Who has had the better international career? Messi or Ronaldo?

genardk · Jun 4, 2022

Red the Bear said:
Argentina has an insane degree of footballing heritage compared to Portugal in fact i think Argentina is one of the only countries to have won more games against Brazil than losing, that just shows you how good they are and were.
They won 15 copa americas and came second an another 14 times while Portugal never won an international trophy in their entire existence, Ronaldo winning his country's first European must surely mean a lot more , quality of the competition aside.

You seem to ignore the fact that Argentina only won 2 Copas between in the last 62 years between 1959 and 2021 until their last trophy last year..
The last time they won was in 1993 and won again with Messi after 28 years.

Plus, individually, Messi was selected as the best player in every single tournament at every age group, World Cup, Copa (2015-2021), Olympics, U-20 WC etc. Ronaldo has zero, does not come close. The only major team Portugal had to face in EC 2016 was France in the final and he was injured. It was probably the jammiest win, their path looks like a joke EC path.. There were three surprise EC wins in the last 30 years, and see below the type of teams Greece and Denmark had to overcome.

Denmark's rivals in 1992: England, Sweden, France, Holland, Germany
Greece's rivals in 2004: Portugal (twice), Spain, Russia, France, Czech Rep
Portugal's rivals in 2016: Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Poland, Croatia, Wales, France

And people say Greece's win is overrated :lol:

genardk · Jun 4, 2022

double post..

Red the Bear · Jun 4, 2022

genardk said:
You seem to ignore the fact that Argentina only won 2 Copas between in the last 62 years between 1959 and 2021 until their last trophy last year..
The last time they won was in 1993 and won again with Messi after 28 years.

Plus, individually, Messi was selected as the best player in every single tournament at every age group, World Cup, Copa (2015-2021), Olympics, U-20 WC etc. Ronaldo has zero, does not come close. The only major team Portugal had to face in EC 2016 was France in the final and he was injured. It was probably the jammiest win, their path looks like a joke EC path.. There were three surprise EC wins in the last 30 years, and see below the type of teams Greece and Denmark had to overcome.

Denmark's rivals in 1992: England, Sweden, France, Holland, Germany
Greece's rivals in 2004: Portugal (twice), Spain, Russia, France, Czech Rep
Portugal's rivals in 2016: Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Poland, Croatia, Wales, France

And people say Greece's win is overrated

And they came up as runners up 5 times since, the pedigree difference between Portugal and Argentina is massive, that's just the way it is and so unless Messi manages to win the world cup ronaldo's euro win holds more weight in my opinion.

Also it probably won't make much of a difference but I thinks Messi had one more chance to have a go in copa compared to ronald and euros with back to back copas in 2015 and 2016 and again 2019 and 2021.

Murder on Zidane's Floor · Jun 4, 2022

Ronaldo.

Red the Bear · Jun 4, 2022

Andrade said:
People are overstating the Euros here a bit I think. We're talking about a tournament that has been won by Greece, Denmark and Czechoslovakia. Yet people would have you believe it's pretty much the same as winning the World Cup. It is not. Have a look and try and find the last time a team like Greece won the World Cup. Portugal winning the Euros was not astonishing in the slightest; nations with way less pedigree have won it before. However, it was great for them to win their first major prize.

While i think Euro is a better competition than copa ( marginally perhaps) its irrelevant to my point, however you would like to spin it, Portugal has had weaker players compared to Argentina and much less success on the international stage.

AaronRedDevil · Jun 4, 2022

Ronaldo easily. Argentina has always been a way bigger team than most in Copa America except Brazil and I’m surprised it taken him this long to win it. Also with his team he hasn’t performed well like at Barcelona. Only in the last 2 or 3 years he’s been good,

genardk · Jun 4, 2022

Red the Bear said:
And they came up as runners up 5 times since, the pedigree difference between Portugal and Argentina is massive, that's just the way it is and so unless Messi manages to win the world cup ronaldo's euro win holds more weight in my opinion.

Also it probably won't make much of a difference but I thinks Messi had one more chance to have a go in copa compared to ronald and euros with back to back copas in 2015 and 2016 and again 2019 and 2021.

Messi already played the WC final and won the MVP award.

Ronaldo again did not even play for more than 10-15 minutes against France and his teammates showed they can win against France in France. The guy was not even their best player, it was Pepe yet gets all the credit.

Unless Ronaldo wins a best player award in a major tournament like Messi did in every tournament, case is closed.

