El Clásico
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo faced each other 27 times in El Clásico between 2007–2018, with Messi scoring 18 goals to Ronaldo's 17 and Barcelona winning 12 of the meetings to Real Madrid's 9.
Meetings
27
2007–2018
Messi goals
18
+ 12 assists
Ronaldo goals
17
+ 1 assist
All-time record
26
Messi is El Clásico's all-time top scorer; Ronaldo is joint-second on 18
Messi's Barcelona won 12 of the 27Clásicos the pair shared, Ronaldo's Real Madrid won 9, and 6 were drawn. Counting goals and assists together, Messi was directly involved in 30 goals across those matches to Ronaldo's 18.
Scope: Barcelona vs Real Madrid in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España. These 27 fixtures are the largest block of the 36 times the two have met in total.
La Liga · Camp Nou
Barcelona 5–0 Real Madrid
The manita. Guardiola's Barcelona dismantled José Mourinho's previously unbeaten Madrid, with Xavi, Pedro, David Villa twice and Jeffrén scoring. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo got on the scoresheet — Messi created two of the goals.
Copa del Rey final · Mestalla
Real Madrid 1–0 (a.e.t.) Barcelona
Goalless after 90 minutes, decided by a Ronaldo header in the 103rd — Real Madrid's 18th Copa del Rey and Mourinho's first trophy at the club. Ronaldo's most decisive single moment against Messi's Barcelona.
La Liga · Santiago Bernabéu
Real Madrid 3–4 Barcelona
A seven-goal Clásico in which both men scored. Messi's hat-trick — two of them penalties, the last on 84 minutes after Sergio Ramos was sent off — took him past Alfredo Di Stéfano as the fixture's all-time leading scorer.
La Liga · Santiago Bernabéu
Real Madrid 2–3 Barcelona
Messi equalised on 33 minutes and then won it in the 92nd with his 500th Barcelona goal, holding his shirt up to the home end in the rivalry's most replayed celebration.
A selection, not a complete match log — the aggregate record above covers all 27 meetings.
El Clásico is the only setting where Messi and Ronaldo met repeatedly, in the same league, at their peaks, over nine seasons. Every other strand of the rivalry is either a handful of Champions League ties or international friendlies. That is why the 27-game sample carries more weight than its size suggests — and why Messi holding the fixture's all-time scoring record at 26 goals is the single stat most often cited in the argument. For the wider picture see the full head-to-head record or the Barcelona and Real Madrid club pages.
27, between 2007–2018 — Barcelona against Real Madrid in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España. Those 27 games are the largest single block of the 36 times the two have faced each other.
In the 27 Clásicos they shared, Lionel Messi scored 18 goals to Cristiano Ronaldo's 17. Across the full history of the fixture Messi is the all-time leading scorer with 26 goals; Ronaldo is joint-second with 18.
Messi's Barcelona won 12 of the 27 meetings, Ronaldo's Real Madrid won 9, and 6 were drawn.
Lionel Messi, by a wide margin: 12 assists in those 27 matches to Cristiano Ronaldo's 1. Combining goals and assists, Messi was directly involved in 30 goals to Ronaldo's 18.
Lionel Messi, with 26 goals — a record that includes Clásicos played before Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo is joint-second on 18, level with Alfredo Di Stéfano.
The 2017–18 season was their last together in Spain. Ronaldo left for Juventus in the summer of 2018, and the first Clásico of the following season was the first since 2007 to feature neither player.
By Club
Career stats broken down club by club
Career stats broken down club by club — appearances, goals, assists and trophies for every senior team Messi and Ronaldo have played for.
Timeline
Every defining Messi and Ronaldo moment from their 2002–2004 debuts to the most recent meeting in 2025.
Every defining Messi and Ronaldo moment from their 2002–2004 debuts to the most recent meeting in 2025.
Head to Head
Every Messi vs Ronaldo clash
Every Messi vs Ronaldo clash — 36 matches across club and country, with wins, draws, goals and assists in direct meetings.