The epic La Liga rivalry has seethed on for almost 10 years, but with the Portuguese having left for Turin on a four-year deal worth £500,000 a week, the fight to be the best player in La Liga between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is finally over.

The well-established debate of which of these two players is better was something that could be decided to a limited extent by taking a look at the goal-scoring stats in La Liga in a given season, or seeing which one shone in an ‘El Clasico‘ fixture between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

While that was possible for the majority of the last decade, the Portuguese forward decision to leave Spanish capital to bring an end to an era of football rivalry in La Liga.

The epic rivalry has now and again turned out to be heated, with the two players reportingly referring to the other by offending epithets to close associates and attempting to out-do each other in advertising and social media campaigns as they vied for the best spot in La Liga.

CR7 did not get off to an easy start in La Liga in the 2009-10 season, as Barcelona and Messi dominated the League and left the Ronaldo without a trophy in his first season with Los Blancos.

However, as time went on the two players dominated La Liga in one good turn deserves another style, as appeared by their 10-years dominance of the Ballon d’Or in the course of the last decade with the Argentine winning four successive awards from 2009-12 while Ronaldo has won the last 2 consecutively.

The two players have had mind-blowing goal-scoring records in the Spanish league, such as could be seen amid the 2011-12 campaign when both of them scored a combined 96 goals in the League.

That is perhaps the most disheartening thing to leave this transfer adventure as a neutral. Not exclusively were the two players epic rivals in La Liga, but they made each other better.

In the 2011-12 season, Ronaldo scored 46 goals while Messi netted 50. After three years Messi packed away a stunning 43 goals in La Liga, so Ronaldo went and scored 48.

MESSI LA LIGA RECORDS



Most free kicks scored in La Liga: 24 free kick goals
First La Liga player to score 25+ goals in 10 consecutive seasons across all competitions
Only player in La Liga history to score 15+ goals in 10 seasons (did it consecutively) (2008/09 – 2017/18)
Only player in La Liga history to score 10+ goals in 12 seasons (did it consecutively) (2006/07 – 2017/18)
First player in La Liga history to have scored at least 2 goals in 100 matches
Most goals scored in La Liga El Clásico matches: 18 goals
Most goals scored in El Clásico matches: 26 goals
Only player in La Liga history to score 20+ goals in 8 consecutive seasons (did it consecutively) (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Only player in La Liga history to score 20+ goals in 9 consecutive seasons (2008/09 – 2016/17)
Only player in La Liga history to score 20+ goals in 10 consecutive seasons (2008/09 – 2017/18)
The first player to score 25+ goals in five consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
The first player to score 25+ goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
The first player to score 25+ goals in seven consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
The first player to score 25+ goals in eight consecutive La Liga seasons (2009/10 – 2016/17) (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Only player to score 40+ goals in two consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Only player in La Liga history to score 2+ hat-tricks in 7 consecutive seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Most trophies won in Spanish football: 30 trophies (shared with Iniesta)
Only player to score in 6 Spanish Super Cup editions: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016
Only player to score in 4 consecutive Spanish Super Cup editions: 2009-2012
Most goals in Spanish Super Cup Games: 17 goals
Most away goals scored in La Liga history
Leading goalscorer over a season in home games: 46 goals (in 2011/12)
Leading goalscorer over a season in home league games: 35 goals (in 2011/12)
Leading goalscorer over a season in away league games: 24 goals (in 2012/13)
Leading goalscorer in the second half of a league season: 28 goals (in 2011/12)
Most opponents scored against in a single season: 19 (2012/13) (Shared with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo)
Most goals scored in La Liga in a season: 50 goals in 2011/12
Most goals scored in La Liga in a calendar year: 59 goals in 2012
Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Most league matches scored in a single season: 27 games (2012/13) (Shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Most home league matches scored in a single season: 16 games (in 2011/12)
Most away league matches scored in a single season: 15 games (in 2012/13)
Youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals: 25 years
Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in 21 matches, 33 goals(2012/13)
Most consecutive away league matches scored in 13 matches, 20 goals(2012/13)
Most hat-tricks in El Clásico matches: 2 hat-tricks
Most assists in La Liga: 149 assists
All time highest goalscorer in La Liga: 383 goals
Youngest player to reach 250 league goals
The first player to score 40+ goals in 3 La Liga seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
Best goalscoring ratio in a La Liga season (at least 20 games played): 1.44 (46 goals in 32 games in 2012/13)


RONALDO LA LIGA RECORDS



Most penalties scored in La Liga history: 61 penalties
Most penalties missed in La Liga history: 11 penalties
The first player to score 25+ goals in five consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
The first player to score 25+ goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
The first player to score 25+ goals in seven consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
The first player to score 25+ goals in eight consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
Only player in La Liga history to score 20+ goals in 8 consecutive seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
Only player to score 40+ goals in two consecutive La Liga seasons (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
The first player to score 30+ goals in five consecutive La Liga seasons
The first player to score 30+ goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons (2010/11 – 2015/16)
Most hat-tricks in Spanish football: 37 hat-tricks
Only player in La Liga history to score 2+ hat-tricks in 7 consecutive seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
The first player to score against every team in La Liga in a single season
The first player ever to score in six consecutive Clásicos
The first player to score 20 away goals in a single season in La Liga
Most league matches scored in a single season: 27 games (2011/12) (Shared with Lionel Messi)
Most goals scored in three consecutive La Liga matches: 9 goals(shared with László Kubala, Mundo, and Campana)
Most opponents scored against in a single season: 19 (2011/12) (Shared with Lionel Messi and Ronaldo)
The first player to score more than 50 goals in four [consecutive] seasons in Spanish football
Most hat-tricks in La Liga: 34 hat-tricks
Most goals scored in La Liga after the first 8 games: 15 goals (and he didn’t play in 1 of those games)
Most goals scored in La Liga after the first 10 games: 17 goals (and he didn’t play in 1 of those games)
Most goals scored in La Liga after the first 12 games: 20 goals (and he didn’t play in 1 of those games)
Most goals scored in La Liga after the first 15 games: 25 goals (and he didn’t play in 1 of those games) (shared with Pruden and Bata)
Most consecutive home matches scored in La Liga (in which he played): 17 consecutive home games
Only player to win 3 LFP awards in one season (2013/14): Best player, Best Forward and Best goal
Fastest La Liga player to score 150 league goals (140 games)
Fastest La Liga player to score 200 league goals (178 games)
Fastest player to score 300 official club goals
Best La Liga penalty conversion rate (of at least 30 PK’s): 93%
The best goal ratio ever in La Liga (over 100 games): 1.07
The first player to score 40+ goals in 3 La Liga seasons (shared with Lionel Messi)
Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks (shared with Lionel Messi)

While many football fans have argued and debated on which of the two is superior to the other for the entirety of the last 9 years, what’s for sure is that the epic rivalry has influenced them to want to outdo each other and has thusly driven up both of their performances.

Will that still be the same now that Ronaldo would be plying his trade in Turin? The answer to that will surface eventually.


Source: https://cheapgoals.com/epic-la-liga-rivalry-between-messi-and-ronaldo-left-unsettled/

LALASTICLALA, MYND44, DOMINIQUE