Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who scored more goals in 2025?

Another calendar year is in the books, and while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may no longer be competing in Europe’s top five leagues, their clinical nature in front of the net hasn’t faded. Both superstars remained the focal points of Inter Miami and Al Nassr in 2025, continuing to rack up eye-popping numbers.

Despite his season ending earlier than his rival’s, Lionel Messi finished 2025 as the more prolific scorer of the two. The Inter Miami captain capped off his year on December 6 by lifting the MLS Cup after a – victory over Thomas Muller’s Vancouver Whitecaps.

Messi finished the calendar year with a remarkable 46 goals across all competitions for club and country. His 2025 campaign solidified his status as the primary challenger to Cristiano Ronaldo’s career record, bringing his total career tally to 896 official goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, competed until the final days of 2025 with Al Nassr. After netting a brace against Al Akhdoud late in the month, the Portuguese legend added one more to his tally in his final appearance of the year against Al Ettifaq.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his last goal of 2025. (Getty Images)

Ronaldo finished 2025 with 41 goals, a total that allowed him to maintain his lead as the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer this season with 13 strikes. His career total now stands at 957 goals and is only 43 goals left to reach the historic 1,000-goal mark. The milestone feels like an inevitability if he maintains his current scoring rate in 2026.

The global leaderboard

see also

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal face concerning situation with key player ahead of 2026 World Cup

While both legends managed to convert a significant number of goals this year, their figures do not come close to those of Kylian Mbappe. With 66 goals scored across all competitions, the Frenchman will finish 2025 as the top scorer in the sport.