Lionel Messi is one of the greatest football players of all time and there is no doubt about it. But it is not only Messi who has dominated the sport for more than a decade. His arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo too has demonstrated heroic feats and the comparison between them is a never-ending one. The debate will continue to rage on, but both of them are equally good and have their unique ways of playing the game. Messi's career came full circle on December 18, 2022, when he lifted the World Cup, an object he had desired the most and there is certainly nothing else for him to achieve.
After such a heroic feat, the Argentina skipper is still going on and he is in no mood to stop. Whenever Messi takes the field, records tumble and that is a testament to his greatness. On February 1, 2023, Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain faced Montpellier. Messi's PSG secured a comfortable victory as they defeated Montpellier by a margin of 3-1. There is no stopping Messi and he continues to dominate European football. Messi broke a massive Cristiano Ronaldo record as he scored his 697th goal in the top five European leagues. Interestingly, Messi surpassed CR7 in 84 less games. Before this contest, Lionel Messi had scored 696 goals in his club career, out of which 13 have come with Paris Saint-Germain this season.
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On the other hand, Portuguese superstar and their skipper Cristiano Ronaldo will end with 696 goals if he doesn't return to a club in Europe’s top five leagues. Ronaldo in his club career has scored 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, and 101 for Juventus. Messi and Ronaldo have always been arch-rivals on the pitch and have spent nine seasons facing each other at the peak of their careers. Messi with 42 major trophies and Ronaldo with 34 major trophies are two of the most decorated players in football history.