Lionel Messi scored a vintage brace on Saturday to reach 936 career goals as Inter Miami beat Atlanta United 3-1. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo hit 981 goals after scoring against Neftchi Fargona. However, Ronaldo got fined €255 and faced criticism after he missed a penalty during a Saudi Pro League match.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to dominate the headlines well into the twilight of their careers. Both superstars played two games over the past ten days, since our last Messi-Ronaldo watch. Here's how it all went down:
Football
Messi:
On Wednesday, Lionel Messi added another assist to his collection as Inter Miami beat New York City 2-0. Messi was involved in the first goal as a superb one-touch move ended with Luis Suárez teeing up Germán Berterame for a tap-in. He then teed up a superb strike from Rodrigo de Paul after a run that attracted three defenders to him and opened up space for his compatriot. Two more Messi passes were smacked onto the woodwork. This win confirmed Inter Miami's place in the MLS Cup playoffs.
His assist, meanwhile, means Messi became the first player in league history with at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons.
Then on Saturday, a vintage Messi performance blew Atlanta United away 3-1. A superb Suarez assist (after Messi headed it on to him) saw Berterame open the scoring, before Messi took over.
The first of his two goals on the night came when he picked up the ball on the halfway line, dribbled in and played a sharp 1-2 with Luis Suarez just outside the Atlanta box before zipping in, swerving past one defender and then nutmegging another (and the goalkeeper) with his powerful driven finish. The second came when he was played through on the counter, ran at Júnior Alonso, turned the Atlanta centre-back inside out before moving past him like he wasn't there, and slipped a finish past the onrushing keeper.
The results keep Inter Miami second in the Eastern Conference of the MLS.
Ronaldo:
Cristiano Ronaldo too had an eventful couple of games. First up, Al Nassr beat Uzbek club Neftchi Fargona 3-1 in the AFC Champions League elite with Ronaldo getting on the scoresheet as he inches closer to the 1000 goal mark. His was the second goal, a superb swiveling finish, first-time, off a cushioned header by Ayman Yahya at the far post from a deep Sadio Mané cross.
In the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday, meanwhile, Ronaldo had a bit of a horror game, even as João Félix led the defending champions to a 1-0 win over Neom. It started with a missed penalty, as Ronaldo lashed an effort wide in stoppage time of the first half, before he missed an empty net from about two yards out early in the second and then failed to keep a trademark spin-and-hit effort from near the penalty spot on target later in the match.
Al Nassr remain third in the Saudi Pro League.
Life (and Social Media)
Messi
After beating Atlanta away, Messi posted a carousel of his pics on Instagram, with a caption that made Argentina fans emotional again as he relived the memory of beating England in dramatic fashion in the same stadium in their World Cup semifinal.
Ronaldo
After walking out of the Portugal squad mid international break, Ronaldo was provisionally suspended by the Portuguese federation. That now has been made official, a 30-day suspension (which ends before the next international break in November) and a fine of... €255 (~Rs. 27,000).
The fine was the maximum allowable by the federation after mitigating circumstances were taken into account, with the federation adding that Ronaldo's confession and clean disciplinary record helped to reduce the punishment.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo was named the highest-paid footballer in the 2026/27 season with Forbes stating that he earned €276 million, while Messi remained a distant second with earnings of €133.4 million.
Words
(On) Messi:
Luis Enrique speaking about comparisons between Lamine Yamal and Messi: "I think Lamine wants to be Lamine and he is doing very well," the PSG coach said. "He is improving in every aspect of his game, but if you compare him with the best player ever, there will only be one winner."
"Maybe we can speak in the future about that, but right now it is best not to compare him with Messi."
(On) Ronaldo:
In an interview with The Athletic, former Manchester United coach Erik Ten Hag said that Ronaldo pulled out of training sessions and did not raise his heart rate to the required level when training. Ten Hag claims that Ronaldo did not complete all of the scheduled laps that United players were made to run after their calamitous 4-0 loss to Brentford.
"He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him. I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United," Ten Hag said. "Obviously, he's one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in."
Ten Hag added: "I confronted him [...] Many times I say, 'Ronnie, everyone wants to work for you to bring you in the right position, but if you can't bring yourself in the box, you can't score.' He was not capable to do this."
"Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team. He was telling the players, 'Save your legs at the training.' I understand it when you are top fit; you have sessions, you can save the legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels."