Lionel Messi is, for the moment, the top all-time scorer in UEFA Champions League history.
The Barcelona striker’s 38th minute goal was his 72nd in UCL history, moving him past Real Madrid legend Raul for the most in history. He added two more for a hat trick, bringing his total to 74 by the end of the match.
The record breaker came when Messi stepped forward to redirect a shot home for a goal that gave Barca a 2-0 halftime lead over APOEL Nicosia. He broke the La Liga goal scoring record just this weekend.
We say for the moment because Ronaldo sits on 70 goals ahead of Wednesday’s visit to Basel.
[ UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Standings | Schedule ]UEFA @ChampionsLeague all-time leading scorer... Lionel Messi. pic.twitter.com/mAPKthp0wX
— BBC 606 (@bbc606) November 25, 2014
The only other active players in the Top Ten are Chelsea’s Didier Drogba (44) and Thierry Henry (50), who obviously isn’t active with a UEFA Champions League club.
Everytime Messi has broken a record he’s done it with a hat-trick… [@ESPNDatos] #FCBLive pic.twitter.com/5Z28ruFynl
— Juan Arango (@JuanG_Arango) November 25, 2014
Check the goal: