Table of Contents
Stats at International Level
CR7 begun his international career at the age of 15 years in 2001 for Under-15 team. He scored 19 goals in 34 youth caps. Apart from the under 15 team, he also represented under-17, under-20, under-21 and under-23. He played his first ever senior international match against Kazakhstan which was a 1-0 victory for his national side. He is now the all time top goal scorer of Portugal national football team. The Argentine forward was offered to play for Spanish football team for under-20 category, but he rejected the offer to play for his home nation. He was a part of a team which finished at third spot in South America Youth Championship in 2005. Given below are their international records with national teams.
| Year | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo | ||
| Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | 16 | 7 | ||
| 2005 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| 2006 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 6 |
| 2007 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 5 |
| 2008 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 2009 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2010 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| 2011 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 2012 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 5 |
| 2013 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| 2014 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 |