Lionel Messi equals Cristiano Ronaldo's international record after Finalissima triumph

After winning the Copa America trophy last season Lionel Messi lifted his second international trophy with Argentina after winning the Finalissima trophy. The Finalissima clash - which sees champions of South America going against European Champions took place at Wembley, with Argentina beating Italy 3-0. Besides winning, the trophy Messi also equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's tally of major international honours.

Lionel Messi equals Cristiano Ronaldo's record

While Lionel Messi provided two assists in Argentina's win over Italy, Lautaro Martinez, Angel di Maria and Paulo Dybala scored the goals for Lionel Scaloni's side. The opener was created by Messi who with his solo run went past Giovanni Di Lorenzo before squaring off to Lautaro Martínez to slot past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 28th minute.

Martínez turned creator in first-half stoppage time by threading a pass-through for Ángel Di María to chip Donnarumma, having got past Giorgio Chiellini. The win was wrapped up in the fourth minute of stoppage time with Messi gaining possession on the halfway line and rampaging to the edge of the penalty area where he evaded Di Lorenzo's challenge to set up the substitute Paulo Dybala to strike low into the net.

Lionel Messi winning his second trophy meant he is on par with Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of international trophies. The 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo has won both the Euros and the Nations League for his country but is yet to win World Cup just like Lionel Messi. Both players will next feature in FIFA World Cup which could be the last for both players and they will look to get their hands on the trophy which is missing from their respective cabinets.

Messi & Ronaldo's international record

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have similar records at the international level, however, Ronaldo's numbers are slightly better because his senior Portugal career kicked off two years before Messi's with Argentina. Ronaldo equalled Ali Daei's record of 109 international goals at Euro 2020 and then surpassed it with two goals against the Republic of Ireland, becoming the top international goalscorer of all time.

Lionel Messi on the other hand is far away in terms of goals against Ronaldo but the PSG striker is Argentina's top goalscorer of all time, surpassing the great Gabriel Batistuta few years ago. Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been on the FIFPro World XI 14 times which shows how closely fought the Ronaldo vs Messi battle is.