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Assists (Opta™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo in national leagues

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	8	-8
2004/2005	0	12	-12
2005/2006	2	18	-16
2006/2007	4	26	-22
2007/2008	16	32	-16
2008/2009	27	38	-11
2009/2010	37	45	-8
2010/2011	55	56	-1
2011/2012	71	68	+3
2012/2013	83	78	+5
2013/2014	94	87	+7
2014/2015	112	103	+9
2015/2016	128	114	+14
2016/2017	137	120	+17
2017/2018	149	125	+24
2018/2019	162	133	+29
2019/2020	183	138	+45
2020/2021	192	141	+51
2021/2022	206	144	+62
2022/2023	224	146	+78
2023/2024	235	157	+78
2024/2025	249	160	+89
2025/2026	249	160	+89

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	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
2002/2003		4	-4
2003/2004		4	-4
2004/2005		4	-4
2005/2006	2	6	-4
2006/2007	2	8	-6
2007/2008	12	6	+6
2008/2009	11	6	+5
2009/2010	10	7	+3
2010/2011	18	11	+7
2011/2012	16	12	+4
2012/2013	12	10	+2
2013/2014	11	9	+2
2014/2015	18	16	+2
2015/2016	16	11	+5
2016/2017	9	6	+3
2017/2018	12	5	+7
2018/2019	13	8	+5
2019/2020	21	5	+16
2020/2021	9	3	+6
2021/2022	14	3	+11
2022/2023	18	2	+16
2023/2024	11	11	0
2024/2025	14	3	+11
2025/2026			0

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
FC Barcelona	520	474	192	0.91	0.37	1.28
PSG	58	22	30	0.38	0.52	0.90
Inter Miami	54	46	27	0.85	0.50	1.35
Totals	632	542	249	0.86	0.39	1.25

Summary

Lionel Messi 38 years, 3 months, 12 days

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
Sporting CP	25	3	4	0.12	0.16	0.28
Real Madrid	292	311	87	1.07	0.30	1.36
Juventus	98	81	16	0.83	0.16	0.99
Manchester Utd	236	103	37	0.44	0.16	0.59
Al-Nassr FC	81	78	16	0.96	0.20	1.16
Totals	732	576	160	0.79	0.22	1.01