Black Adder · Jun 4, 2022

Cristiano. Still doesn't make him better player though.

Andrade · Jun 4, 2022

Red the Bear said:
While u think Euro is a better competition than copa ( marginally perhaps) its irrelevant to my point, however you would like to spin it, Portugal has had weaker players compared to Argentina and much less success on the international stage.

Portugal is a much much smaller country with less international success obviously. But it is a country of great football heritage. They've produced players before Ronaldo that are among the very best in history and their club sides have been competitive in Europe for much of the past 60 years. It's not a Denmark, Norway or Greece.

Red the Bear · Jun 4, 2022

Andrade said:
Portugal is a much much smaller country with less international success obviously. But it is a country of great football heritage. They've produced players before Ronaldo that are among the very best in history and their club sides have been competitive in Europe for much of the past 60 years. It's not a Denmark, Norway or Greece.

True obviously as they had all time great like eusebio and Figo, but I think its safe to say they're much weaker in that regard compared to Argentina home of Maradona, di estefano and many other all time greats.

genardk · Jun 4, 2022

Red the Bear said:
While u think Euro is a better competition than copa ( marginally perhaps) its irrelevant to my point, however you would like to spin it, Portugal has had weaker players compared to Argentina and much less success on the international stage.

Not every Euro is created equally as I explained above, look at Greece's and Denmark's rivals and compare them with those of Portugal.

You're talking about a weak team but completely ignoring the weak path they have. Not to mention they would not even pass their group if UEFA did not change the rules..

A very weak path for a relatively weak team (yet they won against France in France "without" Ronaldo), Portugal would be demolished had they faced a proper path rather than a joke path. It's criminal to call this path a usual EC winner path and give all the credit to Ronaldo when he barely played in the final against the first major team they faced.

It's also unfair to call this Portuguese team too weak as if they are not the ones who won EC against France "without" Ronaldo.

Red the Bear · Jun 4, 2022

genardk said:
Not every Euro is created equally as I explained above, look at Greece's and Denmark's rivals and compare them with those of Portugal.

You're talking about a weak team but completely ignoring the weak path they have. Not to mention they would not even pass their group if UEFA did not change the rules..

A very weak path for a relatively weak team (yet they won against France in France "without" Ronaldo), Portugal would be demolished had they faced a proper path rather than a joke path. It's criminal to call this path a usual EC winner path and give all the credit to Ronaldo when he barely played in the final against the first major team they faced.

It's also unfair to call this Portuguese team too weak as if they are not the ones who won EC against France "without" Ronaldo.

I won't argue about the quality and fair enough if you think that was a weak route to the final (it probably was) but you can only beat whats in front of you and that's just what they did.
You wouldn't strip someone off their title just because they had a weak path, in the end the fact of the matter is that Ronaldo helped to win his country's first international trophy.
It took Messi much longer to do so and he only won his country's 15th copa America title ( great achievement nonetheless but less important compared to what Ronaldo did).

No one cares about what happens to runners ups, that's just the way it is, it's winner takes all.

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

Easily and I mean easily Ronaldo.

Argentina won major trophies before Messi and will do so after Messi. The Copa was a cute win which took Messi 5 tries to do even though Argentina o Brazil are always one of the teams in the Finals and are levels above every team in copa.

Portugal before Ronaldo had zero wins. With Ronaldo 2 finals and 2 semi finals. At 19 he was a key player in a final run which Portugal lost to Greece.Ronaldo also produced in Portugal with players that were infinitely worse then the squads Messi had in Argentina.

Ronaldo with Argentina would have won more finals then Messi did with those squads. Messi was struggling playing with Mbappe and Neymar I can only imagine him trying to play a 1-2 with Hugo Almeida or Postiga or rely on Raul Meireles and Miguel Veloso to hold the midfield. Worst case he can always count on Silvestre Varela.

Ronaldo Euro win holds A LOT more weight then the Copa. I would even argue the Nations league is more difficult to win then the Copa.

The World Cup and Euro are the two biggest and most prestigious International comps. The Copa is the South American versions of the gold cup, just like USA or Mexico are always in the final the same can be said about Argentina.

Ronaldo has more records internationally along with winning the biggest prize bar the World Cup.

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

genardk said:
Messi already played the WC final and won the MVP award.

Ronaldo again did not even play for more than 10-15 minutes against France and his teammates showed they can win against France in France. The guy was not even their best player, it was Pepe yet gets all the credit.

