for years people have argued about who's better Messi or Ronaldo but what if the story we've been told isn't the real story behind the cool videos and big ads the numbers tell a very different tale Messi didn't just score goals he did so much more things that didn't always show up in the highlights what happens if we forget the ads and just look at the facts the truth might surprise you when Ronaldinho's magic started to fade in the mid 2000s two big Sports companies Nike and Adidas had a problem they needed new stars to lead their football Brands their solution create the perfect rivalry to Superstars battling to be the best Nike had Ronaldo he was tall strong and confident with movie star looks and a big personality Adidas had Messi he was small quiet and shy letting his football do all the Talking together they became the stars of what people in marketing called the ultimate story but this wasn't just a natural competition it was planned Adidas executive Frank Schmidt once said we needed Messi to have a rival people love drama and competition one star isn't enough to sell the story the media loved it TV channels noticed that when they talked about Messi versus Ronaldo more people watched ESPN found that debates about the two players got 37% more viewers than regular football coverage on social media posts comparing Messi and Ronaldo got three times more likes and comments than posts about just one of them the Rivalry was too good and too profitable to ignore to keep the Rivalry alive the story had to be carefully told for example when Messi was amazing at dribbling and creating chances in 2009 the focus shifted to Ronaldo's goals when Ronaldo wasn't great at passing ads talked about his powerful shots instead the stats were picked to make it seem like they were equals a former Nike ad director admitted we didn't talk about Ronaldo's passing stats fans liked simple numbers like goals Even If Messi was better in other areas the Rivalry wasn't just about football it was about what people thought was true social media made the Rivalry even bigger Ronaldo's team of photographers and brand experts turned him into a global Superstar by 2014 any post comparing Messi and Ronaldo got over twice as many likes and shares as posts about just one of them algorithms on platforms like Facebook and Instagram pushed these posts to the top because they caused big reactions a former Facebook worker said post like is Ronaldo better than Messi or the other way around made fans argue a lot the algorithm loved that and showed those posts more fans believed what they saw a rivalry that seemed perfectly balanced even if it wasn't marketing teams also played a big role Messi was far better at creating chances for his teammates he created twice as many big chances as Ronaldo in their careers 48 to 176 but this wasn't shown in ads instead Ronaldo's athletic goals and celebrations were highlighted because they looked cooler on TV even Ronaldo's teams helped shape the story when Jose Mourinho coached Real Madrid he told his media team to focus on Ronaldo's goals in big games during a season when Messi scored more overall a former Real Madrid media worker later said him our job was to control the story not to show all the stats TV broadcast did the same in the 2011 Champions League Messi created three times as many chances as Ronaldo but the coverage focused on Ronaldo's celebrations after scoring a Spanish journalist admitted producers wanted exciting goal Clips not passing highlights Ronaldo's celebrations looked better on screen the Rivalry wasn't just promoted it was carefully built Messi's incredible creativity was often hidden behind Ronaldo's flashy image the idea that they were perfectly equal wasn't true but it made a lot of money in the end the Messi versus Ronaldo rivalry became the biggest story in modern football but behind the goals trophies and debates it was as much about clever marketing as it was about their Brilliance on the pitch while people who make ads and commercials worked hard to make Messi versus Ronaldo look like the perfect rivalry the numbers tell a very different story what happens if we look at what these players did on the field when the cameras weren't just showing their goals the stats might surprise you at let's talk about dribbling first Messi dribbled past Defenders 3,153 times in his career almost double Ronaldo's 1 1,694 remember that famous moment when Messi danced through Real Madrid's defenders in the Champions League and scored that wasn't just a cool highlight it was exactly what the numbers show Messi's dribbles weren't just for fun they broke through defenses made space and created chances something Ronaldo also did in the beginning of his period at Real Madrid but less especially after his knee injury this shows how different their styles were Ronaldo liked to Wai in dangerous spots ready to score when his teammates passed him the ball Messi though didn't wait he made those dangerous chances happen by himself with almost 1,500 more dribbles Messi tore apart defenses in ways that didn't always make it into the highlight reels now let's look at passing Messi made 1,544 key passes in his career passes that led to shots while Ronaldo made 890 that's a more than 50% difference Messi was amazing at setting up his teammates and the numbers prove it these stats show that Messi and Ronaldo were very different kinds of players Ronaldo became one of the best finishers ever scoring goals from chances his teammates created Messi on the other hand was both a top scorer and a top playmaker doing the work of two players at once both Styles helped their teams win but Messi's contributions went far beyond just scoring even when we look at expected goals a stat that measures How likely a shot is to become a goal Macy stands out scored 33 3.1 more goals than he should have compared to 4.6 of Ronaldo he scored way more goals than the