Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo: Who will win more this season?

The summer transfer season is officially over and Messi and Ronaldo, the world’s best players, are on new teams. Who will have the better season? 

We all know that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are rivals — and this season will be no different.

The world’s top two players signed with new clubs last month, highlighting a summer transfer season like no other in the game’s history. Messi made his Paris Saint-German debut just this past weekend, while Ronaldo will suit up in a Manchester United uniform for the second time in his career after this week’s international break.

With the ink dry on the contracts, the players can turn to doing what they do best — scoring goals, winning games and capturing trophies.

Ronaldo rewrote the record books on Wednesday, scoring twice in a 2-1 win against Ireland in World Cup qualifying. That brought Ronaldo to a career total of 110 goals with his national team, breaking the previous international scoring record set by Iran’s Ali Daei.

Who will have the better season? Here’s a closer look.

Most goals: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Scoring goals is what Messi and Ronaldo do best. The question over who will score more remains to be seen.

Last season, Messi tallied 38 goals in 47 matches for Barcelona across all competitions. Ronaldo, meanwhile, scored 36 goals for Juventus in 44 matches in all competitions. That means the two are pretty evenly matched in the goals department, but Messi has the benefit of having teammates like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at PSG to share in the scoring burden this season.

At Man U, Ronaldo will be counted on to do most of the scoring. That’s something he did at Juve the past few years and he still has what it takes to do it again.

Advantage: Ronaldo 

Most trophies: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

We all love scoring and individual feats, but soccer is a team sport. The value of who is having the better season will ultimately be measured with silverware.

Both PSG and Man U will be competing on a variety of fronts. The Champions League is the biggest tournament both Messi and Ronaldo will be looking to win this season. Since Messi has a better supporting cast, PSG are the heavy favorites to capture Europe’s biggest prize for the very first time.

In fact, Messi has a real chance at winning the treble for PSG this season, a more likely scenario compared to Man U’s shot at just the Champions League or even winning the Premier League.

Advantage: Messi 

National team duty: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Both Messi and Ronaldo are looking to take part in next year’s World Cup. That means they will need to qualify for Qatar 2022.

Messi’s Argentina and Ronaldo’s Portugal are both expected to reach the 32-team finals. Messi is coming off winning the Copa America, his first major trophy for Argentina, while Ronaldo had helped Portugal win the Euros back in 2016. Portugal was largely a disappointment at the European Championship this summer.

Both nations will make it to the World Cup, but qualifying out of South America can be much more difficult. For that reason, Messi needs to up his game a lot more than Ronaldo. He will do that for both club and country.

Advantage: Messi