Assists (Transfermarkt™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo in their National Teams

Transfermarkt‘s criteria is more lenient in their concept of assists. They include deflected passes, rebounded shots, penalties earned, and passes or shots leading to an own goal.

In this section, we use that criterion, although the figures on Transfermarkt may differ, as they are quite inconsistent in gathering assists.

Cumulative distribution

PeriodLionel MessiCristiano RonaldoDifference
2003/200403-3
2004/200508-8
2005/2006411-7
2006/2007814-6
2007/20081217-5
2008/20091417-3
2009/20101821-3
2010/201124240
2011/20122926+3
2012/20133329+4
2013/20143631+5
2014/20154031+9
2015/20164434+10
2016/20174636+10
2017/20184939+10
2018/20195039+11
2019/20205139+12
2020/20215641+15
2021/20225842+16
2022/20236344+19
2023/20246847+21
2024/20257148+23
2025/20267748+29

Distribution by season

PeriodLionel MessiCristiano RonaldoDifference
2003/20043-3
2004/20055-5
2005/200643+1
2006/200743+1
2007/200843+1
2008/20092+2
2009/2010440
2010/201163+3
2011/201252+3
2012/201343+1
2013/201432+1
2014/20154+4
2015/201643+1
2016/2017220
2017/2018330
2018/20191+1
2019/20201+1
2020/202152+3
2021/202221+1
2022/202352+3
2023/202453+2
2024/202531+2
2025/20266+6

Assists (Transfermarkt™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo in their National Teams: key facts

Who has more assists, Messi or Ronaldo?

Messi has provided 67 assists and Ronaldo 37 assists. Messi is ahead by 30. Messi gives an assist every 257 minutes and Ronaldo every 505 minutes, so Messi creates for his teammates 96% more often.

Data updated on 01/11/2026.

Cache date: 04-11-2026 01:24:21