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Assists (Opta™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo in international club competitions before 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
2002	0	0	0
2003	0	0	0
2004	0	1	-1
2005	1	2	-1
2006	1	5	-4
2007	2	8	-6
2008	5	10	-5
2009	8	12	-4
2010	9	14	-5
2011	17	18	-1
2012	21	20	+1
2013	21	22	-1
2014	23	27	-4
2015	27	27	0
2016	29	27	+2
2017	29	27	+2

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 calendar year

Period	Lionel Messi	Cristiano Ronaldo	Difference
2002			0
2003			0
2004		1	-1
2005	1	1	0
2006		3	-3
2007	1	3	-2
2008	3	2	+1
2009	3	2	+1
2010	1	2	-1
2011	8	4	+4
2012	4	2	+2
2013		2	-2
2014	2	5	-3
2015	4		+4
2016	2		+2
2017			0

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
FC Barcelona	124	102	29	0.82	0.23	1.06
Totals	124	102	29	0.82	0.23	1.06

Summary

Lionel Messi 38 years, 1 month, 29 days

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
Sporting CP	3	0	0	0.00	0.00	0.00
Manchester Utd	57	17	11	0.30	0.19	0.49
Real Madrid	60	59	16	0.98	0.27	1.25
Totals	120	76	27	0.63	0.23	0.86