Who was better at 31? In the season each was 31 years old, Messi scored 51 goals and Ronaldo 42. 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 31, Messi was ahead, 51 goals to 42.
| Metric | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
|---|---|---|
| Club | FC Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| Age that season | 31 | 31 |
| Goals | 51 | 42 |
| Assists | 22 | 12 |
| Goal contributions | 73 | 54 |
| Appearances | 50 | 46 |
| Goals per game | 1.02 | 0.91 |
| International goals | 4 | 13 |
| Ballon d'Or | Yes | Yes |
Counting every season up to and including age 31, Messi had 603 goals and Ronaldo had 524. Messi was 79 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 |