Ballon d'Or 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi - Who Had The Better Year?

December 6, 2017 18:45

1/9 48 – Messi is just two goals shy of the half-century mark for Barca this year following Tuesday's Champions League clash with Sporting CP, 11 more than Ronaldo.
2/9 97.1 – With his tally of 48 goals coming in 54 matches, Messi is not far from averaging a goal every game, but he has to settle for one every 97.1 minutes. Ronaldo is a little behind at one every 103.35 minutes.
3/9 23.41 – Messi also has a better conversion rate at club level, scoring with 23.41 per cent of his shots (excluding blocks), while Ronaldo has been successful with 18.69%.
4/9 1 – Ronaldo became the all-time leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues in May 17, overtaking Jimmy Greaves (366) in doing so.
5/9 600 – In June's Champions League final, in which he scored twice, Ronaldo passed the 600 goal mark for his career, six weeks after Messi reached 500 for Barca.
6/9 3 – Ronaldo also became only the second player after Alfredo Di Stefano (five) to score in three different European Cup/Champions League finals.
7/9 37 – Messi finished top scorer in LaLiga last season, netting 37 times. That was the fourth time he finished a campaign as the league's most prolific marksman, making it a Barca record.
8/9 83.64 – At international level, Ronaldo has averaged a goal every 83.64 minutes, having scored 11 times in as many matches. Messi (four in seven) has scored every 157.5 minutes after a difficult year for Argentina, although a stunning hat-trick against Ecuador snatched World Cup qualification.
9/9 122 – One of few areas in which Messi has a clear lead of Ronaldo is chances created, with the Barca star laying on 121 opportunities to team-mates compared to his rival's 55.