Messi Beats Ronaldo Even If He Doesn't Score For 3 Straight Seasons, Report Says

Lionel Messi will still have better numbers than Cristiano Ronaldo even he doesn’t play for three straight seasons, a rare stat has revealed.

Over time, it has become more and more impossible to end the debate over Messi vs. Ronaldo. In fact, both legendary players even set new records this season. On Saturday, Barcelona captain Messi became the first player in La Liga history to record 20 goals and 20 assists in a single season. Juventus ace Ronaldo, on the other hand, added another career milestone with his goal contribution for Juventus on the very same day in a draw against Atalanta.

But prior to that, a shocking stat calculation revealed that Messi would still get the better of his ultimate rival even if he doesn't score a goal in three consecutive seasons.

Football Threads, a soccer social media page specializing in revealing rare stats in the sport, revealed that if Messi goes 15,000 minutes or 166 matches without a goal or an assist, he would have a goal and assist every 85.3 minutes. Meanwhile, Ronaldo had a goal and assist every 85.6 minutes (prior to his most recent goals against Atalanta and Milan this season).

In simpler terms, Messi can go the next three seasons without a single assist or a goal and still have a better average than Ronaldo's current one.

In addition to this bizarre stat, a recent study presented an even more mindblowing revelation about “Leo” and “CR7.”

A statistical study conducted by SciSports, in partnership with Universidad Catolica in Belgium, claimed that despite being two of the greatest players to ever grace the pitch, Messi is actually “two times better” than Ronaldo, at least between 2013 and 2018.

The rare study was reportedly based on just five (2013-2018) of the pair’s decade-long prime years. Interestingly, the Portuguese icon even had a slight advantage over the Argentine as his most successful years as a professional athlete, both in terms of trophies won and goals scored, came during this period of time. Messi, on the other hand, surged to superstardom just a year before that.

Still, the publication revealed that Messi scored 1.21 on the test, while his nemesis came two times behind with a 0.61. The study concluded that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner got on the ball more, therefore creating more chances and deciding the outcomes of games more often than the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The researchers came up with the said calculation based on the pair’s goals, assists, shots, passes, dribbles and tackles.