The Myth: "Messi completed a world record 23 successful dribbles vs Villarreal in the Copa del Rey in 2008"
This is a common myth on social media and has its origins on YouTube. Somebody uploaded a video with the title "Lionel Messi - 23 Dribbles in One Game | WORLD RECORD". However, the dribbles were simply counted by the creator of the video - this isn't "wrong" but it means the dribbles do not follow the most widely accepted successful dribble criteria (Opta's), so the number loses its meaning.
Of course, anyone is free to watch a video and apply their own criteria, but that number cannot then be compared to other dribble stats that are from Opta. And you definitely couldn't claim it to be a "world record".
As per this AS.com article, the actual number of Opta successful dribbles in this game is 18 (from 24 attempted), which is the highest on record for Messi in a single match. The number has also been confirmed by an Opta employee.
The Myth: "Ronaldo completed a world record 20 successful dribbles vs Benfica in the Champions League in 2006"
This is by far the most prominent and relentless myth in the Messi/Ronaldo world. It originated in the same way as the previous Messi dribbles myth (on YouTube), but it gained mainstream traction in a way the Messi version hasn't, despite the real number being much easier to verify. It's actually a perfect example of how fake news can snowball on the internet.
Somebody uploaded a video to YouTube titled "The Match Where Ronaldo Completed 20 Dribbles!", in which, again, the dribbles were simply counted by the video creator. The video was then shared a lot on social media, and was soon picked up by sites like SportBible and GiveMeSport, who create articles out of viral posts that can get them clicks. These sites have large followings and significant traffic, but they are not particularly concerned about fact-checking.
And because these articles have prominence in Google, the myth becomes self-perpetuating as people Google and then use the top results as proof.
Opta confirmed several years ago that the correct number of successful dribbles for Ronaldo in that fixture is actually 14 (from 21 attempts), and the full data has since been added to SofaScore, eliminating any lingering doubts.
This is the highest on record for Ronaldo in a single match, and is among the highest ever in the Champions League.
The Myth: "Messi once scored 100 goals in a single 12 month period"
Everyone knows about Messi's incredible record of scoring 91 goals in a calendar year in 2012, but a common myth is that between 19th February 2012 and 16th February 2013, he scored 100 goals in 68 games. The myth seems to have originated from this graphic, which will often be included when this is mentioned on social media.
The correct stats in that period are actually: 67 games, 95 goals, 21 assists, 9 hat-tricks and 21 braces (games with exactly 2 goals).
However, there is an element of truth in this myth as Messi did score a further 5 goals in 5 games in club friendlies, although these should never be factored into any records or stats.
Even if you do include club friendlies, the graphic is still incorrect, as the stats would then be: 72 games, 100 goals and 10 hat-tricks.
Of course, astonishing statistics whichever way you look at it, but alas Messi did not score 100 official goals in a 12 month period.
The Myth: "Messi scored 16 goals in 4 games in 2012/13 before his injury"
This one is very prominent on TikTok, and is often accompanied by the following fake image:
Messi has simply never scored 16 goals in 4 games, whether we are factoring in all competitions or if we confine it to individual competitions.
4 goals in 4 consecutive games would obviously be ludicrous, but amazingly, the real stat isn't a million miles away.
In February-March of 2012, Messi had a run of 4 games in which he scored 4 against Valencia, 1 against Atletico Madrid, 3 against Switzerland, and then 5 against Bayer Leverkusen, making it 13 goals in 4 consecutive games!
The Myth: "When Messi & Ronaldo both played in Spain, Ronaldo took 618 more shots and Messi scored 22 more goals."
There are some real numbers involved in this myth, but they have been very much mixed up and misused.
When Messi and Ronaldo both played in Spain from 09/10 to 17/18, Lionel Messi did indeed score 22 more goals than Ronaldo in all competitions, however the shot count used is only for league and Champions League games, not all competitions.
Just in league and Champions League games, Messi scored 412 goals and Ronaldo scored 416 goals. So the correct stat would be: when they both played in Spain, Ronaldo took 618 more shots in league and Champions League games, and Ronaldo scored 4 more goals.
