International football offers far fewer matches than club football. Even the longest international careers run to around 200 caps, so winning more than a hundred times for your country takes two decades of selection, fitness and a strong team around you.
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most wins in men’s international football. Guinness World Records certified it when he passed Sergio Ramos’s 131 wins in November 2024, and he has added to it since. Lionel Messi, who retired from international football in October 2026, finished seven behind him on 135, and Ramos’s 131 was the record before Ronaldo broke it.
Most wins by a player in international football
| Player | Country | Caps | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 234 | 142 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 208 | 135 |
| Sergio Ramos | Spain | 180 | 131 |
No governing body keeps an official all-nations list of wins. Ronaldo’s and Messi’s totals here are counted match by match, to 11 October 2026, with games decided on penalties counted as draws. Counted this way, Ronaldo’s total matches the 132 and 133 that Guinness certified in November 2024 and March 2025. Spain’s Iker Casillas, with 121 wins, was the next name cited when Ronaldo took the record.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 142 wins
Ronaldo made his Portugal debut aged 18 in a 1-0 friendly win over Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003. He has since won 142, drawn 54 and lost 38 of his 234 internationals. His 132nd win, a 5-1 Nations League victory over Poland on 15 November 2024, took him past Ramos.
He has played at six European Championships and six World Cups, and his 146 goals are the most by any man in international football. He led Portugal to their first major title at Euro 2016, and they have also won the Nations League in 2019 and 2025. His most recent cap was a 1-0 win over Wales on 24 September 2026.
Lionel Messi: 135 wins
Messi finished his Argentina career with 135 wins, 43 draws and 30 defeats in 208 matches, scoring 126 goals. He passed Ramos’s 131 with his 132nd win, 3-2 against Egypt in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.
That tournament, his sixth World Cup, ended with a 1-0 defeat by Spain in the final. Argentina had won the 2022 World Cup and the Copa América in 2021 and 2024 with him as captain. His last international was a farewell friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires on 6 October 2026, a 3-0 win in which he scored. For how the two compare across their whole careers, see our Messi vs Ronaldo stats.
Sergio Ramos: 131 wins
Ramos held the record until Ronaldo passed him. He made his Spain debut in a friendly against China in March 2005 and won 131 of his 180 internationals, scoring 23 goals.
The former Real Madrid defender was part of the Spain side that won three major titles in a row: the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, with the World Cup in between in 2010.
Iker Casillas: 121 wins
Casillas captained Spain through that run. The former Real Madrid goalkeeper made his senior debut in June 2000 and kept a clean sheet in all three finals. Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the Euro 2008 final and the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup final, then beat Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final.
Sources: Guinness World Records (most wins in an international football career, male); match-by-match records for Ronaldo and Messi from messivsronaldo.app, to 11 October 2026.
Photo credit: Imago