Inter Miami’s elimination from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup vs Paris Saint-Germain has denied Lionel Messi a chance to match a long-standing record held by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Inter Miami were knocked out of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday after a 4–0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16. For Lionel Messi, the defeat was not only one of the most painful in his professional career, but it also prevented him from tying an important scoring record currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi exited the Club World Cup with one goal in four matches, scored on Matchday 2 of Group A against Porto via a stunning free kick. That brought his career total in the competition to six goals, including those from previous editions with Barcelona.
In 2009, Messi scored twice for the Spanish side—once in the semifinals in a 3–1 win over Atlante of Mexico and again in extra time of the final against Estudiantes of Argentina, which Barcelona won 2–1. In 2011, he added two more goals in the final against Neymar’s Santos. Then in 2015, he scored once against River Plate.
That brings the Argentine forward just one goal shy of Cristiano Ronaldo, who still holds the all-time scoring record in the Club World Cup with seven goals, scored during his time with Manchester United and Real Madrid.
In 2008, Ronaldo first appeared in the tournament with the English side and scored against Gamba Osaka of Japan in a 5–3 semifinal win. With Real Madrid, he didn’t score in the 2015 title run but tallied four goals in 2016—one in the semifinals against Club America of Mexico and a hat trick in the final against Kashima Antlers of Japan. In 2017, he scored again in the semifinal against Al-Jazira and once more in the final against Gremio.
All-time Club World Cup goal scorers
As mentioned, Cristiano Ronaldo tops the all-time Club World Cup scoring chart with seven goals, followed closely by Lionel Messi with six. However, Messi is not alone at that mark. Here’s the full list of top scorers:
Cristiano Ronaldo – 7
Lionel Messi – 6
Karim Benzema – 6
Luis Suarez – 6
Gareth Bale – 6
Cesar Delgado – 5
Salem Al-Dawsari – 5
Federico Valverde – 5
Top scorers of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
With the tournament’s expanded format featuring 32 teams and up to seven matches for clubs reaching the final, it’s likely that new players will soon challenge the top spots in the all-time scoring rankings—potentially even surpassing Ronaldo.
As the competition nears its halfway point, several players have already posted impressive numbers. So far, the leading scorer of the 2025 Club World Cup is Angel Di Maria, who scored four goals for Benfica before they were eliminated by Chelsea in the Round of 16. Right behind him with three goals each are Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich, Pedro Neto of Chelsea, Kenan Yıldız of Juventus, and Wessam Abou Ali of Al Ahly.
From: bolavip.com
