5 footballers with the most Guinness World Records
At the highest level, footballers are renowned for their ability to pull off remarkable feats. Be it scoring stunning goals or showcasing unparalleled athleticism, they are always pushing the boundaries of the beautiful game.
These extraordinary achievements often lead to players breaking records and etching their names into the storied pages of the Guinness Book of World Records.
Whether it's surpassing the highest number of goals scored in a single season or achieving the most consecutive wins, these players leave an indelible mark on the history of the sport.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five footballers with the most Guinness World Records.
#5 Ederson Moraes - 1 Guinness World Record
Ederson Moraes is one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now. The Manchester City custodian is a well-rounded modern goalkeeper who, in addition to being excellent at shot-stopping and commanding his area, is also very good with the ball at his feet.
The Brazil international has one Guinness World Record to his name. He holds the record for the longest football drop kick (75.45 meters), which he produced at the Etihad Campus in Machester in May 2018.
Ederson is renowned for his excellent distribution skills and his ability to kick the ball deep into enemy territory is quite simply outstanding.
#4 Neymar - 2 Guinness World Records
Neymar is one of the most popular footballers on the planet. The Brazilian maverick has astounded us with his exquisite technical abilities and swagger on the football pitch. He is undoubtedly one of the finest attackers of the modern era.
Neymar has two Guinness World Records to his name. Paris Saint-Germain signed him from Barcelona in the summer of 2018 for a fee of €222 million, making him the most expensive signing in the history of football.
Neymar also holds the record for the fastest goal ever scored at the Olympics. He put the ball in the back of the net just 14 seconds into Brazil's semi-final against Honduras at the 2016 Olympic Games.
#3 Robert Lewandowski - 4 Guinness World Records
Robert Lewandowski is one of the greatest strikers of his generation. In recent years, Lewandowski has broken plenty of goalscoring records and is one of the most elite athletes in the footballing world.
The Polish marksman has four Guinness World Records to his name. In a Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg in 2015, Lewandowski scored a whopping five goals in nine minutes after coming on as a substitute. In doing so, he broke four records.
He now holds the record for the fastest hat-trick (3 minutes and 22 seconds), fastest four-goal (6 minutes) and five-goal hauls. Lewandowski also broke the record for most goals scored by a substitute in the same match.
#2 Lionel Messi - 7 Guinness World Records
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time. He has had an incredibly illustrious career and has broken multiple records over the course of his career. He is the player with the most man-of-the-match awards at World Cup (11).
Messi holds the record for being the youngest player to reach 50 Champions League goals. He achieved that in April 2012 feat at the age of 24. Messi has been on 10 video game covers, the most of any footballer in the world.
He reportedly earns $107 million a year and is the highest-earning footballer in the world. In 2012, Messi scored five goals in a Champions League encounter against Bayer Leverkusen to become the player with the most goals scored in a single match in the competition.
The 36-year-old spent most of his career at Barcelona and holds the record for most appearances in La Liga by a foreign player (520).
Lastly, by scoring a hat-trick for Argentina after coming off the bench in a game against Panama in June 2016, Messi broke the record for most goals scored in a Copa America game by a substitute.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - 16 Guinness World Records
Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon. The fact that he has 16 Guinness World Records is a testament to the absolute human specimen he has proved to be. Ronaldo is the top international goalscorer of all time. He is also the player with the most Champions League goals (140).
Ronaldo scored 17 goals in the 2013-14 Champions League, the most of any player in a single campaign in the competition. He shares the record for most goals scored in a single season of a UEFA European club competition with Radamel Falcao, who netted 17 times for Porto in the 2011-12 Europa League.
Ronaldo scored in 11 consecutive Champions League games between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, a record that has not been broken to this day. He is also the player with most goals scored across all UEFA club competitions.
By netting a hat-trick in Portugal's 2018 FIFA World Cup opener against Spain, he became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick at 33 years and 130 days.
Ronaldo is the only player to have scored in five FIFA World Cups surpassing Wet Germany's Uwe Seeler, Brazilian legend Pele and German goal machine Miroslav Klose.
The Portuguese legend also holds the record for most goals scored in UEFA Euros (14) after surpassing Michel Platini at Euro 2020.
Ronaldo is renowned for his reliability from penalty kicks and is the most successful penalty taker in La Liga history (72). According to the Guinness World Records website, he had a rating of 99% in EA Sports FIFA 18 Team of the Year, the highest of any player ever.
The global superstar he is, Ronaldo is the most followed athlete on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He is also the most followed individual on the latter. Ronaldo's Wikipedia page has had over 48 trillion visitors and he holds the record for the most viewed page on the website for a male athlete.
He most recently broke the record for the most-capped men's player in international football when he made his 200th appearance for the Portuguese national team in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Iceland on June 20, 2023.
Cristiano Ronaldo is awarded the Guinness World Record for the most international caps by a men's player (200) 👏 https://t.co/nh4581ECCU