Cristiano Ronaldo has broken Lionel Messi’s goals record for a single Champions League season following his double in Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old’s two goals in his side’s superb second-leg victory at the Allianz Arena took his tally for the 2013-14 season to 16.
Ronaldo has now netted one more than Messi’s previous record, with the Argentine registering 14 times in 11 games during the 2011-12 tournament.
Remarkably, the Portuguese has bettered the Barcelona forward’s tally in just 10 outings this term, having missed the group game at home to Galatasaray.
No player has ever scored at such a rate in Europe’s premier club cup competition.
Messi’s average during his record-breaking 2011-12 season was a goal every 70.71 minutes, while Ruud van Nistelrooy was even more prolific during Manchester United’s run to the quarter-finals in 2003.
The Dutchman netted 12 times in total, giving him an average of a goal every 57 minutes.
Ronaldo, 29, has hit double figures in the Champions League in three consecutive seasons after netting 12 and 10 strikes in 2012-13 and 2011-12 respectively.
The former Manchester United man will now get the chance to add to his total in the final in Lisbon next month, with Madrid to meet either Chelsea or Atletico in the competition’s showpiece in Portugal.
Source: Goal