stats said he should turning impossible shots into goals Messi didn't just score goals he controlled the whole game when experts combine all these stats into overall player ratings Messi comes out on top again he had higher Match ratings in almost every competition even though Defenders often sent two or three players to stop him Messi didn't just score goals he controlled the whole game one of the most eye popping stats is about big chances created these are the best chances to score and Messi made 420 of them for his teammates Ronaldo he made 175 that's a difference of 245 these are the kinds of chances that win games and trophies and Messi created them at an incredible rate even in Seasons when Messi focused more on scoring he still created more chances than Ronaldo for example in 2011 to 12 Messi scored a record breaking 50 League goals but even then he created 32 big chances for his teammates more than Ronaldo ever did in a single season Messi's ability to both score and create at the highest level is what makes him so special now imagine this if you took away all the goals Messi and Ronaldo scored and only looked at their creative stats like dribbles key passes and chances created Messi would still be one of the best Playmakers in football history if you did the same for Ronaldo his creative numbers wouldn't even put him among the best Playmakers of his time so what do these numbers tell us the Rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo wasn't really about who was better at the same things they were both amazing but in very different ways Ronaldo was a fantastic goal scorer but Messi was on another level he could do it all the Rivalry might have been sold as a battle of equals but the stats tell a different story do you remember the big games during El classicos and in the Champions League this shows a clear winner even though ads and TV tried to make it look like they were equals equals let's look at the numbers Messi and Ronaldo played against each other 36 times in those games Ronaldo scored 21 goals and made one assist Messi he scored 22 goals and made 12 assists that means Messi helped with 34 goals in total while Ronaldo was involved in 22 Messi had a 55% Advantage when they faced off in the biggest game gam like El Classico finals Messi shined even brighter he scored seven goals and made two assists while Ronaldo scored five goals and didn't make any assists when the pressure was highest Messi's allaround play made a bigger difference even their team success tells the story between 2009 and 2018 when their rivalry was at its peak Messi's Barcelona won 16 of their matchups Ronaldo's Real Madrid only won nine and 11 games ended in a draw that means Messi's team won almost half the time while Ronaldo's team won just a quarter of the time now let's talk about how they played in those games Messi dribbled past Defenders 152 times Ronaldo only 48 times Messi also kept the ball much better losing it just 89 times compared to Ronaldo's 24 Messi controlled the game while Ronaldo struggled to hold on to the ball and when the game was close Messi was the one who stepped up in matches decided by just one goal Messi scored the winner eight times Ronaldo only did it three times when it really mattered Messi delivered but here's the surprising part A study in 2019 found that highlight videos of Messi and Ronaldo's games gave 58% of the airtime to Ronaldo even though Messi had a bigger impact why because because Ronaldo's celebrations and reactions got more clicks and Views TV producers cared more about what looked exciting than what actually happened one El Classico director even admitted in 2021 that they were told to show 50/50 coverage of Messi and Ronaldo no matter how they played even when Messi was clearly better we had to find moments of Ronaldo to make it seem balanced they said after games the same thing happened in 2017 Messi scored twice in a Classico including a last minute winner while Ronaldo didn't do much but instead of focusing on Messi's Brilliance analysts talked about Ronaldo's hard work and Leadership to keep the debate alive one pundit later admitted we knew Messi was on another level but we had to make it seem like a competition the most obvious example came in the 2011 Champions League semifinal Messi scored both goals in a two win including an incredible solo goal that people still talk about today that his boys will do the talking on the pitch here's lonel Messi still Messi and he has a classic in the Classico the game the focus shifted to whether Ronaldo's teammates had let him down instead of celebrating Messi's amazing performance let's compare them in the next phase the Champions League the way people talk about Messi and Ronaldo in the champions league has been shaped by TV and media but the real numbers tell a very different story while Ronaldo is often called the king of the Champions League the stats show that Messi was actually better in many important ways let's break it down in simple terms first let's talk about goals Ronaldo has scored more Champions League goals than Messi 141 compared to Messi's 130 but here's the thing Ronaldo played 20 more games to get there Messi scored a goal every 105 minutes while Ronaldo needed 114 minutes for each goal that means Messi was faster and more efficient at scoring now if we look at all the ways they helped their team goals and assists combined Messi was even better Messi made something happen a goal or an assist every 80 minutes while Ronaldo did it every 88 Minutes it might not sound like a big difference but over hundreds of games it adds up to a lot more moments where Messi helped his team even when experts rated their performances Messi came out on top analysts who grade players gave Messi an average score of 8.23 in Champions League games while Ronaldo's average was 7.75 and this wasn't just in easy games Messi kept his higher ratings even