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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the greatest footballers to have ever lived. At the peak of their powers, they represented arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, going neck to neck for all records and honours.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have also dominated the sport like no other individuals have in the past. Out of the last 12 Ballon d'Or awards, the duo have won 11. Lionel Messi has won a record six Ballons d'Or while Cristiano Ronaldo has won five.
The Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi debate will rage on for eternity
It's difficult to say who the better player is. Both players have their own set of strengths and weaknesses. There are certain things that Lionel Messi is better at than Cristiano Ronaldo and vice versa.
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Today, we take a look at five things Cristiano Ronaldo does better than Lionel Messi.
#5 Headers
Cristiano Ronaldo's aerial ability is second to none. Standing at 187 cms, Ronaldo is not the tallest forward around. However, he more than makes up for it with his incredible leap. Ronaldo rising above the crowd to nod the ball home is quite the sight to behold.
It's a skill that Ronaldo started working on during his time at Manchester United. He was young and was evolving into one of the main goalscorers for the Red Devils. Ronald had to add more skills to his arsenal deliver on a regular basis.
Lionel Messi is 170 cms tall and hardly ever scores with his head. Messi's strengths lie elsewhere and he often comes second best in aerial duels.
#4 Penalties
Cristiano Ronaldo is a better penalty taker than Lionel Messi. Both players are good from the spot and are their club's first-choice penalty takers. But the Portuguese international has had more success from the spot than his Argentinian counterpart.
Ronaldo has scored 139 out of the 166 penalties he has taken in his career. He has a penalty conversion rate of 83.7%. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has scored 100 out of 129 attempts. He has a conversion rate of 77.5%.
Cristiano Ronaldo seems to deal with the nerves a tad bit better than Messi. He scored from the spot thrice in the recently concluded Euro 2020 and is always happy to take up the responsibility.
#3 Leadership
Cristiano Ronaldo is a leader of men and he has proved it at various junctures throughout his career. His work ethic and relentlessness, which he perhaps imbibed during his time at Manchester United, continues to be inspirational.
Ronaldo is the kind of player who can elevate the performance levels of his teammates thanks to the sheer hard work he is willing to put in. He has a positive effect on his teammates and is always ready to take stock of adverse scenarios and motivate his side to give their best.
A winning mentality is of great importance for leaders and Cristiano Ronaldo has it in bundles. Messi is more of a team player and is perhaps not as flamboyant as Ronaldo. He doesn't really need to be when he can just fit in and play wonderful football but leadership is another aspect that Ronaldo is better at than Messi.
#2 Fitness
Cristiano Ronaldo treats his body like a temple and is uncompromising when it comes to fitness. That's why despite being 36-years-old he is still one of the best in the business. Most recently, at Euro 2020, Ronaldo made a 92 meter sprint in 14 seconds from one side of the field to the other to score a goal against Germany.
Ronaldo reportedly clocked 32 km/hr and that's quite incredible for someone his age. He has evolved into a centre-forward in recent times as he cannot keep sprinting up and down the pitch like he used to in the past.
Messi relies a lot on acceleration in short spaces and uses his burst of pace a lot to get beyond players. But he might not be able to do that for much longer. Even now, Messi can be seen wandering about on the football field when his side are not in possession.
Ronaldo is still more enterprising when it comes to helping out his defenders and tracking back despite being two years older than Messi thanks to his fitness levels.
#1 Performances in the UEFA Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the top goalscorers in the UEFA Champions League. Ronaldo has scored 134 goals in Europe's elite competition till date. Messi is not far behind with 120 goals.
While both players have won the Champions League multiple times, Ronaldo has produced more match-winning displays than Messi. Ronaldo has won four Champions League titles with Real Madrid and one more with Manchester United.
Messi has won it four times but he did not play a starring role in Barcelona's 2005-06 Champions League triumph. The Portuguese international, on the other hand, was the top scorer in the Champions League in each of the five seasons when he won it.
He has finished as the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League in seven seasons while Messi has done it six times.
