Cristiano Ronaldo has secured yet another bit of history with his appearance in Tuesday's Champions League clash between Juventus and Atletico Madrid. Having been named in the starting lineup, the 34-year-old forward has surpassed AC Milan legend Paulo Maldini as the player with the second highest number of appearances in in European club competitions.
175, that is the number of appearances the Portuguese international will be reaching, with the former Italian defender now sitting third with 173. Former Real Madrid shot-stopper Iker Casillas leads the list with 188 appearances but his record could soon be trampled by his ex-teammate who is showing no signs of retiring anytime soon.
Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez ranks fourth with 173 appearances while former Liverpool star Pepe Reina completes the top five with 171 outings. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's life-long rival Lionel Messi is on 143 appearances and could move to 145 if named in Barcelona's clash with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Below are the 10 players to have made the most appearances in UEFA club competitions:
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188: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Porto)
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175: Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
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174: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)
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173: Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)
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171: Pepe Reina (Barcelona, Villarreal, Liverpool, Napoli, Bayern München, AC Milan)
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165: Gianluigi Buffon (Parma, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain)
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163: Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, Internazionale Milano, AC Milan)
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161: Raúl González (Real Madrid, Schalke)
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160: Javier Zanetti (Internazionale Milano)
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159: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United).
