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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since it was first published on April 24, 2020
It’s been a while, 947 days, to be exact, but Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are ready to face off once again when Barcelona host Juventus in the closing of Group G of the Champions League on Tuesday.
The long-awaited reunion could have returned in October, but Ronaldo missed that match in Turin after contracting COVID-19 while off international duty. Messi scored the second goal in Barça’s 2-0 win with a late penalty.
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As such, this will be the first time Messi and Ronaldo have met since the latter left La Liga rival Real Madrid to join Juve in 2018.
Ronaldo has represented three different clubs throughout their long rivalry, while Messi has only played for Barça. That did seem to have changed last summer, when he caused trouble in the soccer world by playing briefly and very publicly with the idea of ending his 20-year association with the Catalan giants.
There were also doubts about Messi’s involvement against Juve this week, having rested in Barça’s two previous Champions League matches, but coach Ronald Koeman has since confirmed that the Argentina captain will definitely be part of his team. On tuesday night. Who knows how much longer he can say that?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo met for the first time in the 2008 Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Manchester United. Getty Face to face
The pair have tangled a total of 35 times per club and country. In fact, throughout Ronaldo’s senior career, the only player he has faced the most is Andrés Iniesta (36 times). On the other hand, Messi has faced three other opponents on more occasions during his career: Sergio Ramos, Diego Godin and Karim Benzema.
The first meeting between the pair occurred on April 23, 2008, when a 20-year-old Messi was faced with a 23-year-old Ronaldo when Barcelona and Manchester United drew goalless in the first leg of the Champions League. . Semifinals: United would reach the final, where they beat Chelsea on penalties. The most recent meeting between Messi and Ronaldo took place in La Liga on May 6, 2018, during the Clásico between Barça and Real that ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Barca superstar is at the top when it comes to the head-to-head record between him and Ronaldo, with 16 wins to his former foe’s 10. There have been nine ties. Messi also has more goals from a distance, having scored 22 against Ronaldo’s 19.
Lionel Messi leads the way both in terms of matches won and goals scored in his encounters with Cristiano Ronaldo. ESPN statistics and information
Before Tuesday’s game at the Camp Nou, Messi and Ronaldo had never met during the group stage of the Champions League before, although they had met five times in the knockout stage, both in the 2007-08 and 2010 semi-finals. -11, and the 2009 final in Rome.
Ronaldo may be the Champions League’s all-time top scorer with 132 goals, but the Portugal captain has never scored in the competition while sharing the field with Messi, who has scored three points in European clashes against teams with Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo has never scored in the Champions League when he played against Lionel Messi. ESPN statistics and information The most memorable matches
Of the 35 times Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have met, many have produced truly memorable encounters. Here are six of the best.
1. The final of the Champions League (Manchester United 0-2 Barcelona, May 27, 2009)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkR_CBgZ8YA
The 2009 final in Rome was touted as a gladiatorial clash between the world’s two best players, and this time Messi prevailed. Barça successfully kept United at arm’s length in Rome to win 2-0, with Messi scoring a rare header for his team’s second goal, and clinching his first league, cup and European Cup treble.
2. “La Manita” (Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, November 29, 2010)
The match that was seen as something of a testing ground for both Messi and Ronaldo (who were both Ballon d’Or winners at this point) went off the script when the Camp Nou witnessed a historic humiliation by Real and their coach. , Jose Mourinho. Messi did not score, but did set two goals as he played a pivotal role for Barça by defeating their enemies, who had started the game at the top of La Liga and unbeaten in seven games. The forceful marker was immortalized by the five fingers of Gerard Piqué “Little hand“(” Manita “) greets the watching world.
3. Ronaldo’s revenge (Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona, April 20, 2011)
🏆💫 👑 Today nine years ago we won our 18th Copa del Rey!
⏳ On April 20, 2011 we ran out of winners 0-1 against @FCBarcelona in a dramatic victory in extra time at Mestalla! #RMHistory | #RMFansEnCasa pic.twitter.com/ROTmQPygFZ– Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 20, 2020
Ronaldo finally triumphed over Barça as a Real player for the fifth time of asking. The Madrid striker was the only scorer as he saw his characteristic header in the 103rd minute The whites snatch the Copa del Rey from under the noses of Barça. However, that final at Mestalla came in the midst of an intense streak of four Clásicos in three weeks, which culminated with Barça reaching the Champions League final at the expense of their bitter rivals.
4. Ronaldo scores again (Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid, April 21, 2012)
Ronaldo prevailed again when the old adversaries clashed at the Camp Nou towards the end of the 2011-12 league campaign. Barça gave up their hopes of defending the league title as a triumph for Ronaldo The whites seven points clear at the top of the table with four games to play. Ronaldo’s goal also saw Real break the Spanish league scorers’ record with the 109th goal of the season, and they clinched the title soon after.
5. “Hush!” (Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid, February 26, 2013)
Ronaldo’s long-awaited revenge came in the final stages of the 2012-13 Copa del Rey when the Real Madrid player put in a stellar performance to send Barcelona packing. After the first leg ended 1-1 at the Bernabéu, the Portuguese forward scored two goals and, with little help from anyone, closed out the 3-1 victory at the Camp Nou in the second leg to seal Real Madrid’s place. in the end. At the end of the match, Mourinho was blatantly shushing local fans with his finger pressed to his lips and Ronaldo left the ground after scoring in each of his last six appearances on Barça’s sacred turf.
6. The celebration of the shirt (Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona, April 23, 2017)
Messi was back in the headlines after a goal from the Argentine talisman in the 92nd minute clinched a late victory at the Bernabéu and kept Barca’s title aspirations alive. Messi, who had already scored in the first half, kept his cool to score a winner in injury time at home amid a hostile atmosphere and then celebrate by remembering his name to the Real Madrid fans. In the entire nine-year period that Messi and Ronaldo were together in Spain, there was never a goalless. Classic. Box office, guaranteed.
Source: espn.co.uk
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