Ronaldo, Messi and Falcao go head to head to see which one is the best goalscorer on the planet
compare all three player’s vital statistics from the season so far to find out which one is in a league of their own. All statisitcs taken from up to December 15th 2012.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
League goals this season: 13
Minutes on the pitch: 1280
Shots on goal: 108
Average goals per game: 0.87
Assists: 2
It has been a strange season for Cristiano Ronaldo, and in many ways his form has mirrored Real Madrid’s fortunes.
The Portuguese winger found his career in Spain under scrutiny following reports he is ‘sad’ at the Bernabeu, and you can’t help but feel that the former Manchester United man’s best is still yet to come this term.
The league looks a long shot at the moment, so the Champions League may represent his best chance to steal the limelight from his rivals. To his credit, Ronaldo outshone Falcao to help his side win the Madrid derby recently, so there is no doutbing his status as a big game player.
Radamel Falco, Atletico Madrid
League goals this season: 16
Minutes on the pitch: 1170
Shots on goal: 52
Average goals per game: 1.14
Assists: 1
Despite having less minutes on the pitch than Ronaldo, Falcao still has more goals than the Real Madrid man, which is a pretty striking statistic. Messi of course averages more goals per game than the Atletico forward.
But what is more startling is that his 16 goals have come from just 52 shots on goal, that’s an average of a goal every 3.25 shots; even Messi can’t match that (3.43 shots/goal).
Where Falcao does lag behind slightly is his overall contribution to the team, but when you can score goals like he does why would you bother passing it anyway? Messi has proven himself a better goal scorer over a longer period, but if Falcao can keep this up for the next few seasons, there is nothing stopping him being discussed as one of the greatest strikers of all time.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
League goals this season: 23
Minutes on the pitch: 1291
Shots on goal: 79
Average goals per game: 1.53
Assists: 5
“Don’t write about him, watch him,” Pep Guardiola once said about Lionel Messi and the more he plays, the more what the former Barcelona coach says becomes true. His goals this year and across last season are well recorded - he now has 120 goals in his last 100 games for club and country.
Given the stats, there is no doubting that Messi is currently the most deadly player on the planet – his feats make him one of the greatest of all time. There are some questions about his ability to play outside a Barcelona side catered towards him, but on current form, he is just ahead of both Falcao and Ronaldo.
So the stats show that Messi averages more goals per game and contributes the most to his team, but Falcao is a more efficient striker, all the while Ronaldo lags just behind the pair. Which one would you like in your team? Leave your comments below!
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