Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi in the digital media battle

World: The AI-based media intelligence solution Smelter.ai analyzed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s media presence for World Cup 2022 to identify who has more public affection, media coverage, and online presence. It turned out that for the period from November 20 to December 12, 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo has been mentioned in the world media 268118 times, whereas Lionel Messi was 223564 times. 

The discussion of who the GOAT is (Greatest of All Times) has been around for many years: Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo – the world’s two favourite football stars. Both players’ careers have largely coincided, with both dominating a game for over a decade. However, it was during this World Cup the rivalry became especially relevant. For both players, this World Cup might be the last one in their careers due to their age (Messi – 35, Ronaldo – 37), so the contest became inevitable and reached its highest pick. There are many parameters for their comparison and contrast, including match history, goals records, honours, etc. Smelter.ai specifically looked at the media coverage and online presence in the world press and social media for the time of World Cup 2022. 

The news and web press covered almost half of all mentions: Ronaldo – 112061 times, Messi – 105045 times. The rest was mostly mentioned in social networks: Ronaldo 140445 times, Messi – 100187 times. Out of which for Ronaldo: Twitter – 93%, Youtube – 5%, Pinterest – 0,3%, Facebook – 0,3%, and Linkedin – 0,08%. For Messi: Twitter – 94%, Youtube – 4,9%, Pinterest – 0,5%, Facebook – 0,3%, and Linkedin – 0,1%. 

However, most importantly, the NSR (net sentiment rate, shows the tone of mentions – positive, negative, neutral) stated that overall Messi has 63.37 scores, whereas Ronaldo’s only 25.91 scores – meaning that the Argentinian captain has more positive mentions and probably has larger affection from the public and media. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s higher mentions rating might be derived from the player’s statement on the 8th of December when he suggested leaving the World Cup. On that day, his engagement rate was 19 595 938, which is 89,3% more than the engagement rate during other days at the World Cup.  

Overall, analytics from Smelter.ai compared the world’s famous football players: their engagement in world media and mentions of their names in the world press and social media (Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Linkedin). The analysis has been done in English, considering a worldwide audience.  

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Smelter.ai – an AI-based media intelligence & competitor analysis solution helping with PR & marketing metrics to find growth points, smart KPIs for a communication strategy to stay ahead, insights and publication topics for your audience, and best channels for effective communication. Ronaldo Messi media battle Ronaldo Messi media battle