Rather surprisingly, after his brace against Sevilla, Cristiano Ronaldo has a better minutes-per-goal ratio than Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi. The Portuguese striker scores once every 103 minutes, while Messi does so every 115.
Though it may seem inconceivable, Ronaldo boasts a better goalscoring ratio this season after scoring 18 goals in total for club and country. The Barcelona star has netted 20 times, but has enjoyed more game-time.
His Spanish Super Cup ban at the start of the season has seen the recently announced Ballon d'Or winner feature on fewer occasions than Messi. For that reason, despite Messi scoring more goals in all competitions, Ronaldo's minutes-per-goal ratio is better.
Ronaldo has scored 14 goals for Real Madrid so far this season: four in La Liga, nine in the Champions League and one in the Spanish Super Cup. Another four with Portugal add up to 18 goals in 1,861 minutes. Or what is the same, one goal every 103 minutes.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi has found the back of the net 17 times: 13 in La Liga, three in the Champions League and one in the Spanish Super Cup. Three more goals for Argentina bring his total up to 20 goals in 2,313. 115 minutes per goal.
Ronaldo has been heavily criticised for his goalscoring form this season but the simple facts show otherwise. Numbers don't lie.