For the best part of a decade and a half, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo pushed each other to heights no other players in the sport’s history have matched.
The first meeting (23 April 2008)
Messi and Ronaldo shared a pitch for the first time in a Champions League semi-final first leg, Barcelona hosting Manchester United. It remains the only meeting between them to finish goalless, with Ronaldo even missing a penalty at Camp Nou. United went through on aggregate and went on to win the trophy, a defeat that arguably set the tone for the rivalry that followed.
La Manita (29 November 2010)
Barcelona demolished José Mourinho’s Real Madrid 5-0 at Camp Nou, with Gerard Piqué’s five-finger celebration after the final goal becoming one of the defining images of the Guardiola era.
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Messi’s solo run at the Bernabéu (27 April 2011)
With the two sides meeting four times in 18 days across the Champions League semi-final and Copa del Rey final, Messi produced arguably his signature Clásico moment: a mesmerising solo run through Real Madrid’s defence to score in a 2-0 win, en route to that season’s Champions League title.
Ronaldo’s title-winning strike (21 April 2012)
Ronaldo got his own iconic moment a year later, scoring the winner at Camp Nou and celebrating with his trademark finger-to-lips gesture, a result that effectively clinched the La Liga title for Mourinho’s Real Madrid.
Messi’s Bernabéu hat-trick (23 March 2014)
A seven-goal thriller swung back and forth before Messi completed a hat-trick, including two penalties, to secure a 4-3 win at the Bernabéu after Real had led 3-2.
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The 500th goal (23 April 2017)
Messi scored a 92nd-minute winner to complete a 3-2 comeback at the Bernabéu, a goal that also brought up his 500th for Barcelona. He marked it by lifting his shirt to the home crowd, one of the rivalry’s most enduring images.
The final act (2020 and beyond)
Ronaldo left La Liga for Juventus in 2018, and the pair’s last competitive meeting came in the 2020 Champions League group stage, when Juventus beat Barcelona in Turin.
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The head-to-head
Across all competitions, Messi and Ronaldo faced off 36 times. Messi came out on top more often than not, with his sides winning 16 of those meetings to Ronaldo’s 11, while 9 finished level.
Even in front of goal, Messi holds a narrow edge, scoring 22 times in games between them to Ronaldo’s 21, a fitting reflection of a rivalry that was rarely settled by much.
Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
