Lionel Messi has passed Cristiano Rinaldo's record

Real Madrid: Lionel Messi has passed Cristiano Ronaldo’s record

It is a rivalry that dominated world football for more than a decade and turned Real Madrid vs Barcelona into the biggest game in sports in the 2010s: Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi. Unfortunately, time and tide wait for none, and both men seem to past their prime now, although they still remain very good footballers.

Messi is having a decent season with Paris Saint-Germain after going through a very difficult debut campaign. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 6 goals and provided 8 assists in 11 appearances.

On the other hand, Ronaldo no longer seems to have a regular place in the Manchester United starting XI as it feels like manager Erik ten Hag prefers Marcus Rashford as the striker.

Amidst all this, Messi has passed one of Ronaldo’s records, non-penalty goals, after the Argentine scored against Lyon in a 1-0 win for PSG in Ligue 1. As tweeted out by Gary Lineker:

“With 672 non penalty goals Messi sneaks ahead of Ronaldo having played 150 games fewer.”

Real Madrid: Messi passes Ronaldo’s record

It is safe to say that Real Madrid fans will always have a soft spot for Ronaldo, who won four Champions League titles for them and broke numerous records, including being the highest goalscorer in the history of the club.

On the other hand, someone who haunted them time after time on the pitch is Messi, yet it is safe to say that most Real Madrid fans have always respected the Argentine for the incredible talent that he is. There is zero doubt that he is one of the greatest to ever step foot on a football pitch.

For now though, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have moved on from the Ronaldo vs Messi rivalry and moved on to a new era.

This new Real Madrid is dominated by names like Karim Benzema, who is the hot favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, and Vinicius Junior. On the other hand, Barcelona have a new superstar in town in Robert Lewandowski.