MX23RW : Thursday, December 12 14:10:38| >> :60:569:569:

Games and goals - Cristiano Ronaldo's record-setting Champions League career

Games and goals - Cristiano Ronaldo's record-setting Champions League career
© Reuters
The Manchester United forward scored his 136th Champions League goal against Villarreal.

Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record with his 178th Champions League appearance on Wednesday night.

The Portugal star passed his former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas and marked the occasion by scoring Manchester United's late winner against Villarreal.

Here, the PA news agency looks at Ronaldo's record-setting career in the competition.

Appearances

Iker Casillas, centre, lifts the UEFA Super Cup in 2014, flanked by Real Madrid team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo, right, and Sergio Ramos
Previous record holder Iker Casillas, centre, and Ronaldo, right, won both the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup together in 2014 (Joe Giddens/PA)

Ronaldo made 101 Champions League appearances for Real and 23 for Juventus, with Wednesday his 54th across two spells at United.

Casillas had held the record since 2015 and made the last of his 177 Champions League appearances in April 2017 for Porto against Juventus.

The first 150 came for Real, including 53 alongside Ronaldo between 2009 and 2015 with the pair winning the 2014 title together – the long-awaited 10th in Real's history, hailed as "La Decima".

Messi and Xavi are the only other players to reach 150, with the former getting there on Tuesday night in Paris St Germain's win over Manchester City and now one behind his third-placed former Barcelona colleague.

There are 40 players altogether in three figures, with Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski the closest of several who could join that group after he moved within two on Wednesday night.

Goals

Ronaldo marked Wednesday's big occasion with his 136th Champions League goal, excluding the qualifying stages, to extend his record in that category.

He leads his long-time rival Messi, who on Tuesday scored his first Paris St Germain goal to add to 120 in the Champions League for Barcelona, by 15. They are the only two players even to reach 100, with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski a distant third on 77.

Ronaldo's 17 goals in the 2013-14 campaign were an all-time record and he has been the competition's top scorer on seven occasions, including 2014-15 when he shared the honour with Neymar and Messi.

He scored in a record 11 successive Champions League appearances for Real from June 2017's final until April 2018 against the same opponents, Juventus – whom he would go on to join the following season.

The bulk of his goals, 105, came with Real, with 14 for Juve and 17 so far for United – having remarkably not scored until his 27th appearance in the competition. He shares the record of eight hat-tricks with Messi and is the only player to score in three different finals, in 2008, 2014 and 2017.

ID:466088:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5421:
Written by
P A

Click here for more stories about Cristiano Ronaldo

Click here for more stories about Manchester United

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the match on September 11, 2021
Read Next:
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hails 'best in the world' David De Gea after Villarreal win
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!