Cristiano Ronaldo is close to making history after his hat-trick against Wolfsburg ensured Real Madrid’s qualification for the semi-final of the Champions League.
Ronaldo is the top scorer in Champions League history – and his remarkable goalscoring feats continued against Wolfsburg on Tuesday night.
The Real Madrid star equalled Lionel Messi’s mark of five Champions League hat-tricks with a treble to help Real overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and see them through to the semi-finals.
Ronaldo had broken his own record for goals in the group stage of the Champions League by scoring 11 in six games in the first half of the campaign – including four in the 8-0 win over Malmo. That bettered his previous best group-stage haul of nine, which was matched by Luiz Adriano last season.
He then netted twice in Real Madrid’s last-16 win over Roma, and his latest hat-trick against Wolfsburg means he leads the Champions League scoring charts this term with 16 goals from 10 appearances.
Only Ronaldo himself has scored more in a single Champions League campaign – he hit 17 in the 2013/14 season.
The Portuguese attacker now has 16 goals to his name in the current Champions League season, meaning he is one goal away from equalling the total of 17 goals he notched in the season that Real Madrid won the trophy for the tenth time.
His tally of 16 goals and four assists means that he has been involved in an incredible 77 percent of all Real’s Champions League goals this campaign.
His treble on Tuesday puts him eight clear of second-placed Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich. Barcelona rival Messi is down in fifth with six goals this term.
The Real forward has now scored 34 goals in 36 Champions League knockout appearances for the Spanish club.
Ronaldo’s three goals against Wolfsburg also takes his total Champions League goal count to 93, ten more than the Barcelona striker Lionel Messi who currently has 83 Champions League goals to his name.
Champions League/European Cup top scorers
Player Total goals
Cristiano Ronaldo 93
Lionel Messi 83
Raul 71
Ruud van Nistelrooy 56
Thierry Henry 50
Most goals in Champions League group stages
Player Number of goals Season
Cristiano Ronaldo 11 2015/16
Luiz Adriano 9 2014/15
Cristiano Ronaldo 9 2013/14
Lionel Messi 8 2013/14
Ruud van Nistelrooy 8 2004/05
Hernan Crespo 8 2002/03
Filippo Inzaghi 8 2002/03
Champions League hat-tricks
Player Number of hat-tricks
Lionel Messi 5
Cristiano Ronaldo 5
Mario Gomez 3
Filippo Inzaghi 3
Luiz Adriano 3
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