Who was better at 36? In the season each was 36 years old, Messi scored 11 goals and Ronaldo 24. 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 36, Ronaldo was ahead, 24 goals to 11.
| Metric | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
|---|---|---|
| Club | Inter Miami | Manchester United |
| Age that season | 36 | 36 |
| Goals | 11 | 24 |
| Assists | 5 | 3 |
| Goal contributions | 16 | 27 |
| Appearances | 19 | 39 |
| Goals per game | 0.58 | 0.62 |
| International goals | 8 | 13 |
| Ballon d'Or | No | No |
No major honours recorded this season.
Counting every season up to and including age 36, Messi had 715 goals and Ronaldo had 693. Messi was 22 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 |