Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are superstars associated with glory, but sometimes they also fall out of control like normal players.
Messi and Ronaldo, who gets more red cards?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both received red cards in their careers. Photo: AFP
One of the most notable news of European football on Sunday (January 17) was Barcelona’s defeat and Lionel Messi’s red card in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.

The fact that M10 was sent off is indeed a “special rare” event, because this is Messi’s first red card in Barca colors, after 753 matches. Moreover, he was not originally a violent player, but was kicked out for his cold-beating behavior.

Of the 3 times Messi received a red card, there were 2 times in the Argentina team shirt. Photo: AFP
Ads (0:00)
Of the 3 times Messi received a red card, there were 2 times in the Argentina team shirt. Photo: AFP
Also from this event, there was a comparison between him and Cristiano Ronaldo. Together, they have created an exciting race in terms of goals and individual titles for more than a decade and have not stopped until now.

But on the other hand, many people are interested in how many red cards they have received in their career? There are times when they are “hot-headed”, they have fallen into the opponent’s trap or simply lost control leading to behavior like Messi in the last match.

Compared to the number of red cards, Ronaldo is superior to Messi.

The first time Messi was sent off was in 2005, on the day of his debut for Argentina in a friendly against Hungary on August 15. The 18-year-old then replaced Lisandro Lopez in the 64th minute, but only stood on the field for exactly 2 minutes when reacting to Vilmos Vanczak due to his shirt being pulled.

Messi was sent off for the first time in 1 year, 3 months compared to Ronaldo. Then, on May 15, 2004, CR7 was sent off in Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League.

After 14 years, Messi was red carded again. This time was also in the Argentina team, when he collided with Chile’s Gary Medel in the Copa America 2019 bronze medal match. At dawn on January 18 (Vietnam time) was Messi’s third red card, the first time at Barca. .

Cristiano Ronaldo gets more red cards and in more big games. Photo: AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo gets more red cards and in more big games. Photo: AFP
And Ronaldo was sent off “more often”, when there were three other times in the Man United shirt. Switching to Real Madrid in 2009, the Portuguese superstar was sent off 6 times on all fronts in 9 years here.

Going to Juventus in 2018, Ronaldo also soon received a red card that same year, when playing in the Champions League. In total, Ronaldo had 11 times to leave the field early, including 7 times because of a direct red card.

The 35-year-old striker is often sent off in big matches, with 2 Manchester derbies, a Madrid derby and a Super Classic with Messi’s own Barca in 2017. He has never been sent off while playing for the Portuguese national team. Portugal.

NUMBER OF RECEIVED RED CARDS OF MESSI AND RONALDO:

Time Player Match Tournament
15.5.2004 Ronaldo A.Villa 0-2 Man United
Premier League
August 15, 2005 Messi Hungary 1-2 Argentina
Friendly match
January 14, 2006 Ronaldo Man City 3-1 Man United
Premier League
August 15, 2007 Ronaldo Portsmouth 1-1 Man United Premier League
November 30, 2008 Ronaldo Man City 0-1 Man United
Premier League
December 5, 2009 Ronaldo Real 4-2 Almeria
La Liga
January 24, 2010 Ronaldo Real 2-0 Malaga La Liga
May 17, 2013 Ronaldo Real 1-2 Atl.Madrid King’s Cup
February 2, 2014 Ronaldo Bilbao 1-1 Real La Liga
January 24, 2015 Ronaldo Cordoba 1-2 Real La Liga
August 13, 2017 Ronaldo Barca 1-3 Real Spanish Super Cup
September 19, 2018 Ronaldo Valencia 0-2 Juventus Champions League
6.7.2019 Messi Argentina 2-1 Chile Copa America
January 17, 2021 Messi Barca 2-3 Bilbao Spanish Super Cup