The world of soccer has given us plenty of superstars but two certain individuals are certified icons. Non-soccer fans around the world also know who David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo are, such is the impact of the two athletes.
Ronaldo and Beckham have a lot in common because they both are known for their style, brand, and playing abilities. Whether scoring from free kicks, playing for Manchester United and Real Madrid, or donning the famous Number 7 shirt. David Beckham is more of an owner now but during his playing days, he was ‘The Man’ for dead ball situations.
David Beckham vs Cristiano Ronaldo š pic.twitter.com/7ZbkBk6le9
ā Blanca (@ballinsinceabby) June 1, 2020
Ever since breaking onto the first team under Sir Alex the young boy with bangs from Manchester has never looked back. By far the most bankable star from the ‘Class of 92’ team, Beckham made his mark during the treble-winning season in 98/99.
A spat with boss Sir Alex meant it was time for him to go to arguably the greatest club in the world, Real Madrid. This is where the story of another icon Cristiano Ronaldo starts molding.
Cristiano Ronaldo a boy from the streets of Madeira joined Manchester United and took the famous Number 7 shirt. Becoming one of the greatest players in the 2010 Premier League era, the boy from Portugal won the Balon d’Or in 2008 after helping his team win a historic double. History repeated as Cristiano also joined Real Madrid but again by that time, David Beckham had left for the US.
David Beckham played at Real Madrid as a part of the famous ‘Galacticos’ team and was unable to win a single UCL trophy, while Cristiano won 4 at Madrid and became the club’s highest goal scorer. Beckham ended his career at PSG after loan stints at Ac Milan while Ronaldo went to Juventus and is currently the captain of Al Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs David Beckham: Goals comparison
While it’s not fair to compare a midfielder with a forward, Beckham boasts a quite decent goal record while playing from the middle of the pitch. Beckham has played for Manchester United almost 400 times and has scored a total of 85 goals with a whopping assist count of 120 in all competitions. He has 20 goals each for Real Madrid and La Galaxy and 2 goals during his loan spells at AC Milan.
The 2001/02 season was his best season as he scored 16 goals across all competitions. He has captained England on several occasions and has scored 17 goals in 115 appearances which includes the last-minute free kick against Greece in the World Cup qualifiers that fired England into the World Cup main stages in 2002.
David Beckham listening to the commentary of his iconic goal vs Greece for the first time.
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ā Christian (@OlayinkaChris) October 10, 2023
Cristiano is a beast when it comes to scoring goals. Being the top goal scorer in the history of Portugal and Real Madrid is no small feat. Ronaldo has 726 club goals so far in his career with the most coming from his Real Madrid stint where he has an unbelievable record of 450 goals in 438 appearances.
The Portuguese captain also has 127 goals so far for his nation. He is also the fastest player in Juventus history to reach 100 goals and crazily enough at the age of 38, he is still leading the goal-scoring charts in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs David Beckham: Trophy comparison
Success is measured by trophies and the two aforementioned players can brag about the trophies they have won so far in their career. David Beckham has won the Premier League on 6 occasions, the FA Cup twice, the Community Shield twice, and the UEFA Champions League once during his time at Manchester United.
At Madrid, his trophy haul went down a notch as the England captain was restricted to only one La Liga and one Supercopa de Espana. At MLS, Beckham made La Galaxy a winning machine winning the MLS twice on the bounce. His final season also saw him win the Ligue 1 title with PSG.
Cristiano Ronaldo ranks as one of the top 10 players with the most trophies in soccer. The 5-time Balon d’Or winner has won 34 trophies which includes 2 international trophies, something David Beckham lacks.
He has one trophy with Sporting Lisbon and 3 Premier League titles,1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups, 1 Community Shield, and one Champions League with Manchester United.
In 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo finished the year with more trophies (4) than games lost (3)
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ā M (@MunxFt) October 16, 2023
For Real Madrid, Cristiano has won 4 Champions League, 2 Laligas and Copa Del Reys, 2 Spanish Super Cups, and 2 UEFA Super Cups. At Juventus, he won Seria A and Italian Super Cup twice and the Coppa Italia once. At his latest club Al Nassr, he recently won the Arab Club Champions Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs David Beckham: Net worth comparison
Being absolute superstars and brand ambassadors of several brands, both Beckham and Ronaldo have a massive net worth. Beckham being the co-owner of Inter Miami has a net worth of a whopping $450 million. The Englishman has deals with brands such as H&M, Tudor, Haig Whiskey, Armani, PepsiCo Breitling, etc.
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1. David Beckham and Ronaldo Nazario pic.twitter.com/ObQXoeRYaH
ā Bronze (@bronze_bomber3) June 22, 2023
By the time Beckham retired he had already made $800 million. He also established his own ‘DB Ventures’ after his retirement. In 2022, he sold 55% of it to Authentic Brands Group for a deal worth over $230 million.
Unlike Beckham, Cristiano has been in the business field since his playing days. With a net worth of over $500 million, Ronaldo is the highest-earning player currently according to Forbes. Being the brand ambassador of several brands like Nike, Tag Heuer and Clear has made Ronaldo earn a fortune.
One huge chunk of this net worth comes from his lifetime deal with Nike he signed back in 2016 which is set to earn him around $1 billion throughout his career. Ronaldo’s brand of hotels,Ā clothing, gyms, and even fragrances adds to his list. Ronaldo is currently the second richest soccer player in the world just behind rival Lionel Messi.
The two players are from different generations yet are one of the most successful ever to grace the pitch but in terms of goals, net worth, and trophies won, it seems that the skinny boy from Madeira takes the win.