Al Nassr fell to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final, handing Cristiano Ronaldo another defeat in a championship match. How does his record compare to Lionel Messi’s? Al Nassr had the chance this Saturday to win both the Saudi Pro League and the AFC Champions League Two titles. In the first competition, Al Hilal’s victory over Neom delayed the celebration at least until Tuesday, while in the continental tournament Gamba Osaka defeated them in the final. As a result, Cristiano Ronaldo remains ahead of Lionel Messi in career finals lost.
The Portuguese forward now has 15 defeats in finals throughout his professional career, both at club and international level, between 2002 and 2026. Messi, meanwhile, sits slightly behind with 13 lost finals since 2004.
Ronaldo lost his first final with Sporting CP, when they were defeated by Porto in the Portuguese Cup in 2003. A year later, the striker suffered his first major international heartbreak, as Portugal lost the UEFA Euro 2004 final against Greece on home soil.
During his time at Manchester United, CR7 lost three finals. Two came in the FA Cup against Arsenal and Chelsea in 2005 and 2007, respectively. But the most painful defeat was undoubtedly the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League final, when they fell to Lionel Messi’s Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after defeat in the AFC Champions League 2 Final between Al Nassr and Gamba Osaka.
Ronaldo’s lost finals with Real Madrid and Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a brilliant spell at Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018, but that did not prevent him from suffering difficult defeats. During that stretch, he lost four finals between the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup: two against Barcelona and the other two against Atletico Madrid.
After leaving the Spanish giants in the summer of 2018, CR7 joined another European powerhouse, Juventus. There, he won five titles while also losing two finals: the 2019 Supercoppa Italiana against Lazio and the 2020 Coppa Italia against Napoli.
Ronaldo unable to end negative streak with Al Nassr
For Ronaldo, the defeat against Gamba Osaka extended an astonishing negative streak. He has not won an official title with Al Nassr since arriving at the club at the beginning of 2023. It is by far the longest trophy drought of CR7’s club career.
In three and a half years in Saudi Arabia, the Portuguese forward has lost all four finals he has played. Saturday’s AFC Champions League Two defeat was preceded by two Saudi Super Cup losses, against Al Hilal and Al Ahli, and another in the King’s Cup, also against Al Hilal.
Messi’s lost finals
The comparison in titles between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo heavily favors the Argentine forward, who owns 48 trophies compared to Ronaldo’s 35. And that superiority is also reflected in the number of finals each player has lost.
While Ronaldo has lost 15 championship matches, Messi has done so on 13 occasions. Eight came with Barcelona across the Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, and UEFA Super Cup. Four came with the Argentina national team: Copa America 2007, 2015, and 2016, along with the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent came with Inter Miami in the 2023 US Open Cup against Houston Dynamo.