For the first time in 20 years, neither Leo Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will take part in this year's Champions League, which kicks off on Tuesday. The Argentinian is with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS), while the Portuguese is with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Two different destinations to leave behind a long reign on the Old Continent.
The two most influential players on the planet have put an end to their time in Europe. While Cristiano made his debut in 2003 with Sporting Portugal in the top continental club competition and played his last game in 2022 with Manchester United, Messi made his debut in 2004 with FC Barcelona and ended that period with Paris Saint-Germain in 2023. Both have played 19 seasons in the Champions League.
Everything comes to an end and it's time for new leaders in the Champions League: the era of the '10' and '7' is over, but it's time for players like Mbappé, Haaland, Pedri, Gavi or Vinicius.
Messi and Cristiano lead several of the most important individual and historical rankings of the competition, such as: most matches, most goals, most assists, most titles... We review them below:
Leo Messi
Games: 163
Goals: 129
Goals per game: 0,79
Assists: 37
Trophies: 4
Teams scored against: 40
Braces: 28
Hat-tricks: 6
Four goals in a game: 1
Five goals in a game: 1
Cristiano Ronaldo
Games: 183
Goals: 140
Goals per games: 0,77
Assists: 42
Trophies: 5
Teams scored against: 38
Braces: 30
Hat-tricks: 7
Four goals in a game: 1
Five goals in a game: 0