Two of the best world football players in recent years indirectly clashed over another record - the most productive UEFA Champions League player of all time.
At the moment, the legend of Madrid's "Real" club Raul leads with 71 goals scored in 142 matches from 1995 to 2011.
However, C.Ronaldo is only one goal away from the legendary Spaniard, while L.Messi is behind by two accurate strikes. This week the Portuguese scored against "Liverpool", while the Argentine scored against "Ajax" in Amsterdam.
C.Ronaldo scored 70 goals in Champions League matches in 106 matches (average of 0.65 goals per game), while L.Messi reached the 69 goal mark in just 89 matches (0.78).
Both players will try to etch their names in history in two weeks, when "Real" hosts "Liverpool" at home, and the "Barcelona" club plays against "Ajax" away.
We can guess that the race between these two players for the most prolific Champions League player of all time will continue for a long time, and until the end of their careers, it is doubtful that anyone can surpass them.
Among the closest active players to L.Messi and C.Ronaldo are Didier Drogba, but he has only 43 goals to his name (89 matches). Zlatan Ibrahimović has 41 goals (104 matches), and Karim Benzema has 40 goals (67 matches).
These players are the only ones in the top 15 who are still playing. Meanwhile, in the top 50, besides the mentioned 5 players, there are only 10 players continuing their careers.
These include Samuel Eto'o (30 goals), Kaka (30), Wayne Rooney (29), Mario Gomez (26), Robin van Persie (25), Arjen Robben (24), Thomas Muller (23), Frank Lampard (23), Claudio Pizarro (21), and Steven Gerrard (19).
15min.lt