Unless Ronaldo wins a best player award in a major tournament like Messi did in every tournament, case is closed.

Many people denote that WC “MVP”. He won because of his name because he was very clearly not the best player at the World Cup.

genardk · Jun 4, 2022

Red the Bear said:
I won't argue about the quality and fair enough if you think that was a weak route to the final (it probably was) but you can only beat whats in front of you and that's just what they did.
You wouldn't strip someone off their title just because they had a weak path, in the end the fact of the matter is that Ronaldo helped to win his country's first international trophy.
It took Messi much longer to do so and he only won his country's 15th copa America title ( great achievement nonetheless but less important compared to what Ronaldo did).

No one cares about what happens to runners ups, that's just the way it is, it's winner takes all.

The guy did not even play against France, was not even his team's best player.

You are also conflating team success with individual success fully ignoring the fact that Messi was chosen as the best player in every single tournament he played in including the WC, Ronaldo has "0" zero, "winner takes it all", agree..

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

genardk said:
The guy did not even play against France, was not even his team's best player.

You are also conflating team success with individual success fully ignoring the fact that Messi was chosen as the best player in every single tournament he played in including the WC, Ronaldo has "0" zero, "winner takes it all", agree..

You conveniently forget to mention that Portugal would of been eliminated in the group stage without Ronaldo and would not have got to the final with a goal and assist in the semi final as well as playing a part in the winning goal vs Croatia.

RedRonaldo · Jun 4, 2022

I think it's still Ronaldo, because:

- Euro > Copa
- UEFA Nations league > CONMEBOL/UEFA Cup
- 115 goals (all time top scorer) > 81 goals
- 21 goals (WC+Euro all time top scorer) > 19 goals (WC+Copa)
- Euro all time top scorer > Copa 7th top scorer

People may argue Messi is better though as he has won tournament best player awards before, for which Ronaldo hasn't, except top scorer awards:

- WC Golden Ball > Euro Golden Boot

But anyway, I think both Zidane and L.Ronaldo had better international career than Messi or Ronaldo, so I am not sure if this argument really matters.

- Zidane (WC, Euro, WC golden ball, Euro player of tournament)
- L.Ronaldo (WC, Copa x2, WC golden ball, WC golden boot, 2nd all time top scorer in WC)

Maybe let's just revisit this again after this year's WC. I think by then it would be more conclusive.

Andrade · Jun 4, 2022

SportingCP96 said:
Easily and I mean easily Ronaldo.

Disagree. I'd say it's easily Messi

SportingCP96 said:
Argentina won major trophies before Messi and will do so after Messi. The Copa was a cute win which took Messi 5 tries to do even though Argentina o Brazil are always one of the teams in the Finals and are levels above every team in copa.

Messi won the Copa as the top scorer, top assister and best player. Ronaldo has never been the best player at any international tournament. Messi has been on 3 occasions, more than anyone else in history
.

SportingCP96 said:
Portugal before Ronaldo had zero wins. With Ronaldo 2 finals and 2 semi finals. At 19 he was a key player in a final run which Portugal lost to Greece.Ronaldo also produced in Portugal with players that were infinitely worse then the squads Messi had in Argentina.

I don't think you can give 19 year old Ronaldo credit for Portugal's Golden generation reaching the Euros final on home soil. They also qualified for the WC in 2002 for the first time since the 80s when Ronaldo was obviously not in the team so the resurgence didn't begin with Ronaldo.

SportingCP96 said:
Ronaldo with Argentina would have won more finals then Messi did with those squads. Messi was struggling playing with Mbappe and Neymar I can only imagine him trying to play a 1-2 with Hugo Almeida or Postiga or rely on Raul Meireles and Miguel Veloso to hold the midfield. Worst case he can always count on Silvestre Varela.

You have no way of knowing this. What we do know is that Ronaldo has never scored a goal in an international final and has never scored a goal in the knockout rounds of the WC. So I'd gently suggest that your bias as a Portuguese person (I assume) is causing you to nake speculative claims that are not actually backed up by the available evidence.

SportingCP96 said:
Ronaldo Euro win holds A LOT more weight then the Copa. I would even argue the Nations league is more difficult to win then the Copa.

I don't think it does, not least because Messi was by far the best player in the tournament and Ronaldo was not and did not play the vast majority of the final. Also, the nations league is not even a proper tournament.

SportingCP96 said:
The World Cup and Euro are the two biggest and most prestigious International comps. The Copa is the South American versions of the gold cup, just like USA or Mexico are always in the final the same can be said about Argentina.

