Who was better at 37? In the season each was 37 years old, Messi scored 23 goals and Ronaldo 17. 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 37, Messi was ahead, 23 goals to 17.
| Metric | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo |
|---|---|---|
| Club | Inter Miami | Al Nassr |
| Age that season | 37 | 37 |
| Goals | 23 | 17 |
| Assists | 13 | 4 |
| Goal contributions | 36 | 21 |
| Appearances | 36 | 25 |
| Goals per game | 0.64 | 0.68 |
| International goals | 6 | 3 |
| Ballon d'Or | No | No |
No major honours recorded this season.
Counting every season up to and including age 37, Messi had 738 goals and Ronaldo had 710. Messi was 28 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 |