This weekend is El Clasico, the biggest league match in Spain, and probably Europe. As always, the focus will be around the two generational talents that are the faces of their clubs. The two men are among the greatest that have ever played the game, and their history together has been well documented. We take a look at the game’s best player rivalry, dating back to the beginning.
In 2007, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi finished second and third in the Ballon d’Or voting to AC Milan’s Kaka. That award has become somewhat symbolic, as for the next eight seasons, and likely nine, Messi and Ronaldo would dominate the award, and with it, the sport. The following season, the two superstars would meet in a game for the very first time.
The 2007-2008 Champions League was won by Ronaldo and Manchester United. To get to the final they had to get past Barcelona. Despite both players being in their early 20s, it was a well-hyped clash. United would, of course, make it through 1-0 on aggregate. The lone goal came from Paul Scholes. Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first leg, but the very first battle between Ronaldo and Messi went to the Portugal star. Despite the build-up to that first meeting, no one could have predicted how big that rivalry would become.
Following United’s 2008 Champions League win, Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or. He was 22 at the time and he vowed to win more, but it would take him four years before he would. Messi’s time was about to begin. That season, with Pep Guardiola taking over at the Nou Camp, Barcelona would charge to the Champions League Final. In Rome, Barcelona would take on Manchester United. Ronaldo couldn’t stop Messi. Barcelona won that night, Messi scored using his head, a rare sight for him. That summer, United would sell Ronaldo to Real Madrid. It was a record fee at the time, and in doing so, the Messi vs Ronaldo rivalry was about to really kick off.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – APRIL 02: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF slides the ball underneath Claudio Bravo of FC Barcelona to score his team’s second goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Camp Nou on April 2, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
The two best players of this generation were now a part of the game’s biggest rivalry. Their first meeting in El Clasico came in November of 2009. Barcelona would be victorious and Zlatan Ibrahimovic would score the only goal. Later that year, Barcelona once again got the better of their bitter rivals. This time, Messi would score in a 2-0 win. It was his 40th goal of the season.
With the rivalry still relatively young, the 2010-11 season would see it blossom into one of the world’s most dramatic stories. That year, both Messi and Ronaldo scored at will. They scored a hat-trick on the same day for the first time on November 20, 2010. The two seemed to regularly do that from them on, to the point where many joked they called each other before games to decide on how many goals to score on any particular day. That year was also the first time they would meet at the international level. Both players scored in a 2-1 Argentina win.
Late in that season, Madrid and Barcelona would meet four times in a matter of weeks. Perhaps El Clasico was getting a little over saturated, but with so much on the line, it was thrilling none the less. The first of four was a 1-1 draw in the league, and a few days later Madrid would beat Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey final. Ronaldo would score the final’s lone goal and gave Jose Mourinho his first trophy with the club. If familiarity breeds contempt then it showed shortly after when the two teams met in an ill-tempered Champions League semifinal. Despite some ugly incidents between the two teams, Messi was brilliant, scoring twice to help Barcelona advance to the Champions League Final.
By the 2011-12 season, it started looking like a one-sided rivalry. Despite winning the Copa Del Rey the previous year, Ronaldo seemed to constantly take a back seat to Messi. That year, Messi would go on to win his third consecutive Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo needed to start flaunting the same kind of silverware Messi could. Late that year, Ronaldo would score a late winner against Barcelona, giving his team the edge in the League. It was a big win for Ronaldo who snatched the League away from Messi for the first time. Despite seeing Messi go on to win his fourth Ballon d’Or, it seemed like a turning point for the Portuguese superstar.
The following season was eventful for both players. Barcelona would take back the league title, but Ronaldo led Madrid to another Copa Del Rey, beating the Catalans in the process. That year, many also hope to see the first ever El Clasico Champions League final, but Madrid couldn’t get past Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona was humbled by Bayern Munich 7-0 over two legs.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 18: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona looks on during the Joan Gamper Trophy match between FC Barcelona and Club Leon at Camp Nou on August 18, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
By this point, both Ronaldo and Messi were the undisputed best players in the world. Who you preferred came down to whether you fancied Barcelona or Real Madrid. Despite this, Messi still had the advantage in trophies. Ronaldo had two cup trophies and a league title from two years before, but Messi had won the Champions League three times, to Ronaldo’s one. Fortunately for Ronaldo, Madrid would eventually go on to win the Champions League that year, becoming the first team to win the trophy ten times. But despite all that, Messi could still find a way to look just as impressive. A late meeting that season between the two, saw Barcelona win 3-2, with Messi scoring a hat-trick and becoming the all-time leading scorer in El Clasico.
The next few years were all about putting up ridiculous numbers. Ronaldo scored 61 goals in 2014-15, while Messi scored 58. Ronaldo would win a pair of Ballon d’Or trophies, ending Messi’s stranglehold on the award. An interesting fact, that adds fuel to the rivalry, is that neither player votes for the other in the voting process. Since both players are captains of their respective countries, they each get a vote, but opt to vote for teammates instead. There is likely nothing terribly malicious in that, but it certainly gets people talking.
In 2015-16, Ronaldo would once again lead his team to a Champions League title. Bringing the count between the two up to 7 combined Champions League victories. Together they’ve won 12 league trophies, 17 domestic cups and have combined for 967 goals. Ronaldo, however, is the only one of the two who has an international trophy to his name when Portugal won Euro 2016.
This weekend, Messi and Ronaldo will renew their rivalry. Real Madrid will be looking to put distance between them and their famous rivals. Barcelona will be looking to close the gap at the top of the table. It will be the 232nd competitive meeting between the two. It will be the 31st time Messi and Ronaldo have met. Everyone will be watching.