The Euros have been won by Greece, Denmark and Czechoslovakia. Your bias is showing again, sir.

SportingCP96 said:
Ronaldo has more records internationally along with winning the biggest prize bar the World Cup.

More international records? Um, no he doesn't.

Trophy Room · Jun 4, 2022

If Argentina wins the WC it’s settled.

footballistic orgasm · Jun 4, 2022

Andrade said:
Disagree. I'd say it's easily Messi

Messi won the Copa as the top scorer, top assister and best player. Ronaldo has never been the best player at any international tournament. Messi has been on 3 occasions, more than anyone else in history
.

I don't think you can give 19 year old Ronaldo credit for Portugal's Golden generation reaching the Euros final on home soil. They also qualified for the WC in 2002 for the first time since the 80s when Ronaldo was obviously not in the team so the resurgence didn't begin with Ronaldo.

You have no way of knowing this. What we do know is that Ronaldo has never scored a goal in an international final and has never scored a goal in the knockout rounds of the WC. So I'd gently suggest that your bias as a Portuguese person (I assume) is causing you to nake speculative claims that are not actually backed up by the available evidence.

I don't think it does, not least because Messi was by far the best player in the tournament and Ronaldo was not and did not play the vast majority of the final. Also, the nations league is not even a proper tournament.

The Euros have been won by Greece, Denmark and Czechoslovakia. Your bias is showing again, sir.

More international records? Um, no he doesn't.

Excellent post.

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

Andrade said:
Disagree. I'd say it's easily Messi

Messi won the Copa as the top scorer, top assister and best player. Ronaldo has never been the best player at any international tournament. Messi has been on 3 occasions, more than anyone else in history
.

I don't think you can give 19 year old Ronaldo credit for Portugal's Golden generation reaching the Euros final on home soil. They also qualified for the WC in 2002 for the first time since the 80s when Ronaldo was obviously not in the team so the resurgence didn't begin with Ronaldo.

You have no way of knowing this. What we do know is that Ronaldo has never scored a goal in an international final and has never scored a goal in the knockout rounds of the WC. So I'd gently suggest that your bias as a Portuguese person (I assume) is causing you to nake speculative claims that are not actually backed up by the available evidence.

I don't think it does, not least because Messi was by far the best player in the tournament and Ronaldo was not and did not play the vast majority of the final. Also, the nations league is not even a proper tournament.

The Euros have been won by Greece, Denmark and Czechoslovakia. Your bias is showing again, sir.

More international records? Um, no he doesn't.

Look at how many cops Argentina and Brazil have….it’s a joke and very one sided.

The fact Greece, Denmark etc have won the Euro is proof it’s a more difficult competition to win so thank you for helping my case.

Yes you might not remember but Ronaldo was an important player in Euro 04 so much so that they started him in the final.

Ronaldo did much more with much less At international level. Imagine if Ronaldo had the teams Messi ha

The amount of chances Messi had at the copa it’s insane.

As I said before it’s quite easily Ronaldo and yes he has more international records then Messi does. Messi has never had to lead and carry Portugal the same way Ronaldo has done.

Andrade · Jun 4, 2022

footballistic orgasm said:
Excellent post.

Cheers

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

Trophy Room said:
If Argentina wins the WC it’s settled.

That’s the only way for Messi to pass Ronaldo on the international stage as well as in history.

Andrade · Jun 4, 2022

SportingCP96 said:
Look at how many cops Argentina and Brazil have….it’s a joke and very one sided.

Argentina have won 2 in 60 years prior to last year so no, not really.

SportingCP96 said:
The fact Greece, Denmark etc have won the Euro is proof it’s a more difficult competition to win so thank you for helping my case.

No, this shows that it is not as difficult a competition to win as, say, the World Cup, which Greece have qualified for 3 times in 90 years.

SportingCP96 said:
Yes you might not remember but Ronaldo was an important player in Euro 04 so much so that they started him in the final.

I do remember. The point is that they got to the final because they had a good team led by Ballon D'Or winner Figo, not because of a teenage Ronaldo who was a raw talent but far from the key player at the time.

SportingCP96 said:
Ronaldo did much more with much less At international level. Imagine if Ronaldo had the teams Messi ha

Disagree. Messi has been the best player at 3 (really 4) international tournaments (the most in history), Ronaldo at zero. Messi has been clearly better in the World Cup, the one tournament they both play in (Golden Ball, reached the final). Messi also has the most goal contributions in international tournament history and the most goal contributions in KO matches in international tournament history.