in the tough knockout matches where Ronaldo is often praised the most [Applause] Messi where Ronaldo is often praised the most one of the biggest differences between them is how they helped their teammates Messi made 345 key passes in the champion League passes that set up chances to score Ronaldo made 274 that's a huge gap especially since Messi played fewer games for example in the 2014 to5 Champions League season when Barcelona won the trophy Messi created 36 chances for his teammates more than anyone else that year in the semifinal against Bayern Munich he scored two amazing goals including a famous solo effort but he also created seven chances for his teammates after the game most people only talked about his solo goal even though he dominated the entire match and sometimes the way the media talked about Ronaldo didn't match what actually happened in 2016 after Real Madrid won the Champions League a big Sports Network called Ronaldo the king of the Champions League even though he only scored two goals in The Knockout rounds and missed a penalty in the final shootout that same season Messi scored five goals in the round of 16 against Arsenal created 27 chances in the tournament and had a 91% passing accuracy in the final third of the pitch but Messi's performances didn't get the same attention what about The Knockout stages where Ronaldo is often the King of The Knockout round yes this is actually where Ronaldo outperformed Messi scoring a goal per 113 minutes against a goal per 136 of Messi Ronaldo even had more assists here 15 against 12 but we have to mention Ronaldo played 85 games compared to 77 in terms of assists and goals Ronaldo is the king of the Champions League still has the record of most goals in total most goals in a single season 17 finishing as the top scorer on seven occasions compared to six of Messi even this is interested stat Ronaldo even scored more free kicks than Messi Ronaldo made 12 to five of Messi what is your favorite moment of Ronaldo or Messi in the Champions League leave a comment down below the Champions League debate might seem tricky but trophies those shiny prizes teams win are supposed to be simple you can't argue with a trophy right or can you what if I told you that when we count all the trophies Messi and Ronaldo have won the difference is even bigger than their Champions League stats suggest football is all about winning scoring goals is great but every player dreams of lifting trophies when they're a kid and when we look at the numbers Messi has won 44 major trophies while Ronaldo has won 35 that's a difference of nine trophies yet this doesn't get talked about as much as it should this Gap shows more than just numbers it tells us how these players help their teams win Messi has won 12 League titles with Barcelona and PSG showing he dominated in his League's year after year Ronaldo on the other hand has seven League titles from playing in England Spain and Italy that being sad we have to be fair Ronaldo proved to put his mark on the big league in Europe England Spain and Italy the way their teams worked also tells us something important Pep Guardiola Messi's coach at Barcelona once said Messi made everything easier for everyone he was the conductor of our Orchestra this means Messi wasn't just a player he was the one who made the whole team work Ronaldo's coach at Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson said something different Christiano was the ultimate match winner but our system wasn't built around him alone Ronaldo was a great finisher but Messi was the one who made his team better as a whole in today's world social media plays a big part part in how we see players Ronaldo's dramatic goals and celebrations for different famous clubs made him look like he was always on top meanwhile Messi quietly kept winning more trophies Ronaldo's career choices focused on showing his quality in different leagues while Messi's loyalty and team success tell a different story for players trophies aren't just shiny objects they're proof of hard work teamwork and dreams coming true they're what every player wants to leave behind as their legacy and when we look at the trophy cabinets Messi's colle action tells a story of Brilliance and success that no words or marketing campaigns can argue with so what can we say about this greatest rivalry in sports history when we look past the ads social media posts and TV highlights a surprising truth comes out the Messi Ronaldo rivalry wasn't as equal as it seemed in many ways it was a story created to keep us watching the numbers tell us something simple one player Messi was better in almost every way that matters but this rivalry wasn't just about football it was about how easily We Believe stories made by companies that want to sell jerseys get clicks and make money the Rivalry wasn't just about their skills it was also about a marketing machine that new people love drama and competition the Messi Ronaldo story is like a Blockbuster movie exciting and full of action but not always true to life Messi's creativity efficiency and allaround Brilliance were often hidden behind Ronaldo's flashing goals and big celebrations the media which makes money from what gets the most attention helped keep the Rivalry alive even when the stats showed Messi was ahead this doesn't mean Ronaldo wasn't great he's one of the best players ever but the Rivalry as it was sold to us wasn't a fair fight it was a story made to entertain us and make money not to show the full truth so the next time you hear about a new great rivalry think about it is it real competition or just another story made to sell more stuff and keep us watching the Messi Ronaldo era taught us to love greatness but it also taught us to question the stories we're told if you want to follow a story about an African Street Bower who embarrassed every team in the Premier League check out our video here