Since their debut in the UEFA Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have faced Italian teams on several occasions. In this article, we bring you rare facts you probably never knew.

(2010) Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his goal against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.1) Lionel Messi has played approximately 790 minutes of normal time against Italian teams in his career so far, whereas Ronaldo has played a bit more than 1020 minutes up to now.

2) Messi and Ronaldo both faced Italian teams for the first time in the Champions League in 2005. Although he did not score a goal or made an assist, the then-Barcelona starlet enjoyed a 4-1 win over Udinese; while the Manchester United performer underwent a 1-0 loss against Milan, with only 1 shot in the game. Both players were substituted in their respective games minutes after the hour mark.

3) Messi’s first goal against an Italian team came in his sixth meeting, when he entered the scoring sheet against AC Milan on 23 November 2011. More impressively though, Ronaldo’s first goal against an Italian team came in his fourth meeting—against AS Roma on 10 April 2007. The Portuguese star scored a double in that game, as Manchester United won 7-1.

 

4) The highest number of shots made by Lionel Messi in a match against an Italian team is 9. The Barcelona forward earned that feat in his team’s 3-1 win over AC Milan on 3 April 2012. Cristiano Ronaldo’s highest number of shots is 8—an accomplishment he has done thrice against AC Milan and AS Roma in 2007 and 2010.

5) Cristiano Ronaldo has lost more games than Messi against Italian teams in the Champions League. The current Real Madrid winger has been through 4 defeats: 3 consecutively in his first matches, with 3 in total suffered against AC Milan.

Messi has only been through 2 defeats: in the semifinals against Inter in April 2010, and in February 2013 against AC Milan.

6) Messi’s biggest defeat against an Italian side is 3-1, against an Inter Milan side coached by Jose Mourinho. Ronaldo’s biggest loss against a Serie A club is however 3-0, against an AC Milan side motivated by a first-leg upset.

Lionel Messi netted a penalty against AC Milan in the semifinals in April last year.7) Even though Messi and Ronaldo have faced Italian oppositions 9 and 12 times respectively, both players only have 2 assists in their name so far.

8) In 9 matches, Messi has made 46 shots. In 12 matches, Ronaldo has had 66 shots. This makes the Real Madrid player a fiercer player overall against Champions League participants from the Serie A.

9) Ronaldo averages a goal in every two games against Italian sides, whereas Messi’s statistics are lower with a goal in every three games.

10) CR7’s less remarkable contributions against an Italian club in 90 minutes came in Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over AS Roma on 2 October 2007. Ronnie, who made no assist and scored no goal, only managed to fire 3 shots.

Messi had the same individual results against Inter Milan in his second-leg semifinal encounter in April 2010. Nevertheless, the Argentine had even less impressive results (only 2 shots) in the first-leg match against the Nerazzurri. These disappointing statistics unfortunately haunted him again against AC Milan at the Giuseppe Mazza in the Round of 16 of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League.

So now, between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who do you think has better performances and stats against Italian oppositions? Who would be a better player in the Serie A? Let us know your choices by leaving a comment below!