₦airaland Forum

Over the past five-and-a-half years, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have been three of the most prolific footballers on the planet.

The trio of superstars have made goalscoring at the very highest level of the sport look annoyingly easy and they're all still going strong in their 30s.

Messi won his seventh Ballon d'Or on Monday, with Lewandowski finishing as the runner-up and Ronaldo coming sixth in the voting.

As a result of their places in the upper echelons of the sport in modern times, numerous comparisons have been made with regards to the trio's output

And we've decided to join in with that fad. Using Transfermarkt, we've worked out each of Messi, Ronaldo and Lewandowski's goal and assist numbers at club level since the beginning of the 2016/17 season.

Let's take a look at our findings...

LIONEL MESSI
2016/17
Games: 52 [b] | Goals:[b] 54 | Assists: 20

2017/18
Games: 54 | Goals: 45 | Assists: 20

2018/19
Games: 50 | Goals: 51 | Assists: 22

2019/20
Games: 44 | Goals: 31 | Assists: 27

2020/21
Games: 47 | Goals: 38 | Assists: 14

2021/22*
Games: 12 | Goals: 4 | Assists: 3

TOTAL

Games: 259 | Goals: 223 | Assists: 106 | Goals+Assists: 329 | G/A-per-game: 1.27

CRISTIANO RONALDO

2016/17
Games: 46 | Goals: 42 | Assists: 12

2017/18
Games: 44 | Goals: 44 | Assists: 8

2018/19
Games: 43 | Goals: 28 | Assists: 11

2019/20
Games: 46 | Goals: 37 | Assists: 7

2020/21
Games: 44 | Goals: 36 | Assists: 4

2021/22*
Games: 17 | Goals: 12 | Assists: 2

TOTAL

Games: 240 | Goals: 199 | Assists: 44 | Goals+Assists: 243 | G/A-per-game: 1.01

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

2016/17
Games: 47 | Goals: 43 | Assists: 9

2017/18
Games: 48 | Goals: 41 | Assists: 5

2018/19
Games: 47 | Goals: 40 | Assists: 13

2019/20
Games: 47 | Goals: 55 | Assists: 10

2020/21
Games: 40 | Goals: 48 | Assists: 9

2021/22*
Games: 20 | Goals: 25 | Assists: 2

TOTAL

Games: 249 | Goals: 252 | Assists: 48 | Goals+Assists: 300 | G/A-per-game: 1.20

So, Lewandowski is comfortably the highest scorer among the three, the Polish superstar netting 29 more than Messi and a whopping 53 more than Ronaldo.

How on earth has the Bayern Munich man not won at least one Ballon d'Or then? He's even assisted more goals than Ronaldo since the start of 2016/17.

But when it comes to the creative side of the game, Messi is unquestionably the top dog.

In fact, the Paris Saint-Germain maestro has more assists than Ronaldo and Lewandowski combined, the little genius producing 20 or more in four consecutive seasons.

Messi's 106 assists means he also possesses the best goal contribution-per-game record, although Lewandowski is not far behind him at all.

It really has been a joy watching all three weave their magic in recent years and we can't wait to see what magnificence they will provide us with in the future.

LIONEL MESSI
Games: 259 | Goals: 223 | Assists: 106 | Goals+Assists: 329 | G/A-per-game: 1.27

CRISTIANO RONALDO
Games: 240 | Goals: 199 | Assists: 44 | Goals+Assists: 243 | G/A-per-game: 1.01

[b] ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

Games: 249 | Goals: 252 | Assists: 48 | Goals+Assists: 300 | G/A-per-game: 1.20

OJEEMAH:
Until most people grasp the fact that, there's a huge distinction between Best Forward/Striker & Best Player, they will continue to argue ignorantly.

Abihj:
Always Ronaldo