Messi’s abysmal Clasico record without Ronaldo

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Lionel Messi’s dreadful record in the Clasico since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus in 2018 continued on Saturday evening.

The Argentine ace drew another blank as Barcelona fell to a costly 2-1 defeat at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano in the Spanish capital.

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Messi has now failed to score in seven straight Clasicos, with his last goal coming during Ronaldo’s last-ever appearance in this famous clash on May 6, 2018.

That summer, Ronaldo quit the Blancos after nine glorious years to join Juventus in a mega-money transfer.

But since Cristiano’s move to Serie A, Messi has not been productive in the Clasico.

Indeed, he has failed to even register an assist in the last five Clasicos.

This is a peculiar streak for the 33-year-old as his all-time record in the Clasico is simply astonishing.

Clasico all-time top scorers

He is the top-scorer in the history of this event, scoring 26 goals. Ronaldo is second in the all-time list with 18 strikes.

Messi has more assists than anyone else with 14 and has been man-of-the-match an incredible 12 times, as well.

Perhaps the presence of Ronaldo brings the best out of Messi. Indeed, he was impressive in both Champions League group games against Ronaldo’s Juventus earlier this season.

He scored a penalty in Barca’s 2-0 win in Turin and had numerous attempts and dribbles despite a 3-0 defeat in the return match. Ronaldo himself found the net twice from the spot in that match.

There have been fears that Saturday’s game may have been Messi’s last-ever Clasico, but the feeling is that it is now more and more likely he will sign a new contract.

Messi’s current deal at Camp Nou expires this summer.