Separated by just two years, four months, and 19 days in age, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi‘s incredible careers have run side-by-side for decades.
The two undoubtedly best players of the last generation won everything they could on the world stage, pushing each other to great heights, but what about before they were household names?
With footballers peaking younger and younger, we’re rewinding the clock to look at the teenage careers of the famous pair and see who had the more promising start.
As he’s the older one, we will kick things off with Ronaldo, who became a teenager on February 5, 1994. At the time, he was part of Sporting’s youth academy having just left his family home of Madeira, but even at that age, he was starting to garner attention.
By the age of 16, he had made his way up the club’s youth squads and was even able to train with the first team on several occasions. In 1998, he signed his first professional contract with Sporting and made his debut on September 29, 2002, at the age of 17.
Despite being 18, he became a mainstay in the Sporting team and as such, had plenty of European clubs sniffing around him.
A friendly against Manchester United in August 2003 prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to sign him immediately, and he made his move to Manchester for £12.24m.
Ronaldo would spend his final year as a teenager making his Premier League debut, going on to score four times in the league as he acclimatised to England.
He did win his first trophy in England as a teenager, lifting the FA Cup against Millwall after he scored the opening goal.
As for Messi, his career took off at the age of 13 when he was famously signed to Barcelona on the back of a napkin. The Spanish club offered to pay for treatment for a growth hormone deficiency, having spotted the potential of the diminutive Argentine.
A quick search on YouTube will show how Messi dominated Barcelona youth ranks, playing alongside the likes of Gerard Piqué and Cesc Fàbregas, on his way to the Barcelona first team.
At the age of 16, the future Ballon d’Or winner was allowed to train with the first team under Frank Rijkaard and even netted in a friendly, suggesting he was ready for the step up.
In 2004, he was given that opportunity when he was brought on in the 82nd minute during a city derby against Espanyol. That same year, he got his first goal for the club when he was played through by Ronaldinho and went on to chip the goalie. When the referee ruled it offside, Messi proceeded to simply do it again.
At 18, he was a regular in a team with the likes of Samuel Eto’o, Deco, and Ronaldinho up front, and in 2005, he won his first league title after Barcelona finished four points clear of Real Madrid.
During that season, Messi was also picked for the Argentina national team.
His final year as a teenager was 2006, when he was part of the Barcelona squad that secured their second Champions League title, defeating Arsenal in the final.
However, Messi was injured for the latter stages and for a lot of his career did not consider it as a trophy he had won.
READ: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lead the greatest millennial XI – football’s best-ever generation?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s stats as a teenager
Games: 122 ⭐
Goals: 23
Assists: 21 ⭐
Goal contributions: 44 ⭐
Wins: 67 ⭐
Win percentage: 54.92%
Draws: 28⭐
Losses: 27
Penalties: 0
Free-kicks: 1⭐
Minutes per goal: 313.91
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 313.91
Minutes per goal or assist: 164.09
Trophies won: 1 (FA Cup)
Lionel Messi’s stats as a teenager
Games: 84
Goals: 30 ⭐
Assists: 10
Goal contributions: 40
Wins: 55
Win percentage: 65.48% ⭐
Draws: 12
Losses: 17 ⭐
Penalties: 1 ⭐
Free-kicks: 0
Minutes per goal: 172.63 ⭐
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 178.59 ⭐
Minutes per goal or assist: 129.47 ⭐
Trophies won: 2 (La Liga and Champions League) ⭐
READ NEXT: Comparing Lionel Messi’s stats with Cristiano Ronaldo’s since leaving Europe
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name all 27 players who have played alongside both Messi and Ronaldo?
