Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo height: who is taller?
By Nitin Raja · Software developer, founder of CheckMyHeight
· 2 min read · Heights from Wikidata · How we check heights
Cristiano Ronaldo is taller than Lionel Messi by 16.0 cm (6.3 in). Cristiano Ronaldo is 6′ 1″ and Lionel Messi is 5′ 6½″.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo side by side, drawn to scale.
How tall is Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi, the Argentine association football player (born 1987), is 5′ 6½″ tall - 169 cm or 1.69 m. The average American man is 5′ 9″ (175.3 cm), so Lionel Messi is 6.3 cm shorter than average - taller than about 20% of US men. See Lionel Messi's full height page.
How tall is Cristiano Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese association football player (born 1985), is 6′ 1″ tall - 185 cm or 1.85 m. The average American man is 5′ 9″ (175.3 cm), so Cristiano Ronaldo is 9.7 cm taller than average - taller than about 90% of US men. See Cristiano Ronaldo's full height page.
The height difference
Cristiano Ronaldo is 16.0 cm (6.3 inches) taller - 9.5% taller than Lionel Messi. That gap is about the size of a smartphone. Standing side by side in bare feet, Lionel Messi's eyes would be roughly level with Cristiano Ronaldo's neck. Shoes, posture and hair change this in photos, so a gap under 3 cm is easy to hide with heels or lifts.
Compared with the average
| Height | cm | vs. Lionel Messi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 5′ 6½″ | 169 | - |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 6′ 1″ | 185 | +16.0 cm |
| Average US man | 5′ 9″ | 175.3 | +6.3 cm |
| Average US woman | 5′ 3½″ | 161.3 | −7.7 cm |
Who else is this tall?
Also about 5′ 6½″ like Lionel Messi: Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Marion Cotillard.
Also about 6′ 1″ like Cristiano Ronaldo: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Rafael Nadal, Jair Bolsonaro, Denzel Washington.
Browse every celebrity at 5′ 7″ or 6′ 1″.
How tall are you next to them?
Measure yourself with your phone's camera and you'll appear on the same chart, to scale - or type your height instead. To line up more people, characters or objects, open the height comparison chart with both of them already on it.
Questions
Who is taller, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo is taller than Lionel Messi by 16.0 cm (6.3 in). Cristiano Ronaldo is 6′ 1″ and Lionel Messi is 5′ 6½″.
What is the height difference between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?
16.0 cm, or 6.3 inches. Cristiano Ronaldo is 9.5% taller.
How tall is Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi is 5′ 6½″ (169 cm).
How tall is Cristiano Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo is 6′ 1″ (185 cm).
Sources
- Lionel Messi: Wikidata Q615
- Cristiano Ronaldo: Wikidata Q11571
- US averages: CDC NHANES 2015-2018 (adults 20+).
- Eye-line estimate: eyes sit at about 93.6% of standing height in typical adult proportions.
Celebrities often round up or are measured in shoes - treat listed heights as within a centimetre or two. Spotted an error? Tell us.