Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo 'Intriguing' Feats May Reveal Who The Better Player Is

A compilation of “intriguing” feats of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may have revealed who the better player is between the two legendary athletes.

Technically, there will never be a determinant which will end the lasting Messi vs. Ronaldo rivalry. However, there are some individual stats and recognitions that could help soccer-crazed fans make a decision.

Give Me Sport recently compiled “intriguing” statistical questions answerable by only Messi or Ronaldo. Though the answers statistically confirm who did better in every specific category, it doesn’t guarantee every reader that one of the said legends are superior to the other.

The list of questions goes as follows:

• Who has better record in finals? Answer: Lionel Messi

Numbers don’t lie. Indeed, Ronaldo has the better record in finals for having won 72.41% of the climaxes he's contested, In contrast, Messi falls behind with a 67.65% winning rate.

• Who has Longest goal-scoring streak? Answer: Lionel Messi

This Messi record is a feat which is unlikely to be broken for years, or even generations. Messi is still the only player in history to score in 21 consecutive matches. The incredible record happened in La Liga during 2012/13 season.

• Who has the best goal-scoring rate? Answer: Lionel Messi

Though both Messi and Ronaldo are both exceptional goal scorers, the Argentine claims this feat for averaging a goal every 99 minutes and 43 seconds in his professional career. Ronaldo on the other hand, trails behind with 111 minutes and 50 seconds.

• Who has scored the most hat-tricks? Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo

Messi recently broke Ronaldo’s all-time club hat-trick record. However, “CR7” is still ahead in career hat-tricks across all competitions, beating Messi 54 to 56 .

• Who has scored more than three goals in a game the most? Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo

This is one of the rarest feats Ronaldo has managed to secure over Messi. For the record, the Portuguese icon has scored 4 goals in 1 game on 8 occasions and has reached 5 strikes twice, tallying a total of 10. Ronaldo dominates Messi in this feat, who has a collection of 6 four-goal games and only 1 five-goal match.

• Who has scored the most free-kicks? Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo may have developed a series of issues with free-kicks over time. However, the Juventus star still tops “Leo” with 54 free-kick conversions. This category could be interesting as Messi stays within striking distance with 52.

• Who has won the most individual awards? Answer: Lionel Messi

A comprehensive Messi vs. Ronaldo stat comparison website michelacosta.com reveals that Messi has a superior total of 94 accolades to Ronaldo's 74.

• Who has better record playing against each other? Answer: Lionel Messi

Once and for all, the more dominant player everytime they share the pitch together was Messi. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has outshined Ronaldo in terms of individual stats during all their matches against each other. Messi boasts a higher goal-per-game, assist-per-game and goal contributions ratios in El Clasico. On top of that, Messi was also the better player in their international clashes.

• Who has the higher proportion of weak-footed goals? Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo

It’s quite interesting that Ronaldo and Messi have different best and weak foot. However, in terms of conversion, Ronaldo records an impressive 17.93% career goals courtesy of his left foot while Messi just registered 12.91% with his right boot.