Comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s international records after turning 30

Nestor Watach • 24 Mar 2025

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have aged like fine wines, enjoying some of their biggest highs in the latter halves of their careers – particularly on the international stage for Argentina and Portugal respectively.

But which of the two era-defining rivals has the more impressive international record after turning 30? We’ve taken a closer look at their stats.

Ronaldo’s numbers are off the charts. Eighty-four of his all-time record 136 international goals have been scored after turning 30.

If he never made his debut until after his 30th birthday, Ronaldo would still be the eighth in international football’s all-time scorers charts.

Only Romelu Lukaku (88 goals for Belgium) and Robert Lewandowski (85 goals for Poland) have scored more for European nations than post-30 Ronaldo, and they’ve had their entire careers to hit those numbers.

The still-active 40-year-old Real Madrid icon enjoyed arguably the proudest moment of his career at the age of 31, too, having captained Portugal to the European Championships in 2016.

He was forced off through injury early in the final against France but cheered on from the sidelines as his team-mates delivered the trophy with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the hosts.

Three years later Ronaldo won the second piece of international silverware of his career – after scoring a hat-trick in the Nations League semi-finals against Switzerland, he got his hands on the trophy after Portugal ground out a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final.

Messi is two and a half years younger than Ronaldo and as such hasn’t clocked up quite as much football as Ronaldo after turning 30. He’s made 28 fewer international appearances since turning 30 and has scored 30 fewer goals.

However, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has notched more assists and has been more prolific in terms of goal contributions per minute, averaging a goal or assist every 82 minutes for Argentina since turning 30 compared to every 84 minutes for Ronaldo.

Messi’s achievements after turning 30 go far beyond just the impressive numbers, though. And in an alternate reality, he might not have enjoyed this beautifully rewarding part of his international career.

“For me, the national team is over,” Messi said after defeat by Chile in the 2016 Copa America final.

“I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion.”

It was the fourth major final defeat that Messi had suffered with Argentina, and he was 29 at the time he announced his retirement from the national team.

But he soon went back on that decision, which is something millions of Argentinians will be eternally thankful for.

The Barcelona legend continued to stomach heartache in his early 30s, but everything changed at the 2021 Copa America – during which he turned 34 – when he captained Argentina to their first piece of major silverware in 28 years.

Messi rolled back the years and was an inspirational figure, named Player of the Tournament, at that summer tournament. And the following year he repeated the trick at age 35, La Albiceleste’s talisman as they won the big one – the World Cup – in Qatar.

And last summer they completed a historic three-peat, winning a third successive major trophy by retaining the Copa America. Messi wasn’t quite as influential for that one, but his leadership still proved useful out in the United States.

Here’s how Messi and Ronaldo’s international records stack up against one another after turning 30: