Messi vs Ronaldo in 2011: decided by a single goal.

2011 is the closest the two ever finished in a full calendar year: Ronaldo 60, Messi 59, a margin of one. It is Ronaldo's fourth-best year and Messi's joint third-best. Their 119 combined goals is a figure they matched only once more, in 2014.

Both were at their physical peak and both seasons that straddle 2011 are among their best. Messi's 2011–12 brought 73 goals in 60 games — a single-season record in club football, with 50 in La Liga that still stands as the league record. Ronaldo's 2011–12 brought 60 in 55 for a Real Madrid side that won La Liga with 100 points, 46 of his goals coming in the league.

The one trophy they contested directly went to Ronaldo. The 2011 Copa del Rey final on 20 April was goalless after 90 minutes at the Mestalla until Ronaldo headed the winner in the 103rd — Real Madrid's 18th Copa del Rey, Mourinho's first trophy at the club, and the single most decisive thing Ronaldo did against Messi's Barcelona.

Messi took a third straight Ballon d'Or, with Ronaldo again second.

The Mestalla final is the only trophy either player won by beating the other's club in a one-off match, which is why it carries more weight than the scoreline suggests. Everything else they contested over the Spanish decade was decided over a league season or a two-legged tie.