Who was better at 20? In the season each was 20 years old, Messi scored 16 goals and Ronaldo 12. A like-for-like comparison with assists, appearances and goals per game.
Messi and Ronaldo are two years apart, so comparing them by calendar year flatters whoever happened to be in his prime. This page lines them up at the same age instead. At 20, Messi was ahead, 16 goals to 12.
| Metric | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
|---|---|---|
| Club | FC Barcelona | Manchester United |
| Age that season | 20 | 20 |
| Goals | 16 | 12 |
| Assists | 13 | 8 |
| Goal contributions | 29 | 20 |
| Appearances | 40 | 50 |
| Goals per game | 0.40 | 0.24 |
| International goals | 6 | 2 |
| Ballon d'Or | No | No |
No major honours recorded this season.
Counting every season up to and including age 20, Messi had 42 goals and Ronaldo had 27. Messi was 15 ahead.
The full like-for-like record. "Running total" counts every season up to and including that age.
| Age | Messi goals | Ronaldo goals | Messi running total | Ronaldo running total | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | Messi +3 |
| 19 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 15 | Messi +11 |
| 20 | 16 | 12 | 42 | 27 | Messi +15 |
| 21 | 38 | 23 | 80 | 50 | Messi +30 |
| 22 | 47 | 42 | 127 | 92 | Messi +35 |
| 23 | 53 | 26 | 180 | 118 | Messi +62 |
| 24 | 73 | 33 | 253 | 151 | Messi +102 |
| 25 | 60 | 53 | 313 | 204 | Messi +109 |
| 26 | 41 | 60 | 354 | 264 | Messi +90 |
| 27 | 58 | 55 | 412 | 319 | Messi +93 |
| 28 | 41 | 51 | 453 | 370 | Messi +83 |
| 29 | 54 | 61 | 507 | 431 | Messi +76 |
| 30 | 45 | 51 | 552 | 482 | Messi +70 |
| 31 | 51 | 42 | 603 | 524 | Messi +79 |
| 32 | 31 | 44 | 634 | 568 | Messi +66 |
| 33 | 38 | 28 | 672 | 596 | Messi +76 |
| 34 | 11 | 37 | 683 | 633 | Messi +50 |
| 35 | 21 | 36 | 704 | 669 | Messi +35 |
| 36 | 11 | 24 | 715 | 693 | Messi +22 |
| 37 | 23 | 17 | 738 | 710 | Messi +28 |