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Assists (Opta™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo after turning 30 years old

Opta stands out as the most reliable statistics hub and serves as the de facto ‘official’ statistics provider in football. They furnish data to esteemed platforms such as the BBC, the Premier League, WhoScored, Squawka, and numerous other prominent media outlets.

Below is Opta’s interpretation of an assist:

The final touch (pass, pass-cum-shot or any other touch) leading to the recipient of the ball scoring a goal. If the final touch is deflected by an opposition player, the initiator is only given a goal assist if the receiving player was likely to receive the ball without the deflection having taken place. Own goals, directly taken free kicks, direct corner goals and penalties do not get an assist awarded.

Cumulative distribution

Period	Lionel Messi	Cristiano Ronaldo	Difference
2014/2015	0	9	-9
2015/2016	0	26	-26
2016/2017	0	39	-39
2017/2018	21	50	-29
2018/2019	41	60	-19
2019/2020	67	65	+2
2020/2021	84	72	+12
2021/2022	100	76	+24
2022/2023	130	81	+49
2023/2024	148	97	+51
2024/2025	170	102	+68
2025/2026	170	104	+66

Assists type

Compiled using Opta™ data from 2009 to present, for the following competitions:

Copa América, FIFA World Cup, FIFA World Cup Qualifier, La Liga, Ligue 1, MLS, Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Euro, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League

Player	Games	Cross		Corner		Throughball		Free kick		Others
Leo Messi	688	26/260	10%	8/260	3.08%	90/260	34.62%	15/260	5.77%	138/260	53.08%
Cristiano Ronaldo	640	15/148	10.14%	0/148	0%	17/148	11.49%	2/148	1.35%	116/148	78.38%

Source: Opta™ Sports – Last update: 02/10/2025

Distribution by season

Period	Lionel Messi	Cristiano Ronaldo	Difference
2014/2015		9	-9
2015/2016		17	-17
2016/2017		13	-13
2017/2018	21	11	+10
2018/2019	20	10	+10
2019/2020	26	5	+21
2020/2021	17	7	+10
2021/2022	16	4	+12
2022/2023	30	5	+25
2023/2024	18	16	+2
2024/2025	22	5	+17
2025/2026		2	-2

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
FC Barcelona	195	165	74	0.85	0.38	1.23
PSG	75	32	34	0.43	0.45	0.88
Inter Miami	85	76	37	0.89	0.44	1.33
Argentina	78	57	25	0.73	0.32	1.05
Totals	433	330	170	0.76	0.39	1.15

Summary

Lionel Messi 38 years, 4 months, 22 days

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
Real Madrid	161	162	43	1.01	0.27	1.27
Juventus	134	101	20	0.75	0.15	0.90
Manchester Utd	54	27	5	0.50	0.09	0.59
Al-Nassr FC	122	109	21	0.89	0.17	1.07
Portugal	108	91	15	0.84	0.14	0.98
Totals	579	490	104	0.85	0.18	1.03