Will Ronaldo catch up to Lionel Messi?

Two years ago, Lionel Messi was on the clear path towards Olympus. The Argentine was on top of the world and, at 25 years of age, his achievements seemed quite far from the reach of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese — three years older than the Argentine– had only one Champions League and one Ballon d’Or to his name, and had spent the previous four years fighting to prevail with Real Madrid over the best FC Barcelona squad put together in the history of the sport.

SEE ALSO: Ronaldo wins his third Ballon d’Or

There was no doubt Messi would be “inducted” to the premier club of Footballing great, alongside Pelé, Maradona, Di Stefano, Cruyff and Zidane. Two years ago, he also had the 2014 World Cup on the horizon, and that event would determine whether or not he would actually be able to top all the previously mentioned stars and become the best player ever to have graced a pitch.

But two years are a long time, and even more so for an ever growing, unstoppable force of nature like Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese clinched his second Ballon d’Or in a row in the FIFA Gala for the 2014 awards, making it three in his career. This puts him just one Player of the Year award shy of catching Lionel Messi’s four (2009-2012). His title came in the year he also won the second Champions League of his career, this time with Real Madrid, after falling in semifinals in the three years prior, and losing the 2009 final –precisely against Messi’s FC Barcelona.

So now, what seemed and unsurpassable record for the Argentine, has become a very close race.

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Messi still has one more Champions League than the Portuguese, although his participation in the 2005-06 trophy was testimonial, and also two more League titles (counting Ronaldo’s three Premier Leagues with Manchester United). They do have the same number of Copas Del Rey, although Ronaldo adds to that his FA Cup and League Cups won with United, and the Argentine boasts two European Super Cups and two FIFA World Club Cups for the one of each of the Portuguese.

While Messi still tops Ronaldo in terms of trophies and awards, and also has –technically– a three year advantage in his career on the Portuguese, the truth is Ronaldo’s trajectory has clearly spiked in the past 24 months while the Argentine’s seems to have hit a slump.

SEE ALSO: When Messi’s magic appears, FC Barcelona is still dominant

Messi broke the Liga and Champions League all-time scoring records, but Ronaldo is closely trailing him, and his scoring average since the start of the 2014/15 season is simply superb, so many studies show him potentially crushing Messi’s numbers in the next two years.

The Portuguese also said after winning the Ballon d’Or that, despite being 29, he actually feels like a 25 year old, and judging by his physical fitness level, there’s no saying when he’ll have enough.

The situation begs the question: Will Ronaldo catch up to Messi’s number before his career is over? No one can predict the future, but what’s sure is that it seems the Portuguese will not stop trying to do so. Lionel Messi will need to pick it up if he wants to prevail at top.

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