The UEFA Champions League is literally the most competitive European competition. It’s never easy to win the UCL, because it combines many best teams in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals draws for every UEFA competition were made on Thursday.
As a result, it won’t be easy to become the UEFA Champions League champion for this season, many good teams are still in the race.
Of course, records are broken every campaign, as we’ve seen with Erling Haaland and Victor Osimhen’s stats during the week.
The Norwegian youngster scored five goals against RB Leipzig, and he created some records in the competition.
Firstly, the Manchester City star boy became the fastest player to reach 30 UEFA Champions League goals.
Secondly, he’s now the youngest player in the competition’s history to score 30 goals, above Kylian Mbappe and others.
The 24-year-old Nigerian central forward set records as well, scoring a brace (2 goals) against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Firstly, Victor Osimhen became the first Napoli’s player to score in both legs of a UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
Secondly, the Chelsea summer target became the first Nigerian to score twice in a knock-out tie.
Nevertheless, there are some records in the competition, that may never be broken in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
Obviously, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are known for setting new grounds in the UEFA Champions League.
Still, some feats remain intact in the competition, even though the two Ballon D’or winners always break records.
The former Manchester United mastero has now left Europe, playing for Al Nassr in the Saudi professional league.
Interestingly, some of his records remain unbroken in the competition, as he’s being described as “Mr. UEFA Champions League.”
What are the Cristiano Ronaldo UCL records?Â
5-time winner
7-time top scorer
Most appearances – 187
Most goals – 141
Most assists – 42
Most free-kicks – 12
Most hat-tricks – 8
Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain has been eliminated from the competition. Therefore, the Portuguese records remain intact until possibly the next campaign.
Even though Cristiano Ronaldo is a record smasher, he was unable to break some records during his time in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
Top 10 UCL records may never be brokenÂ
Oldest UEFA Champions League final goal-scorerÂ
Paolo Maldini – 36 years and 333 days
Italian Paolo Maldini remains the oldest goal-scorer in the competition final. Of course, that sounds unbreakable.
The Italian magnifico scored in the 2004-2005 final against Liverpool. Apparently, the Reds have been in the competition for many years.
Lionel Messi is currently 35-year-old, meaning he will have to wait more than two seasons to make it happen.
Cristiano Ronaldo is unlikely to return to Europe’s top-5 leagues. As a result, the record remains unbreakable.
Fastest UEFA Champions League final goal
Paolo Maldini 53 secondsÂ
The feat belongs to the same Paolo Maldini who played at AC Milan. He made it happen against the Premier League side, scoring in 53 seconds.
Cristiano Ronaldo may be described as Mr. UEFA Champions League. However, Maldini remains the unbeatable player in the competition.
Lionel Messi’s final goals were scored in the second-half, not the fastest in the competition. And Ronaldo’s earliest goal was in 20 minutes.
Even though Manchester City go through Bayern Munich to the 2022-2023 final. Erling Haaland may think twice before smashing the feat.
Fastest UEFA Champions League goal
Roy Makaay – 10.12 seconds
Roy Makaay of Bayern Munich held the record, the earliest goal ever in the competition’s history, making him a legend.
He scored the goal in 10.12 seconds, which was against Real Madrid in the 2007-2008 campaign. The Bavarians are always a nightmare for the Los Blancos.
Despite the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is seen as the most complete player in the competition. Messi always comes close to breaking amazing records.
The Argentine’s fastest goal arrived in 3 minutes, which was in Barcelona’s 7-0 victory over Celtic in 2016.
Fastest UEFA Champions League hat-trick
Bafétimbi Gomis – 18 minutesÂ
Nigerian youngster, Gift Orban recently scored the fastest treble in European competition. He scored three goals in three minutes.
However, it was in the UEFA Europa Conference League, not the in the UCL. Bafétimbi Gomis held the record, scoring three goals in 8 mins.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s fastest hat-trick came in 12 minutes, when he was at Juventus against Malmö.
Both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland haven’t been able to come close to breaking the record.
Five goals in a single UEFA Champions League game without a penalty
Lionel Messi – Barcelona vs Bayer Leverkusen
Erling Haaland joined the league of players to score five goals in a single game in the competition. He did it against RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium.
However, he scored a penalty against the Bundesliga’s side. Also, Luiz Adriano once scored five goals in the competition, against BATE.
Nevertheless, Lionel Messi held the record for scoring five goals in a single match, without a penalty.
The Argentine made it happen for Barcelona against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2011-2012 campaign.
Oldest UEFA Champions League hat-trick scorerÂ
Cristiano Ronaldo – 34 years and 35 days
This particular one belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored a hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the age of 34 years and 35 days.
The Portuguese magnifico is always a nightmare for the La Liga side. He frustrated them at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Meanwhile, it’s up to Lionel Messi if he’s able to take over the record next season. He’s most likely to stay at Paris Saint-Germain.
Most Champions League goals for a single club
Lionel Messi – 120 goalsÂ
Apparently, the Argentine captain remains the only player in history to score the most goals in the competition for one club.
Lionel Messi scored 120 UEFA Champions League goals during his time with the Culers, before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain.
In all fairness, scoring back-to-back goals in the competition isn’t easy peasy, not to mention netting 120 goals for a single club.
Here are the players with the most goals+assists in Europe’s top-5 leagues with UCL in 2022-2023Â
- Erling Haaland – 43
- Lionel Messi – 34
- Kylian Mbappe – 32
- Neymar – 28
- Mohamed Salah – 28
- Victor Osimhen – 28
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 26
- Robert Lewandowski – 25