After more than 15 seasons crystallizing the attention of the footballing world, thanks to their individual prowess and timeless rivalry, it appears that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have performed less and less in recent years, both individually and as a team.
In recent seasons, Ronaldo and Messi carry less and less than each other (37 and 35 approx). The former returned to Manchester United last summer with the aim of returning the club to the top of English football. But with only 18 goals and 3 assists in 32 games, including 29 starts (below his standards at the top of his game), he can’t do that. The Red Devils are currently ranked fifth in the English Premier League, 20 points behind the leaders (Manchester City).
white and historical season
They have also been eliminated from all national cups, and have fallen to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. Furthermore, for the first time since the 2009/10 season, the five-time Ballon d’Or will end a campaign without winning any titles. However, on an individual level, Cristiano Ronaldo can be pleased that, last Saturday, he became the top scorer in football history (807 goals).
Overall, the Portuguese has been on a downward curve since leaving Real Madrid in July 2018. Bought to allow Juventus to win C1, the top scorer in the competition’s history has never succeeded. With him, the old lady tied a quarter and two round of sixteens into three times. In terms of individual stats, CR7 has never reached 40 goals with the Italian club. However, under the colors of Casa Blanca, he scored fifty or even sixty goals several times a season.
Obviously, given his sluggishness, the Funchal (Portugal) native, who is rich in 23 individual distinctions (5 Gold Balls, 1 FIFA player, 4 European Golden Boot, 7 C1 top scorer titles, 5 top scorer titles) has scored in the England, Spain and Italy combined championships from Among others) and 29 collective titles (5 Champions Leagues, 3 Premier Leagues, 2nd Division, 2 Ligue 1, €1, etc.), they should not increase significantly in the coming years.
Messi’s worst season
The current situation of Messi, his eternal rival, should pity even more. The Ballon d’Or was transferred seven times from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain during the last summer transfer window, and he is currently experiencing the worst season of his career. Contrary to his status in Catalonia, the playmaker is not the technical captain of the Parisian club. He did not play any match befitting his talent with his new colors. As a result, he has only 7 goals and 11 assists in 26 matches (24 starts). This is well below their standards.
Recruited to allow PSG to finally win the trophy with big ears, Messi could do nothing during his disappointment with Real Madrid (losing 3-1 after winning 1-0), last week, in the round of 16 of the competition. Personally, Pulga has never reached the C1 Final since he won with Barcelona in 2015. Since then, he has scored four eliminations in the quarter-finals (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020), one in the semi-finals (2019) and the last mentioned above in Eighth.
speed loss
On an individual level, the Rosario native has been on the decline since Spain. Indeed, in his last three seasons with the Blaugrana, he did not exceed 40 goals. However, at the top of his game, he tied several exercises to fifty or even sixty goals. Now he is less powerful in punches, because he is no longer fast enough with the ball, he no longer has enough punches to carry an entire team on his own, as he did in the past.
As a result, his record, consisting of 27 individual distinctions (7 Golden Balls, FIFA player, 6 European Golden Boot, 5 top scorer titles in C1, 8 Spanish Championship top scorer titles among others) and 36 collective titles (4 Champions Leagues, 10 Ligas) , 1 Copa America, 1 gold medal in the Olympics etc.), should not expand particularly over the coming seasons. In short, we are gradually moving towards the end of the Ronald Messi era.
