Comparing Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami record after 39 matches with Ronaldo’s at Al-Nassr
Lionel Messi has now completed his second season with Inter Miami, but how does his record shape up after 39 matches with Cristiano Ronaldo’s record at Al-Nassr? We’ve crunched the numbers.
After dominating Europe for the best part of two decades, both Messi and Ronaldo are now winding down away from the continent.
Ronaldo was the first player to leave Europe behind when he joined Al-Nassr back in January 2023 and Messi then followed suit a few months later when he joined Inter Miami.
Despite both of them now being in their late thirties, they have each continued to deliver the goods while playing in the United States and Saudi Arabia respectively.
Messi joined Inter Miami when they sat rock bottom of the league and he’s since been able to win the Leagues Cup and Supporters’ Shield with the MLS side.
At Al-Nassr, Ronaldo got his hands on the Arab Club Champions Cup last year and he’s continued to score with ease since moving to Saudi Arabia.
CR7 has made it no secret that he intends to score 1000 goals before he retires and given the rate he’s been scoring at recently, we wouldn’t be surprised if he hits that tally in the near future.
One of the most impressive aspects about Ronaldo’s career with Al-Nassr so far is how injury-free he’s been able to remain – even in his twilight years.
Ronaldo has already made 85 appearances for Al-Nassr, while Messi has only played 39 games for Inter Miami since he joined in the summer of 2023.
The Argentine star missed a chunk of the 2024 campaign with a ligament injury and he’s also picked up various other knocks throughout his time in the United States so far.
In order to level the playing field between both players, we’ve compared Messi’s first 39 Inter Miami matches with Ronaldo’s first 39 games for Al-Nassr.
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Amazingly, both players scored the exact same number of goals in their first 39 matches for Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively.
However, it’s Messi who has the edge over Ronaldo when it comes to non-penalty goals. CR7 scored 25 non-penalty goals in his first 39 games in Saudi Arabia, whereas Messi has scored 33 non-penalty goals in the United States.
The Inter Miami star also has the edge over his Portuguese nemesis when it comes to assists, free-kicks and his minutes-per-goal ratio.
Here’s the full breakdown of Messi and Ronaldo’s records after 39 matches for Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively:
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami record after 39 games
Games: 39
Goals: 34
Assists: 18
Goal contributions: 52
Penalties: 1
Free-kicks: 3
Minutes per goal: 89.5
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 92.2
Minutes per goal or assist: 58.5
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr record after 39 games
Games: 39
Goals: 34
Assists: 10
Goal contributions: 44
Penalties: 9
Free-kicks: 2
Minutes per goal: 101.8
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 138.4
Minutes per goal or assist: 78.6