In the 56th minute of the match between Portugal and Türkiye (June 22), Vitinha passed the ball over the line for Cristiano Ronaldo to break the offside trap and face the opposing goalkeeper. With a great opportunity to score his first goal at EURO 2024, CR7 surprised the world when he decided to pass to the opposite side for teammate Bruno Fernandes to score. It was surprising because at that time, the Portuguese team was leading Turkey 2-0 and Ronaldo could have finished himself to put his name on the scoreboard.
Ronaldo is currently leading the list of top scorers in EURO history, with 14 goals in 5 consecutive European Championships (in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021). However, when the former Real Madrid star could not extend his scoring record at EURO, another record came to this 39-year-old striker. With the assist for Bruno Fernandes to seal the victory in the match against Türkiye, Ronaldo became the player with the most assists in EURO history. According to statistics from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), CR7 has reached the milestone of 8 assists for teammates to score, equaling the achievement of former player Karel Poborsky (Czech Republic). The names behind have all retired, respectively Fabregas (Spain), Schweinsteiger (Germany), Robben (Netherlands), Luis Figo (Portugal), Hazard (Belgium), Beckham (England) all with 5 assists.
In addition, Ronaldo holds the record for the player with the most appearances in EURO tournaments, with 27 appearances. CR7 is also the only player to date to have appeared in 6 EURO finals (from 2004 to present). What Ronaldo is doing makes many people think of the milestones that Lionel Messi is conquering. Although no longer at the peak of his form, these two superstars still create interesting competitions. Notably, the records that Ronaldo and Messi are competing to break have many similarities.
If Ronaldo holds the record for appearances in Europe’s top tournament, then Messi has done the same in America’s biggest tournament. After Argentina’s opening match at Copa America 2024 against Canada, Messi became the player with the most appearances (35) in Copa America history. At the same time, the former Barcelona star is also the player with the most Copa America appearances (7: in 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024). Not only that, if Ronaldo has just become the “assist king”, Messi also holds the record for being the best assister in Copa America history, with a total of 18 assists for his teammates to score. He has assisted in all 7 consecutive Copa Americas.
