5 European records that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have not broken yet
Football aces Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the beautiful game for more than a decade, breaking one record after the other and playing a game of tug of war with the most prestigious awards.
With both players now close to the end of their careers, (Messi being 31-years-old and Ronaldo 33-years-old), it is to be expected that they will start slowing down.
Before that day comes, however, the five-time Ballon d'Or winners have several records that are yet to be made their own.
Today, we look at the five records that are yet to be broken by the Argentine and Portuguese aces:
#1. The most goals in European Cup finals
The record for the most goals in a European Cup final is yet to be broken by the legendary duo. At present, the record is shared by two Real Madrid predecessors, Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, who both scored seven times in the finals.
Messi has only struck twice in the finals (2009 and 2011), while Ronaldo has scored four final goals (2008, 2014 and two in 2017).
#2. Most appearances in the UEFA Champions League/European Cup
Iker Casillas recently broke the record for most appearances in the Champions League with 172 outings, and if UEFA club competitions are to be counted, his tally goes up to 179. He also became the very first player in history to feature in 20 Champions League seasons.
Ronaldo and Messi are yet to break the record as Casillas is still playing for Porto FC.
Argentine ace Messi is 35th in the all-time UEFA competition appearance rankings with 130 appearances while Ronaldo ranks equal sixth with 162 appearances.
It is to be noted that Ronaldo is two years and 139 days older than Messi.
Ronaldo may be close to eclipsing the current record but if the goalkeeper keeps playing this season, it is unlikely that the Portuguese will be able to do so.
In the Champions League alone, Ronaldo has made 158 appearances, putting him in second in the rankings while Messi has made 126 appearances, putting him at 12th place on the same list.
