To date, Lionel Messi has only received 3 red cards during his 1,053 professional matches. The first expulsion he suffered was when he played for Argentina on his international debut in a friendly match against Hungary. Then, he received a red card in the 2019 Copa America third-place match against Chile.
Finally, Messi was disqualified from playing in the Barcelona shirt at the end of the match that the home team lost 2-3 to Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final in January 2021.
For his part, Cristiano Ronaldo has never received a red card while playing for the Portuguese team, but he has accumulated 12 red cards (8 direct red cards and 4 double yellow cards) since his debut in 2019. 2002 through 1,217 matches.
Video of Ronaldo elbowing the opponent
Ronaldo received 4 red cards with MU (all in the Premier League), 6 times with Real Madrid (4 in La Liga, one in the King’s Cup and one in the Spanish Super Cup), 1 with Juventus (Serie A) and last night had my first time with Al Nassr.
Video of Ronaldo receiving a red card and threatening to hit the referee
CR7 was the protagonist of a real scandal in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup in which Al Nassr lost 1-2 to Al Hilal. The Portuguese player received a red card after elbowing Ali Al Bulayhi and threatening to hit the referee.
This situation happened in the 85th minute when Al Nassr was leading 2-0. Ronaldo grabbed the ball to throw in and when arguing with an opposing player, he could not keep calm, leading to unsportsmanlike behavior.
The match referee was very strict and decided to send off the former Real Madrid player, who even raised his fist as if planning to hit him. Not stopping there, when leaving the field, he sarcastically clapped his hands at the referee and gestured towards the stands.
List of matches in which Ronaldo received a red card
Aston Villa vs Manchester United – May 15, 2004
Manchester City vs Manchester United – January 14, 2006
Portsmouth vs Manchester United – August 15, 2007
Manchester City vs Manchester United – November 30, 2008
Real Madrid vs Almeria – December 5, 2009
Real Madrid vs Málaga – January 24, 2010
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid – May 17, 2013
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid – February 2, 2014
Cordoba vs Real Madrid – January 24, 2015
Barcelona vs Real Madrid – August 13, 2017
Valencia vs Juventus – September 19, 2018
