Euro 2024 and this summer's Copa America may be the last time fans get to see both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi compete for continental glory as their legendary careers begin to wind down. The Portugal captain has already confirmed this to be the case with regards to himself. And at 37-years-old, his rival won't be too far behind.

Both stars have had their struggles in their respective tournaments this month. The Argentine missed a panenka penalty against Ecuador in his quarter-final, whereas Ronaldo failed to score at all at the Euros and was dumped out by France. As their national swansongs approach, statistics have suggested that it is the Argentinian who is superior when it comes to competing in knockout games for their country.

Knockout Matches

Both have played in more than 20 games post group stages

When it comes to knockout games played in tournaments, it is hard to separate the two as they have both featured frequently in the latter stages of multiple competitions. It is Messi who just about edges Ronaldo, having played three more matches after the group stages, although he is set to extend that lead as Argentina are through to the Copa America semi-finals.

Tournaments that have held the greatest goalscorer of all time back include Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, where Portugal were eliminated in the first knockout phase. There was also the 2014 World Cup, which saw Ronaldo's worst ever tournament performance as Portugal crashed out in the group stage. He was, however, victorious at Euro 2016.

It is all well and good making it out of the groups, but it is what you do from then on that matters most. Unfortunately for Ronaldo, he will not look back at his record too fondly, as he has lost 10 out of the 21 elimination games he has been a part of, equating to a 52.38% win rate.

As for Messi, his numbers read much healthier. The Barcelona icon has a win rate of 62.5% in round of 16 games and beyond. He has also made it to two finals, winning the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup.

Goals

Messi has more than double Ronaldo's goals

For all the talk of Ronaldo being one of the most clutch footballers there has ever been, history may look back on his performances when Portugal needed him most as being underwhelming. In his 21 knockout games, the 39-year-old scored just three goals. All of the strikes came in different tournaments, meaning that CR7 only scored in the elimination matches in three out of the ten competitions he made it past the group stage in. Furthermore, all of them came in the Euros, so Ronaldo never managed to score a goal in a knockout game at the World Cup.

Messi, on the other hand, has slotted home eight times in his 24 games. However, what is more damning is that if you removed his appearances in the Copa America, he would still come out on top, having scored five times in eleven knockout matches at the World Cup.

Assists

If the goal count was dominant in the eight time Ballon d'Or winner's favour, then the assist stats are a complete annihilation. Ronaldo was able to equal the record for assists in European Championship history when he set up Bruno Fernandes during Portugal's 3-0 group win over Turkey.

It is at that stage of competitions where the poacher is at his most efficient too, as he has only set up his teammates twice in knockout matchups. That equates to just 20% of his overall assists tally in major tournaments. Compare that to his long-time foe, and it isn't even close.

In 24 games, Messi has managed to provide for his teammates on 15 occasions. That is an assist every 1.6 games.

Once again, if you take the continental tournament out of the equation, it is still the little magician who comes out on top, as he has five knockout assists to his name at World Cups.

Throughout Euro 2024, the argument was that Ronaldo was holding back his team in his pursuit of more goal records. His desperate attempts to get on the scoresheet were frivolous. However, these statistics suggest it wasn't just this summer that Portugal's greatest ever player let himself down. He has failed to step up when it matters most for much of his international career.