Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi in World Cup Search battle

In the end, football won. The lead-up to the first-ever FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar was dominated by criticism surrounding the treatment of migrant workers and freedom of expression in Qatar. However, as expected, the football action took center stage and produced some of the most iconic moments in World Cup history.

It was no surprise when Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed record-breaking numbers for the final of FIFA World Cup 2022 between eventual champions Argentina and France, adding that it felt like the “entire world” was searching for one thing.

“Search recorded its highest ever traffic in 25 years during the final of #FIFAWorldCup,” Sundar said in a tweet.

Gone are the days when fans of the sport had to wait for the morning newspapers to relive the glory as the digital age has well and truly changed how the sport is being consumed.

Players became household names in a span of 90 minutes. Instant scrutiny was reserved for big guns that failed. And a great became an



immortal.

While Messi and Mbappe dominated the race for the Golden Boot with the France star edging out his PSG teammate, the World Cup-winning captain won the Golden Ball for the Best Player Award.

However, an entirely different battle played out between the big names of world football in the digital space.

A quick glance into Google Search Trends threw up some interesting numbers, leading to interesting observations. Messi might have settled the GOAT debate but it was Ronaldo who won the Google search battle at the World Cup.

Ronaldo was slightly ahead of Messi on average throughout the tournament. Surprisingly Neymar was searched more on Google worldwide than Mbappe, who was arguably one of the best players of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

However, Messi took over during the business end of the tournament as he weaved magic on the field, taking Argentina to the ultimate glory. Messi became the first man to score in all matches in the knockout stage of an edition of the World Cup and the search traffic on Google reflected his peak.