Messi becomes all-time leading scorer in FIFA competitions with 25 goals: How many has Ronaldo scored?

On Matchday 2 of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, Inter Miami secured a key 2-1 win over Porto after falling behind early in the first half. Lionel Messi scored the second goal of the match, and with it not only helped the Herons, but also reached a remarkable milestone that now sets him apart from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi became the all-time leading scorer in official FIFA competitions, with an impressive total of 25 goals. He reached that number after competing in 10 different FIFA tournaments over the past two decades. The previous record holder was Brazilian women’s soccer legend Marta, who had scored 24 goals across youth and senior World Cups between 2002 and 2023.

Messi’s 25 goals span three types of tournaments. First, youth international competition. He scored 6 goals at the U-20 World Cup held in the Netherlands in 2005—the only FIFA youth tournament the forward ever played.

At the senior international level, Leo has appeared in five FIFA World Cups with the Argentina national team: he scored one goal in Germany 2006, none scored in South Africa 2010, four in Brazil 2014, one in Russia 2018, and seven in Qatar 2022. It’s worth noting he never played in the Confederations Cup.

Lionel Messi has scored more goals in FIFA tournaments than Cristiano Ronaldo

At the club level, Messi played in three previous editions of the Club World Cup with Barcelona, back when the tournament featured just one team per continental confederation. He scored twice in 2009, twice more in 2011, and once in 2015. Thursday’s goal against Porto adds to that tally.

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Video: Lionel Messi scores fantastic free kick goal for Inter Miami vs Porto at FIFA Club World Cup 2025

How many goals has Ronaldo scored in FIFA tournaments?

While Messi now sits atop the all-time leaderboard with 25 goals in official FIFA competitions, Cristiano Ronaldo is a few steps behind. At the club level, he participated in four editions of the Club World Cup, scoring 7 goals in total—one with Manchester United in 2008, four with Real Madrid in 2016, and two more in 2017.

Added to those are the goals he scored for Portugal. CR7 played in the same five FIFA World Cups as Messi and netted 8 goals in total: one in Germany 2006, one in South Africa 2010, one in Brazil 2014, four in Russia 2018, and one in Qatar 2022. He also played in the 2017 Confederations Cup, where he scored twice.

Altogether, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 17 goals in FIFA-organized competitions from 2006 to the present, including both club and national team tournaments. That puts him 8 goals behind Lionel Messi’s record.