Messi and Ronaldo finally featured on the same weekend of action, though their respective health remains an item of concern.

Ronaldo seems to be recovered from his injury that he suffered during the Euro 2016 final, though his early substitutions and the images of him getting treatment on the sidelines indicate that not everything is 100 percent for the superstar.

He did score a goal to kick things off and was rather efficient at working alongside his teammates throughout the evening, often looking to dish a pass rather than take a selfish shot to pad his stats.

Messi did not start the match for Barcelona against Alaves on the weekend and coach Luis Enrique is likely regretting every moment of that decision. Messi of course is nursing a groin injury and his effectiveness when he did come on was lacking compared to his usual brilliance. Barcelona wound up losing that game.

Calendar Year Stats

On the season, Messi has three goals and three assists through five games for Blaugrana; he has two goals and one assist in three La Liga tilts.

Ronaldo has one goal in one game this season for Real Madrid.

In all of 2016, Messi has 38 goals and 26 assists in just 45 games; Ronaldo has 33 goals and 11 assists in 26 matches. For his country, Messi has seven goals and five assists in nine matches while Ronaldo has six goals and three assists in 10 games.

Year-End Projects

Ronaldo could yet catch Messi in goals scored in 2016, especially if Messi is in fact carrying a problematic injury.

That said, Messi looks set to finish with far more assists than Ronaldo, already carrying a 15 assist lead at this stage in the year.