Two players, one name, but who is best? Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo might share the same name, but we thought we’d sit down and calculate which one is the king. Calculate? Yes, we are comparing hard facts here, let’s see who will emerge victorious from a battle of numbers.

On the one hand, Ronaldo’s professional soccer career spanned 18 years and during that time he played for a variety of clubs, including the mighty Real Madrid. As well as playing upfront for some of the top clubs in the world, Ronaldo also represented his country, Brazil, 98 times and collected two World Cup winner medals for his contributions to its team.

In contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese pro who has been active since 2002 and still is. Joining Sporting CP as a teenager, Cristiano Ronaldo then went on to play for Manchester United before following in the footsteps of his namesake and joining Real Madrid. To date, Cristiano Ronaldo has played more than 500 games for club and country and many regard him as the greatest player of his generation.

With both players having extremely impressive careers, we think it’s about time to look at which Ronaldo is best. Looking through their careers on the pitch as well as their exploits away from it, we’ve put the two players together in a head-to-head battle to see which one comes out on top.

 

Soccer Skills

Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo are both attacking players, so it makes sense to compare their goal scoring ratios to get an idea of which one is the superior soccer player. Of course, we have to accept that Cristiano Ronaldo is still playing and that means his stats will change. In other words, even if the Portuguese ends up second, he has time to turn the game around.

When it comes to time on the pitch, Ronaldo made 343 club appearances during his career and banged in 247 goals in that time. In comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo has currently played 219 matches and scored 239 goals.

As you can see, the retired Brazilian currently has the upper hand when it comes to goals scored. However, with at least three more years left in the game, it’s highly likely Cristiano Ronaldo will surpass his namesake by the end of his career. In fact, he continues to break records every season, so it’s a safe bet he’ll continue to find the back of the net for a few more years to come.

Moreover, when you compare the goals-to-games ratio, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 1.09 goals per game is far superior to Ronaldo’s 0.7 goals per game. Because of this, it’s hard not to give this round to Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

Poker Skills

In something of a growing trend, both Ronaldos are now avid poker players. Because the game offers a competitive outlet away from the football pitch, a host of soccer players have taken to the game in recent years. Indeed, from the likes of Teddy Sheringham to Neymar Jr, poker is the game of choice for the world’s top soccer players.

Both Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo are sponsored by the same online poker company, PokerStars. Owing to the number of sports personalities trying their hand at popular games such as Texas Hold’em, PokerStars has assembled its own team of sporting pros. Known as SportStars, the collective of athletes features our two soccer players, as well as former hockey professional Fatima Moreira del Melo and Olympic skier Marcus Hellner.

When it comes to overall ability, both players have their strengths and weaknesses. However, the leading player at the moment is Ronaldo. Having retired from soccer, perhaps he has had more time to hone his skills, and that’s allowed him to win over $45,000 in tournament prizes.

Taking part in the 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, Ronaldo managed to finish 26th out of 816 players to take home just over $42,000. In contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo is a recent convert to poker and doesn’t yet have any significant wins, which means this round goes to Ronaldo.

 

Business Skills

With the game tied at one apiece, the decider for this head-to-head comes down to each player’s skills in the business arena. From the likes of Nike and KFC to TAG Heuer Watches and Samsung, Cristiano Ronaldo’s sponsorship portfolio is impressive. In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo has been able to launch his own brand, CR7. Thanks to this network of business ventures, Cristiano Ronaldo is now one of the highest paid sportsmen in the world and will certainly be able to live like a king when he retires.

However, despite Ronaldo coming short of sporting sponsors (he was endorsed by the likes of Nike in his time and even had his own signature brand with them), he still manages to compete with Cristiano on the business front. Ronaldo has managed to parlay his success into a thriving venture.

9ine is a sport marketing agency set up by Ronaldo and the ad agency WPP and today he represents a number of famous Brazilian athletes. Moreover, Ronaldo’s company also offers marketing opportunities for companies wanting to align themselves with the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio.

Ronaldo is a real force in the business world. Is it enough to topple Cristiano Ronaldo? Probably not and if we’re going to give the win to anyone it would be the younger of the two soccer stars. However, it’s clear that both players have been hugely successful both on and off the pitch and we’d happily step into either pair of boots if we were given the chance.