SportingCP96 said:
The amount of chances Messi had at the copa it’s insane.

He's played 6 Copas. Ronaldo has played 5 Euros. So exactly one more chance

SportingCP96 said:
As I said before it’s quite easily Ronaldo and yes he has more international records then Messi does. Messi has never had to lead and carry Portugal the same way Ronaldo has done.

Yes you said that before but your argument is not convincing, with respect. It's false that CR has more records and also false in my opinion that he has done more of a carry job. Messi led a team that scored 8 total goals (of which he scored half) to the final of the World Cup. Ronaldo has done nothing comparable to that.

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

Andrade said:
Argentina have won 2 in 60 years prior to last year so no, not really.

No, they shows that it is not as difficult a competition to win as, say, the World Cup, which I don't think Greece have ever even qualified for.

I do remember. The point is that they got to the final because they had a good team led by Ballon D'Or winner Figo, not because of a teenage Ronaldo who was a raw talent but far from the key player at the time.

Disagree. Messi has been the best player at 3 (really 4) international tournaments (the most in history), Ronaldo at zero. Messi has been clearly better in the World Cup, the one tournament they both play in (Golden Ball, reached the final). Messi also has the most goal contributions in international tournament in history and the most goal contributions in KO matches in international tournament history.

He's played 6 Copas. Ronaldo has played 5 Euros. So exactly one more chance

Yes you said that before but your argument is not convincing, with respect. It's false that he has more records and also false in my opinion that he has done more of a carry job. Messi led a team that scored 8 total goals (of which he scored half) to the final of the World Cup. Ronaldo has done nothing comparable to that.

Argentina of Brazil are always in the final. If it’s not one it’s the other. The Copa is the South American gold cup and he has had many finals opportunities.

The fact Greece and Denmark won the Euro Shows it’s more difficulty to win it’s not like the copa Where you can predict the winner every year.

So is Leicester city winning the EPL mean that it’s not competitive? That’s proof of how competitive the EPL is.

Figo had a poor Euro 04 actually and made up for it in 2006 where he was better.

Deco Actually was the key guy in 04 with him starting in game 2 after Scolari dropped Figo helped lead the charge to the final.

Messi’s goals were in the group stage and he scored a whopping zero goals in the KO rounds. Your holding on a to a World Cup final appearance which they lost. With a team that is expected to go further then Portugal in eveRy competition.

As was proved with PSG Messi woukd struggle massively playing with almeida and Postiga.

If Messi does not win the WC then it’s an easy win for Ronaldo on the international stage.

Jund · Jun 4, 2022

I'd agree that Copa is harder than the Euros...if you're not playing for Argentina/Brazil.

Andrade · Jun 4, 2022

SportingCP96 said:
Argentina of Brazil are always in the final. If it’s not one it’s the other. The Copa is the South American gold cup and he has had many finals opportunities.

The fact Greece and Denmark won the Euro Shows it’s more difficulty to win it’s not like the copa Where you can predict the winner every year.

In the last 15 years it's been won by Uruguay and Chile, so you're wrong again here I'm afraid.

SportingCP96 said:
So is Leicester city winning the EPL mean that it’s not competitive? That’s proof of how competitive the EPL is.

This has nothing to do with what we are discussing. Nevertheless, see my point above.

SportingCP96 said:
Figo had a poor Euro 04 actually and made up for it in 2006 where he was better.

Deco Actually was the key guy in 04 with him starting in game 2 after Scolari dropped Figo helped lead the charge to the final.

The point is that it wasn't Ronaldo. Portugal had a really good team at the time

SportingCP96 said:
Messi’s goals were in the group stage and he scored a whopping zero goals in the KO rounds. Your holding on a to a World Cup final appearance which they lost. With a team that is expected to go further then Portugal in eveRy competition.

He assisted a goal in the KOs and was the best player in the tournament. Ronaldo has never been the best player at any tournament and he has never scored a goal or registered a single assist in the KO rounds of the WC.

SportingCP96 said:
As was proved with PSG Messi woukd struggle massively playing with almeida and Postiga.

This statement is completely nonsensical I'm afraid. Speculative statements like this don't help your argument, I would submit.

SportingCP96 said:
If Messi does not win the WC then it’s an easy win for Ronaldo on the international stage.

