Ronaldo equals Champions League record

Tuesday 14 September 2021 17:32

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the record for the all-time number of appearances made by a player in the Champions League during Tuesday evening's game against Young Boys.

It would turn out to be a night to ultimately forget for our no.7 and co however, following the Swiss champions' come-from-behind victory, on the forward's 177th, and record-tying, game in European club football's elite competition.

He had marked it with the opener in the early stages at the Wankdorf Stadium, latching onto Bruno Fernandes' ball on 13 minutes to open his account in this season's competition, but it unfortunately it was not part of a winning effort by the Reds in Switzerland, following the home side's two second-half strikes.

The appearance tally, that excludes Ronaldo's four matches played in qualifying rounds, sees him go level with current record-holder and three-time tournament winner Iker Casillas. The former Real Madrid and Porto goalkeeper has retired since setting the bar at 177 during the Portuguese side’s 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool at the quarter-final stage of the 2018/19 competition.

Ronaldo: Let's keep the good vibes running

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Cristiano has posted an upbeat message to United supporters, ahead of our Champions League opener in Switzerland.

It is the latest notable achievement registered by our new signing in the competition that he has won five times, including during our last triumph back in 2008. 

Ronaldo currently holds the records for the player with the most goals (135) and assists (42) in the tournament’s history, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi in both categories. 

Seventeen of those goals came in the campaign in which he lifted the trophy for Real Madrid back in 2013/14, a figure that saw him named the competition’s top scorer for that season and it remains the most scored by any player in a single Champions League campaign.

The 36-year-old has also scored the most goals in the knockout stage of the competition (67), while he is the only player to net in all six group games in a season, and in five different finals. 

The five-time winner, the most by any player, will be hoping to inspire the Reds to more success on the European stage this season, following his return to the club in the summer.

Congratulations, Cristiano.

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