Cristiano Ronaldo Vs Lionel Messi: Which Player Has Scored Most Non-Penalty Goals Each Season?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's goalscoring records without penalties have been compared from the last 12 seasons of their illustrious playing careers.

Both Juventus superstar Ronaldo, 35, and Barcelona captain Messi, 33, have continued their heated rivalry on the pitch for well over a decade.

And now one fan has reignited the Ronaldo vs Messi debate by comparing the two world-class stars' goalscoring records without including penalties.

According to the statistics, Messi has outscored Ronaldo in 10 of the past 12 seasons when spot-kick goals are removed from the equation.

Ronaldo only beat the Argentine superstar during the 2013-14 season and the 2015-16 campaign.

When it came to the previous campaign, Messi scored 26 times from open play compared to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's 23 goals.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has backed Ronaldo's goalscoring exploits to continue as he believes his former teammate won't be satisfied until he eclipses Pele's record.

"It's an obsession, an absolute obsession with scoring goals, applying yourself every day, being the fittest he can possibly be," he told Sky Sports in May.

"I think he's lifted his professionalism every single year and progressed.

"I've got no doubts he wants to play, and Jamie [Carragher] mentioned James Milner wants to play into his late 30s-40, I think he [Ronaldo] has a plan to take over Pele's record.

"I genuinely believe he wants to beat Pele's numbers, that's where I think he's at in his mind.

"He wants to be the greatest of all time and that is his sole purpose, understanding along the way if he is the greatest of all time the teams he plays in will win trophies and be successful."

Messi, on the other hand, has insisted that he thinks "less and less about scoring goals" as he continues to elevate his playmaking ability.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner explained: "I think less and less about scoring goals. I'm starting to step back more and more to be the creator rather than the one who finishes.

"Obviously I like scoring, and if have a chance I'll take it, but every time I go on to the pitch I'm less focused on scoring goals and more focused on the game. I've never been obsessed with goals."

Featured Image Credit: PA/Twitter

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Serie A, Lionel Messi, Juve, old lady, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, La Liga, Barca

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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