Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi close 2021 with a milestone.© AFP
Two of the world’s most followed footballers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, made headlines again at the end of the year. According to an astonishing statistic, Messi and Ronaldo will finish this calendar year as the top scorers of 2021 for their previous clubs Barcelona and Juventus respectively, despite their departure in the summer. This year saw a life-changing transfer for Messi, who left Barcelona after a 21-year spell after playing 16 consecutive seasons in the top division. He joined French giant Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) this August at the age of 34.
Before leaving Barcelona, however, Messi had already scored 28 goals in 2021 before his club contract expired, which has yet to be matched or improved by a Barcelona player.
Messi, who won his seventh Ballon d’Or crown this year, also had a memorable year for his national team, winning his first major trophy with Argentina in the Copa América.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, made a much-hyped transfer from Juventus to his former club Manchester United just three weeks after Messi’s move.
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Despite the move, however, Ronaldo’s calendar year target for the Italian side was still unmatched after Juventus’ last game of the year as he finished with 20 goals in all competitions for them.
Messi scored 28 goals out of a total of 108 goals scored by Barcelona in all competitions in 2021. Meanwhile, Ronaldo scored 20 of a total of 106 goals scored by Juventus in all competitions this year.
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