Messi is already way ahead of Ronaldo in international tournaments as I've already demonstrated. Most goal contributions in international tournament history. Won the Copa as top scorer, best player and top assister, 3 things that Ronaldo has never been in any tournament (well he was top scorer once in 2012 in a six way tie with 3 goals)

Pocho · Jun 4, 2022

Ronaldos career is better cause Argentina won many times Copa America 62 years ago and Portugal beated France although Ronaldo didn’t play.

Rojow · Jun 4, 2022

Of course it's Messi. Way more finals, MvP awards abd trophys now.

Way better tournaments obviusly. You win MvP awards because of that.

SportingCP96 · Jun 4, 2022

Andrade said:
In the last 15 years it's been won by Uruguay and Chile, so you're wrong again here I'm afraid.

This has nothing to do with what we are discussing. Nevertheless, see my point above.

The point is that it wasn't Ronaldo. Portugal had a really good team at the time

He assisted a goal in the KOs and was the best player in the tournament. Ronaldo has never been the best player at any tournament and he has never scored a goal or registered a single assist in the KO rounds of the WC.

This statement is completely nonsensical I'm afraid. Speculative statements like this don't help your argument, I would submit.

Messi is already way ahead of Ronaldo in international tournaments as I've already demonstrated. Most goal contributions in international tournament history. Won the Copa as top scorer, best player and top assister, 3 things that Ronaldo has never been in any tournament (well he was top scorer once in 2012 in a six way tie with 3 goals)

Many copas one before Messi and many will be one after.

sadly I don’t think that applies to Portugal.

I must admit I think your very wrong but it’s ok.

Huddsred · Jun 4, 2022

Ronaldo. Has scored the most international goals and has consistently been better than Messi at international level throughout their respective careers.

Eddy_JukeZ · Jun 5, 2022

Probably slightly Messi, but both of them have underperformed IMO.

The better question is, if you were to count only international careers, would either of them make your top 10 all-time?

Pickle85 · Jun 5, 2022

I think that Ronaldo has elevated an ordinary Portugal side while Messi has underperformed in an (often) talented Argentinian side. I know that people will wade in with 'player of the tournament' this and that but imo Messi wins very few MVP awards in international tournaments with the performances he's given if his name isn't Messi.

Tarrou · Jun 5, 2022

How did this reach 12 pages?

It’s Ronny

Eddy_JukeZ · Jun 5, 2022

Pickle85 said:
I think that Ronaldo has elevated an ordinary Portugal side while Messi has underperformed in an (often) talented Argentinian side. I know that people will wade in with 'player of the tournament' this and that but imo Messi wins very few MVP awards in international tournaments with the performances he's given if his name isn't Messi.

He's been better in the WC than Ronaldo.

His Copa America performance last year trumps any of Ronaldo's Euros.

Pickle85 · Jun 5, 2022

Eddy_JukeZ said:
He's been better in the WC than Ronaldo.

His Copa America performance last year trumps any of Ronaldo's Euros.

Disagree. On both counts.

Lord SInister · Jun 5, 2022

Pickle85 said:
Disagree. On both counts.

Bruh you are seriously saying Cristiano has been better than Messi in WC or Cristiano had a better international tournament than Messi's 2021 Copa performances.

Eddy_JukeZ · Jun 5, 2022

Pickle85 said:
Disagree. On both counts.

Which tournament was better than Messi's Copa?

Ronaldo's never been named the player of the tournament for any international tournament. Not even once. Messi has gotten it 3 times. Twice in the Copa and once in the World Cup.

I don't get how some people think he's clearly had the better international career.

Andrade · Jun 5, 2022

SportingCP96 said:
Many copas one before Messi and many will be one after.

sadly I don’t think that applies to Portugal.

I must admit I think your very wrong but it’s ok.

We can agree to disagree

Andrade · Jun 5, 2022

Pickle85 said:
I think that Ronaldo has elevated an ordinary Portugal side while Messi has underperformed in an (often) talented Argentinian side. I know that people will wade in with 'player of the tournament' this and that but imo Messi wins very few MVP awards in international tournaments with the performances he's given if his name isn't Messi.

By this logic, Ronaldo must have been truly awful in international tournaments to have never won an MVP because he's one of the biggest icons in the history of the sport. He didn't even get it when his nation won their first ever major trophy. I think this is a poor argument with all due respect. Messi got MVPs because he played well, not because his name is Messi.

Who has had the better international career? Messi or Ronaldo?

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