Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely considered as the greatest players of this generation. Their rivalry has probably garnered the greatest drama through the years, with each player trying to break the other’s record. The two players have dominated the Ballon D’Or for the last eight years, with Messi coming on top five times to Ronaldo’s three.
The Argentine has won the Champions League four times while the Portuguese has won it twice. The Portuguese maestro’s goal count in international is a tad better with 93 till now, while the Argentine international has scored 83 goals till now. But there are still many European records that have still not been touched by the dynamic duo.
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1) Most goals in European Cup finals
Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano who just recently passed away holds the record for most goals in European Cup finals; which was later rebranded as the Champions League.
The Madrid icon scored seven goals in the finals of the European cup which till this day stands proud as both Ronaldo and Messi have scored a paltry two goals in the finals compared to Di Stefano’s seven.
It is an incredible record that still stands tall with Messi playing in four finals compared to two. Ronaldo has a chance to add to his tally when his side takes on cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League finals.
Di Stefano also holds the record for goals in most European Cup Finals when he scored in the first five European cup finals from the year 1956 to 1960 with Madrid winning all of them.
In comparison, Ronaldo and Messi have scored in only two finals with Ronaldo scoring in both the finals he has played in while Messi also scored in two finals, although he has played in four of those.
2) Final wins with most teams in the UEFA Champions League
Clarence Seedorf, who is known for his strength, pace, stamina and physicality, holds the record for winning the most Champions League titles with different clubs having won it three times with Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and with AC Milan in 2003 & 2007.
That is some record for a player to have. Ronaldo comes close to this record having won the title two times with both Manchester United in 2008 and Real Madrid in 2014. Lionel Messi, having represented only Barcelona throughout his life is miles away from this record, although he has won as many Champions League titles as Clarence Seedorf.
Messi looks unlikely to ever break this record considering the fact that he doesn’t want to leave Barcelona for any other European club in the world.
Though if Ronaldo leaves Madrid and joins PSG, he might be able to guide them to their first ever Champions League trophy, which would also take Ronaldo to Seedorf’s mark.
3) Fastest Goal in the UEFA Champions League
Roy Makaay of Bayern Munich holds the record of scoring the fastest Champions League goal of all time when he scored in just 10.12 seconds against Real Madrid in 2007. It is an unbelievable statistic that looks unbeatable in the truest sense.
It is seemingly difficult to score within the first minute itself let alone scoring in the first 15 seconds, which is outright stupifying. Both Ronaldo and Messi have scored their earliest goals in the fourth minute when Ronaldo scored in the fourth minute against Juventus in the 2013/14 group stage, while Messi scored in the fourth minute against Basel in the 2008/09 group stage. Interestingly, both those goals were scored in October.
Paolo Maldini holds the record of scoring the fastest goal in a Champions League final when he scored in 53 seconds against Liverpool in a match that ended 3-3 with Liverpool winning it at the end.
Both of Messi’s two Champions League final goals have come in the second half, while the earliest of the two goals that Ronaldo has in the Champions League finals came in the 26th minute against Chelsea in the 2008 Moscow finals.
4) Fastest Hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League
Although both Ronaldo and Messi hold the record for the most number of hat-tricks in the Champions League with five each, neither of the two have scored the fastest hat-trick, which belongs to current Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis.
Gomis achieved the feat when he was playing for Lyon in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb when he scored a hat-trick within eight minutes. That is an incredible record to have, one he would definitely want to tell his grandchildren.
The fastest hat-trick that Messi has ever scored is when he took 22 minutes to complete his treble against Arsenal in the quarter-finals second leg in the 2009/10 season. He went on to score four goals in the match, overturning the deficit when they lost in the first leg of the quarter-finals by a score of 2-1.
The fastest hat-trick Ronaldo has scored in the Champions League came when he took 12 minutes to score a treble against Malmo in this year’s Champions League group stages. He scored four goals in that match when Real Madrid thrashed Malmo by eight goals to nil.
5) Most goals in a single European season
Radamel Falcao holds the record for the most number of goals in a single European season when he set the Europa League on fire with 18 goals to his name in 2010-11. He was absolutely unstoppable that season and was duly awarded with the Europa League trophy.
The Colombian scored one goal in the qualifying stages and the remaining 17 goals in the competition proper. El Tigre's record still holds till this day even though both Messi and Ronaldo are knocking on the door.
Messi’s most prolific Champions League season came in the 2011/12 season when he scored 14 goals in the competition while Ronaldo came closest with 17 goals in the 2013/14 Champions League, which he won. Ronaldo enters this year’s Champions League final with 16 strikes to his name.
The Portuguese sensation needs one goal to equalise his best output and two goals to equal Radamel Falcao’s record. A hat-trick would make him the most prolific goal scorer in a single European season.
6) Goals in most consecutive appearances
Ruud van Nistelrooy holds the record for scoring in most consecutive appearances in the Champions League history. Although Nistelrooy did not play all of Manchester United’s games in the 2002/03 season, he still somehow managed to score in nine consecutive games in that campaign.
If we consider his goal in the qualifying round, then his record stands at 10. It’s an impressive record which only goes to show how consistent the striker was back then. His brilliant performances for United got him a transfer to Real Madrid in the 2006/07 season.
In comparison, Ronaldo has come closest to this phenomenal record when he went on an eight-game scoring spree in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League season. Messi is not close to the record that both the ex-Manchester United players have had.
