Who has the most Champions League appearances in history?
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 12 Oct 2021 16:06 BST
- 2 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo now holds the all-time Champions League appearance record after being selected for Manchester United’s match against Villarreal on Wednesday.
Ronaldo made his 178th appearance in the competition at Old Trafford in the group stage clash against the Spanish side.
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The attacker broke the record of Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas, who made 177 Champions League appearances between 1999 and 2019.
Cristiano made his Champions League debut on August 14, 2002 for his first club Sporting Lisbon against Inter.
He went on to play in the competition for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus before returning to Old Trafford for a second time in the summer of 2021.
Ronaldo is one of the Champions League’s most successful-ever players, having broken numerous records and won five titles.
Who has played the most Champions League games of all time?
• 178 Cristiano Ronaldo, POR
• 177 Iker Casillas, ESP
• 151 Xavi Hernández, ESP
• 151 Lionel Messi, ARG
• 142 Raúl González, ESP
• 141 Ryan Giggs, WAL
• 132 Karim Benzema, FRA
• 130 Andrés Iniesta, ESP
• 129 Sergio Ramos, ESP
• 126 Thomas Müller, GER
Joint-third in the all-time rankings for most games in the Champions League is Barcelona legend Xavi on 151 appearances.
He was joined by PSG’s Lionel Messi on 151 games during the Champions League win over Manchester City, a game in which the Argentine scored in.
Rounding up the top five is another Real Madrid legend in Raul Gonzalez.
Also in the top 10 Champions League appearance-makers are Ryan Giggs, Karim Benzema, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Ramos and Thomas Muller.
Read more about: UEFA Champions League, Barcelona, Bayern, Man United, PSG, Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
