Lionel Messi turns 36 today, but how do the Argentine's stats compare to Cristiano Ronaldo when he was the same age?
Messi's birthday closely follows the news of his arrival at Inter Miami after publicly falling out with Paris Saint-Germain.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has been suspended for two weeks by the club after making an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia last month.
Although unable to help bring back the European glory that PSG fans crave, the French giant was knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
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During his illustrious career, Messi was often compared to Ronaldo. But on the little mage's birthday, how does he compare to his longtime rival?
Indeed, the comparison is often seen as a bit unfair given that Ronaldo has a slim advantage in terms of experience.
The Portuguese superstar, who currently plays at his club in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, has two years on Messi.
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Courtesy of MessivsRonaldo, a website used to compare the stats of pairs, two players head-to-head of the same age and Messi is the winner.
Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo on their 36th birthday. Credits @GiveMeSport
Despite playing 15 games less than Ronaldo, Messi has scored more than 45 goals. Though he has also added 132 assists during this period and scored one more hat-trick than the former Manchester United man.
As for the specific types of goals scored, Ronaldo has 134 penalties compared to Messi's 108. But Messi scored 5 more free kicks.
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Messi also dominates the long range, scoring 33 more goals than Ronaldo from outside the box. However, Ronaldo dominated unsurprisingly, scoring 130 goals with his head compared to Messi's 26.
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United are hoping to get more stability from Antony next season after a difficult first season at Old Trafford.
If there was anything Erik ten Hag wanted to achieve last summer, it was to reunite with Antony at Old Trafford.
After several weeks of speculation, negotiations and even a tantrum or two, Manchester United signed the Brazil international from Ajax in a deal worth up to £85.5m on the last day of the transfer window. summer concession. He became the club's fifth and final permanent signing this summer, marking a record summer.
Ten Hag has been desperately consolidating United's right-wing options over the summer and Antony, with whom he worked in the Netherlands, is his sole aim to fulfill that mission. The transfer fee has, unsurprisingly, raised eyebrows around the world, especially since the winger has never played in one of Europe's top five leagues.
For many, it was seen as a big gamble, like Lisandro Martinez's move to Under-16s from Ajax a few weeks earlier. However, Antony began to quell those fears almost immediately after arriving in Manchester. His United career had just begun 35 minutes when he scored his first goal for the club, giving the Reds a 1-0 lead over Arsenal on his debut. It was exactly the kind of start he and Ten Hag had dreamed of.
He then added two more goals to his roster, scoring in Premier League head-to-head matches against Manchester City and Everton. With three goals in their first three league appearances, United seem to be getting their money's worth, although their overall game still lacks pieces.
And those are the improvements that United supporters are still waiting to see, certainly on a consistent basis. After scoring three times in his first three league games, the 23-year-old scored just five more before his season came to an abrupt end against Chelsea last month, where he was forced out.
That meant he missed out on the Premier League final win over Fulham and the FA Cup final against Man City at Wembley six days later. Had he not suffered the aforementioned ankle injury, he would have started on the right wing under goal.
That means he ended his first season at Old Trafford with eight goals and three assists in 44 appearances in all competitions. It's not at all a disastrous return for a youngster adjusting to life at a new club in a new country, but it is certainly a record he will need. improve next season. Finding stability was the Brazilian's biggest problem during his first season at United, although he has improved and shown much of his ability in the season he has developed. Aaron Wan-Bissaka's resurgence and recovery at right-back means Antony has formed a close partnership with him on the right flank, giving him new life.
Antony has improved as the 2022/23 season begins.
Antony has improved as the 2022/23 season begins.
Whether or not Wan-Bissaka can retain Ten Hag's preferred right-back position next season, Antony must prove he can produce the level of consistency expected of an 85-dollar player. ,5 million pounds. He also needs to be more productive when he does everything in the last third of the game.
"He knows, I also know, that when you're a striker, you need an end product," Ten Hag said in a speech last month. “But he had
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