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Assists (Opta™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo in club competitions

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
2002/2003	0	4	-4
2003/2004	0	10	-10
2004/2005	0	18	-18
2005/2006	3	26	-23
2006/2007	6	40	-34
2007/2008	19	47	-28
2008/2009	36	56	-20
2009/2010	47	64	-17
2010/2011	70	80	-10
2011/2012	100	95	+5
2012/2013	115	107	+8
2013/2014	129	121	+8
2014/2015	156	142	+14
2015/2016	179	157	+22
2016/2017	195	168	+27
2017/2018	213	176	+37
2018/2019	232	186	+46
2019/2020	257	191	+66
2020/2021	269	196	+73
2021/2022	283	199	+84
2022/2023	308	203	+105
2023/2024	321	216	+105
2024/2025	331	220	+111
2025/2026	331	221	+110

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, Major League Soccer, 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	682	26/257	10.12%	8/257	3.11%	88/257	34.24%	15/257	5.84%	137/257	53.31%
Cristiano Ronaldo	638	15/148	10.14%	0/148	0%	17/148	11.49%	2/148	1.35%	116/148	78.38%

Source: Opta™ Sports – Last update: 21/08/2025

Distribution by season

Period	Lionel Messi	Cristiano Ronaldo	Difference
2002/2003		4	-4
2003/2004		6	-6
2004/2005		8	-8
2005/2006	3	8	-5
2006/2007	3	14	-11
2007/2008	13	7	+6
2008/2009	17	9	+8
2009/2010	11	8	+3
2010/2011	23	16	+7
2011/2012	30	15	+15
2012/2013	15	12	+3
2013/2014	14	14	0
2014/2015	27	21	+6
2015/2016	23	15	+8
2016/2017	16	11	+5
2017/2018	18	8	+10
2018/2019	19	10	+9
2019/2020	25	5	+20
2020/2021	12	5	+7
2021/2022	14	3	+11
2022/2023	25	4	+21
2023/2024	13	13	0
2024/2025	10	4	+6
2025/2026		1	-1

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
FC Barcelona	778	672	269	0.86	0.35	1.21
PSG	75	32	34	0.43	0.45	0.88
Inter Miami	71	59	28	0.83	0.39	1.23
Totals	924	763	331	0.83	0.36	1.18

Summary

Lionel Messi 38 years, 1 month, 29 days

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
Sporting CP	31	5	4	0.16	0.13	0.29
Real Madrid	438	450	120	1.03	0.27	1.30
Juventus	134	101	20	0.75	0.15	0.90
Manchester Utd	346	145	57	0.42	0.16	0.58
Al-Nassr FC	112	99	20	0.88	0.18	1.06
Totals	1061	800	221	0.75	0.21	0.96