000th career match as Argentina beat Australia in the 2022 Fifa World Cup round of 16. 

Portugal skipper Ronaldo has played his club football with Sporting Lisbon (2002-2003), Manchester United (2003-2009 and 2021-2022), Real Madrid (2009-2018), Juventus (2018-2021) and now Al Nassr (2023-present). His trophy collection includes five Champions League winners' medals and league titles in England, Spain and Italy. In Qatar he became the first male player to score in five different Fifa World Cups.   

Here we compare the UEFA Champions League stats for Messi vs Ronaldo.

Messi vs Ronaldo: UEFA Champions League Stats:

Lionel Messi:

• Appearances: 169
• Champions League goals (group stage to final): 129 (120 for Barcelona; 9 for PSG)
• Total Uefa competition goals (Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup): 132
• Champions League hat-tricks: 8
• Assists: 40
• All-time Champions League group stage goals: 80
• UEFA Champions League winners' medals – 4: 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15 (all with Barcelona)

Cristiano Ronaldo:

• Appearances: 183
• Champions League goals (group stage to final):  Ronaldo 140 (21 for Man Utd; 105 for Real Madrid; 14 for Juventus)
• Total Uefa competition goals (Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup): 144
• Champions League hat-tricks: 8
• Assists: 42
• All-time Champions League group stage goals: 73
• UEFA Champions League winners' medals – 5: 2007-08 (with Man Utd); 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 (with Real Madrid) 

*Statistics according to Uefa.com