Messi vs. Ronaldo 2014-15: Which Player Had a More Ballon d'Or Worthy Year?

By David Salazar First Posted: Dec 23, 2014 01:04 PM EST

One more time, and this time with some feeling.

All year round, the world monitors the performances of the two best players in the entire world. Lionel Messi's rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo probably spurs more arguments than any other topic in the world with two rather decisive camps. But when all is said and done, the numbers and results do not lie. One player and one player only had the better year in the 2014.

The first numbers everyone looks at when comparing these two superstars are the goals. And those numbers were rather close by all accounts. Unlike 2013, when Messi was injured for an extended period of time and Ronaldo managed an ample differential of goals scored, neither player missed significant time. And when the tally came in, Ronaldo narrowly topped his rival with 61 goals in 60 games, while Messi put up 58 in 66 matches. Breaking these numbers down further, Ronaldo scored 56 of his goals in 51 club games for Real Madrid, while 50 of Messi's came in 52 club games for Barcelona. The remainder of Messi's goals were scored for his national side where he certainly had an edge over Ronaldo who only scored five times in a Portuguese sweater in 2014.

But here is an interesting twist in the scenario. Just looking at the goals scored in the first half of the 2014-15 season, Ronaldo holds a significant edge of 32 goals to Messi's 23 in all competitions for Real Madrid. But nine of Ronaldo's goals have come on penalties, while none of Messi's have come from the spot. This means that both players have an identical number of goals from open play. That said, this number only favors Messi in the Champions League where he scored eight goals, while Ronaldo had two penalty goals and three tallies from open play. In the domestic league, there is barely a contest. Ronaldo has 18 goals from open play in 14 matches, while Messi has 15 tallies in 16 games. Factor in Ronaldo's seven Spanish League penalties, and he holds a 10-goal lead on his great rival.

But goal scoring is not everything. Many point to Messi as a superior playmaker and a key passer in Barcelona's tiki-taka play. If assists are considering the most valuable of passing stats, then even here Ronaldo is superior to Messi in 2014. He finished the year with 22 helpers, one more than his rival and in fewer matches then the Argentine genius.

In the 2014-15 season, Ronaldo has 12 assists to Messi's nine, showcasing just how potent Ronaldo has been in these last three months alone. Messi is, however, averaging a better passing success rate and more key passes per game than his rival, but this is barely news to anyone -- he has done this his entire career.

Both players hit major milestones in 2014, as well. Ronaldo scored a historic 17 goals in the Champions League, surpassing Messi's 14 set a few seasons ago. He also became the fastest player to score 200 goals in the Spanish league and also broke the record for most hat tricks in the Spanish League.

Messi broke the record for most goals in the Spanish league and then broke Raul's record for most goals in the Champions League, a record that Ronaldo could also break with a few big European performances.

Individual stats are probably not the best barometer to judge a player's overall performance (unless their personal feats are too great to overlook). And in this regard, both players diverge greatly. Ronaldo won the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, the Club World Cup and the Euro Super Cup. He scored in two of these finals and was particularly brilliant in the Euro Super Cup.

Messi made the World Cup final with Argentina, but that is as far as team glory went for him. He was unable to get Barcelona to lift a single trophy in the calendar year.

Ronaldo had more goals, more assists and more trophies. He surely gets the upper hand this year, but not by much.