Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to a 5-3 victory over FC Cincinnati on MLS Matchday 13, scoring twice to record his 24th brace for the Florida club. After reaching this personal milestone, fans began drawing comparisons to how many Cristiano Ronaldo has managed to score for Al Nassr.
While Messi has reached 24 braces with Inter Miami, Cristiano Ronaldo has recorded 19 since his arrival at Al Nassr in late 2022. The last time the Portuguese star scored a double was in a 5-2 victory against Al Najma on April 3, 2026.
Despite trailing Messi in the number of braces scored for their new teams, Cristiano leads the way in hat tricks. While the Argentine has only managed to score two during his time in the United States, Ronaldo has already scored three goals in a single match on six occasions.
MLS denied Messi a hat trick vs Cincinnati
Messi delivered an incredible performance at TQL Stadium, scoring his team’s first two goals and providing the assist to Mateo Silvetti for the temporary 3-3 equalizer. However, the Argentine could have walked away with a hat trick to make it 5-3, but MLS ultimately ruled it an own goal by goalkeeper Roman Celentano.
Le “sacaron” un gol a Messi de ayer, para dárselo en contra al arquero.
— Messi out of Context (@OutMessi_) May 14, 2026
De esta manera, no completó el hat-trick. pic.twitter.com/KmyfCr2Ml7
Despite the league’s decision, social media footage shows that from a different angle, the ball did not appear to strike Celentano’s back, suggesting the goal should have been correctly credited to Messi.
How the race to 1,000 goals stands
With Messi’s latest brace against Cincinnati, he narrowed the gap slightly from Cristiano. Though the Portuguese star remains the frontrunner to become the first player in history to reach the 1,000-goal milestone.
Leo now has 909 goals in 1,153 matches throughout his career, while Cristiano has scored 971 goals in 1,321 appearances. This leaves the Portuguese forward just 29 goals away from a mark that, only a few years ago, seemed impossible to reach.
