Messi vs Ronaldo - Five head-to-head facts ahead of potential final showdown
Having been denied the opportunity to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face off for the 36th time in their careers earlier in the season, the two powerhouses of the modern game are set to go head-to-head at the Camp Nou. Cristiano Ronaldo is back fit following the positive COVID-19 test that ruled him out of the first leg, while Messi is expected to return to the Champions League lineup following a rest last time out with top spot in Group G not yet assured.
With both players approaching if not firmly embedded in the twilight of their careers, this first meeting in over two years - when both were on the scoresheet in a 2-2 draw in El Clasico - could be one to savour. Indeed, if we're made to wait as long for another potential clash there is a good chance one or the other may have called time on their astonishing careers.
With that in mind we've picked out five facts to take in as Barcelona prepare for the visit of Juventus.
Champions League meetings a rarity
If the two legends of the game do line up against one another tonight it will be just the sixth meeting between the two in the Champions League despite facing off quite regularly in Europe early in their careers. In fact, Messi and Ronaldo went toe-to-toe in the competition more times while the latter was at Manchester United (three) than during the Portuguese's nine-year spell with Real Madrid.
The two came to blows in the 2007/08 semi-finals, when Ronaldo and United came out on top over two legs, before Messi and Barcelona got their revenge in the final a year later, with the Argentine on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win. They would meet again once Ronaldo had moved to Madrid in the final four of 2010/11, with Messi again having the last laugh with a brace that ultimately booked Barca a place in the final.
As such, it's over nine years since Messi and Ronaldo met in the Champions League, and they've never done so before the semi-final stage prior to now.
Messi has the better of the head-to-head
All in all, Messi and Ronaldo have played in the same match on 35 occasions in the past. The breakdown is 18 La Liga meetings, five in the Copa del Rey, five in the Spanish Supercup, five - as mentioned - in the Champions League and two internationals. To now, Messi has ended on the winning side 16 times to Ronaldo's ten, and also leads his rival in terms of goals scored, though by a less significant margin - 22 to 19.
Ronaldo turns tables in Europe
While it's fair to say that the majority, however slight, have sided with Messi in the debate as to the greatest player of the two, it's equally fair to claim that Ronaldo has been more prolific in the Champions League. The Juventus star is the tournament's all-time leading scorer ahead of the Argentine and has boasted a stronger scoring record in the competition in almost every season over the last decade.
In fact, Messi has only scored more goals than Ronaldo in Europe's elite club competition in one of the last eight seasons. That was just two years ago, in Ronaldo's first season in Italy, and the Barcelona star finds himself in the relatively unusual position of being ahead of Ronaldo in the Champions League scoring charts this season ahead of their potential showdown (three to two). Knowing the Portugal international, he'll be desperate to restore normality as quickly as possible, and has the ideal opportunity to do just that at the Camp Nou.
Almost inseparable in recent years
A look back at the two icons record over their last 100 appearances across league and Champions League action highlights just how close the two are in terms of their goalscoring prowess having entered the latter stages of their careers. Over his last ton of outings in La Liga and the Champions League Lionel Messi has scored a whopping 84 goals, while Ronaldo is just one back on 83 over his last 100!
Pessi or Penaldo?
When it has come to judging the goalscoring records of the two, there is one subject that invariably comes up in the endless debates as to their remarkable merits. From the Messi camp, the criticism - if you can call it as much - of Ronaldo has been an assumed over-reliance on penalty kicks as a means of stat padding.
When factoring in all of the competitions that WhoScored has covered since acquiring Opta data in 2009/10, Ronaldo has scored 502 goals - from 508 appearances - of which 96 have been penalties. By contrast, Lionel Messi has actually scored one goal less (501) from 13 more appearances (521), but just 68 of those goals have been penalties by comparison.
However, there has been a very notable shift in those numbers this season, as Messi has struggled to find his best form in a side that has endured a dismal start to the campaign. Indeed, a tally of just seven goals in 13 appearances is extremely modest by the 33-year-old's standards, and even more so when considering five of said goals have been spot kicks. By contrast, Ronaldo has scored ten goals in just nine appearances, of which only two have been penalties.
