The world of sports will probably never see a rivalry as great as the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate. Fandoms of both the legendary footballers have been comparing them with each other since ages and one of the most important things used in the Messi–Ronaldo debate is the The Guinness Book of Records.
Lionel Messi has 41 Guinness world records and Cristiano Ronaldo has 40
The Guinness Book of Records has been created back in 1955 and the usage of these records in the argument over who the greatest of all the was between Messi and Ronaldo had resulted in many friendships falling apart and punches thrown at friends and strangers alike in the last 15 years.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have a different approach to the sport of football; while Messi is known for his agility, originality and natural talent and brilliance, Ronaldo on the other hand is famous for his work ethic, athleticism, discipline and effectiveness.
Talking about the world records held by both the geniuses, Lionel Messi is decorated with 41 Guinness World Records, while Cristiano Ronaldo has 40 records to his name.
If only the records are to be taken into account, Lionel Messi emerges by a thin margin as arguably the best footballer of all time. Throughout his exceptional and golden career, Messi has broken several records, while the game changer being the record of receiving the most man-of-the-match awards (11) in the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi Guinness World Records
Lionel Messi also holds the record of scoring a total of 50 goals at the youngest age in the UEFA Champions League. He had achieved this feat back in April 2012 at the age of 24.
Another record held by Messi, which might seem a little funny considering he is a sportsman, is that he has appeared in 10 video game covers, which is the most for any footballer in the world.
Lionel Messi also became the player who has scored the highest number of goals in a single UCL game back in 2012 with five goals against Bayer Leverkusen. He also holds the record of the most appearances made by any foreign player in the La Liga, 520 for Barcelona.
One of the many other records held by Lionel Messi is when he broke the record for most number of goals scored by a substitute in Copa America back in June 2016, with his hat-trick for Argentina against Panama.
The phenomenal Cristiano Ronaldo has himself made and broken ample records throughout his exceptionally successful career. As one of the greatest of all times, he is leading the all-time top international goalscorer list, while also having 140 goals in the UCL, the most for any footballer.
Cristiano Ronaldo Guinness World Records
Ronaldo also holds the record of the greatest number of goals scored by any footballer in a single UCL season, which is 17 during the 2013/14 season. This also made him the player who records the maximum goals scored in a single UEFA European club tournament campaign, along with Radamel Falcao.
Leading all the players in goals scored in UEFA club championship, Ronaldo also holds the record of scoring in 11 straight UCL games during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, an achievement not made by anybody else, yet.
Ronaldo had also made history as the oldest player ever to have scored a hat-trick in the World Cup at the age of 33 years and 130 days old, against Spain back in 2018 World Cup.
Ronaldo also is the sole player to have aided his nation in five FIFA World Cup in addition to other legends like Brazil’s Pele, Germany’s Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler.
Cristiano Ronaldo overtook Michel Platini back during the 2020 Euros to hold the record for most number of goal scored in a UEFA Euro tournament with 14 goals.
Known for his concentration and consistency for scoring from the penalty spot, Ronaldo is also called as La Liga’s most accurate penalty shooter (72). Based on the Guinness World Record website, Ronaldo had also received the highest rating ever of 99% for any player in the EA Sports FIFA 18 Team of the Year.
As a global celebrity, Ronaldo also holds the record of being the most followed person on Instagram, and the most followed athlete across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Ronaldo’s Wikipedia entry is the most visited internet site for a male athlete, receiving over 48 trillion visits.
Ronaldo also broke his own record for the highest amount of caps for a male footballer in international football for country, when he played his 200th match in Portuguese colours during the 2024 Euro qualifiers against Iceland on 20th June, 2023.
