Paris St Germain forward Lionel Messi has surpassed Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of opponents scored against in the Champions League.
Messi grabbed a beautiful goal yesterday night in his side’s 1-1 draw with Benfica.
The Argentine combined well with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in a delightful moment of understanding between the trio. He excellently curled a ball from Neymar into the top-left corner with his left foot, giving Odysseas Vlachodimos no chance.
The goal translated to Messi now holding the Champions League record for most teams scored against.
Benfica is the 40th team the seven-time Ballon D’or winner has scored against in club football’s most prestigious tournament.
He moves two clear of Ronaldo who currently sits in second with 38 teams scored against.
The United striker will not have a chance to reclaim the top spot, at least for this season, as he is not playing in the Champions League as a result of the Red Devils’ failure to qualify for the competition.
The only way for the 37-year-old to outdo his arch-nemesis this season and stopthe PSG forward from running away with the record, is for Ronaldo to move to a club in the Champions League in January. This is something that he is keen on according to a report that came out earlier this week.
The Portuguese captain however can still boast of being the highest goalscorer in the competition.
Ronaldo leads the charts with a total of 140 goals, with Messi accumulating 127 goals, just 13 shy of the Unied man.
The United no. 7 has also won Europe’s most elite trophy more times than Messi. Ronaldo has five compared to Messi’s four.
PSG are currently one of the favourites to win the affair this season courtesy of their star-studded attack that undoubtedly has the ability to pick the lock of any defence in football.
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