Messi has a goal-scoring rate twice that of Ronaldo.

Leaving Europe after six months, Lionel Messi has already scored seven goals in his first four matches with Inter Miami, achieving a performance of 1.75 goals per game - more than double Cristiano Ronaldo's 0.75 at Al Nassr.

In the 2023 League Cup group stage, in his Inter Miami debut on July 27th, Messi came on in the 54th minute and scored a spectacular free-kick in the fourth minute of added time to seal a 2-1 victory against Cruz Azul. In the next match against Atlanta United, the Argentinian star contributed two goals and one assist to help Inter Miami win 4-0.

In the Round of 16 against Orlando City, Messi scored his second consecutive brace, helping Inter Miami win 3-1. He then continued to shine with two spectacular goals: a long-range shot to open the scoring, followed by a free-kick to equalize 4-4, and finally converting the first penalty in the shootout to give Inter Miami a 5-3 victory over Dallas. In the quarterfinals, Messi and his teammates will face Charlotte at 7:30 AM on July 12th, Hanoi time.

After just four matches, Messi has risen to fourth place on Inter Miami's all-time leading scorer list with seven goals, behind Gonzalo Higuain (29 goals), Leonardo Campana (16 goals), and Robert Taylor (8 goals).

Messi left Europe for Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, six months later than Ronaldo's move to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Nassr.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo scored 18 goals in 24 appearances for Al Nassr. The Portuguese striker joined Al Nassr in January 2023, scoring 14 goals in the final 19 games of the 2022-2023 season, but failed to win any titles. Al Nassr finished second in the Saudi Pro League, losing in the semi-finals of the King Cup and the Saudi Super Cup.

Ronaldo has had a stellar start to the new season, scoring four goals in five matches in the Arab Club Champions Cup. Most recently, he scored a penalty to help Al Nassr beat Al Shorta 1-0 in the semi-finals, and they will face Al Hilal in the final on August 12th.

Besides the chance to win his first title in Saudi Arabia, the 38-year-old striker also has a strong chance of winning the Golden Boot. While Ronaldo has four goals, Al Hilal's top scorers are Salem Al-Dawsari, Malcom, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, each with two goals.

Last month, Ronaldo claimed the Saudi Pro League is a higher-quality league than Major League Soccer (MLS), where Messi recently moved. However, statistics from the Opta Power Ranking show the opposite. The average ranking score for MLS clubs is 73.2, higher than the average for Saudi Pro League teams at 70. Considering all top national leagues worldwide , MLS is currently ranked 29th, while the Saudi Pro League is ranked 36th.

The MLS is a much more evenly matched league than the Saudi Pro League in terms of team quality according to the Opta Power Ranking . Three of the top four clubs in both leagues are from the Saudi Pro League (Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, Al Nassr) and only one is from the MLS (Philadelphia Union), but 13 of the 14 lowest-ranked clubs in both leagues are in Saudi Arabia.

However, Inter Miami's ranking is far behind Al Nassr's. Specifically, Inter Miami has a score of 72.8 and is ranked 503rd in the world according to Opta's club rankings updated on August 9th. In seven days, Messi's new club has climbed 276 places due to consecutive victories in the 2023 Leagues Cup. Meanwhile, Al Nassr has a score of 77.7 and is ranked 220th in the world.

Inter Miami was founded in 2018 and has been competing since 2020.

Hong Duy

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