FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo, comparing legends' World Cup records

Messi and Ronaldo are in Qatar now, playing probably their last World Cup matches and representing their countries. Their performance had been questioned for most of the World Cups for which both have appeared. People have noticed that the greatest players have yet to do well in the World Cup arena. The best either has done is Ronaldo's feat in Russia in 2018, where he scored four goals, and Messi's best performance was in Brazil's World Cup in 2014. Messi scored four goals, but his team lost to Germany in the finals.

Ronaldo Vs Messi

2006 World Cup: (Germany)
Germany knocked out Argentina in the quarterfinals on penalties.
Portugal reached the semi-finals losing to France 1-0 (Zidane penalty).

2010 World Cup: (South Africa)
Argentina lost to Germany in the quarterfinals by 4-0.
Portugal got knocked out in Round 16 by losing to Spain.
2014 World Cup: (Brazil)

Messi took the team to the finals, and Argentina played the tournament well. Germany took on Messi in the finals and beat him 1-0 to a disappointing loss. Messi won the golden ball that year.

Portugal didn't perform well that year, and Ronaldo couldn't do much in that World Cup.
2018 World Cup: (Russia)
Messi got Argentina into the knockout stage or Round 16. France beat Argentina 4-3 to advance into the World Cup and win the tournament.
Ronaldo guided his team to the knockout stage but unfortunately lost out to Uruguay. Ronaldo scored four goals to reach the Round 16 stage. Ronaldo indeed outperformed Messi in every way in this tournament.

Both players have done their best for their respective countries, but as per stats, Messi has a better World Cup performance than Ronaldo.
Both players are a class apart and have done well for their teams, with Ronaldo's Euro 2016 being the championship for Portugal. Messi helped Argentina with Copa America in 2021.

FAQs :

1. How many times did Christiano Ronaldo win Ballon d'Or?
   SIX
2. How many times did Lionel Messi win Ballon d'Or?
   SEVEN