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WHAT HAPPENED?
The two all-time greats who boast 13 Ballons d’Or between them have spent the best part of their respective careers battling with one another for the right to be considered the best player on the planet. Both have rewritten the history books on a regular basis.
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GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Messi now boasts another entry, with the World Cup winner becoming the all-time leading goalscorer at MLS side Inter Miami. A hat-trick in his latest outing for the Herons took the mercurial South American to 33 goals through just 36 appearances – with the Florida-based franchise only founded in 2018.
DID YOU KNOW?
While reaching the top of that chart has been relatively straightforward for Messi, he is also the leading marksman for Barcelona (672 goals) and Argentina (112 goals) – making him the first player to hold that honour for three different teams.
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GettyTELL ME MORE
Ronaldo has plundered more goals for Real Madrid (450) and Portugal (133) than any other player, but does not hold those records at former clubs Sporting, Manchester United and Juventus. There is also no chance of him chasing down 259-goal Majed Abdullah at the top of Al-Nassr’s all-time list.
WHAT NEXT?
Messi could, of course, be overtaken in the years to come by anyone prolific who spends several years at Inter Miami, but for now he will be looking to raise another scoring bar a little higher as the Herons look to add MLS Cup honours to the Supporters’ Shield that they have already claimed in 2024.
