360 RECORD BREAKERS
THE HISTORY BOYS
“I
can't say that Lionel Messi is the
best ever, but he is the best in
his time,” said Ronaldinho. And
he had a point. We’ll never really
know if Diego Maradona would have
waltzed past defenders such prime Sergio
Ramos and Pepe so easily, or whether
Messi’s supreme close control would be
anywhere near as inch-perfect on the mud-
bath pitches of the 1980s and 1990s.
For those of us not privileged enough to
watch football’s greatest in their pomp
have only elders’ testimony, grainy YouTube
compilations, and the records they
leave behind to get an appraisal of their
greatness. But look back in 50 years’ time
and the records set by Messi and Cristiano
Ronaldo will be looked upon in awe much
in the same way we do with those of
Maradona, Pele, Gerd Muller, Peter Shilton
and others.
Ronaldo alone is mentioned on over 40
separate occasions in the list of European
Cup records. No one has more goals,
assists or hat-tricks in the competition,
with Francisco Gento the only player to win
more titles.
“I think you have enough records,
Cristiano!” joked Robbie Keane as the
Portuguese usurped him as the top
goalscorer in European Championships
qualification. 2020 will see the Juventus
forward pass 100 goals for Portugal and,
throw in his Euro 2016 success, and many
see those achievements coupled with
Messi’s lack of international success with
Argentina as a culpable reason to rank the
Portuguese higher all-time.
Messi has used Ronaldo’s departure to
Italy to further his legacy in Spain, passing
his record for number of hat-tricks scored
with 34. He already boasts the title as theSOME OF THE GREATS OF THE GAME ARE PLYING THEIR TRADE TODAY – NAMES FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL REVERE EVEN AS THEIR
ACHIEVEMENTS ARE LOST TO TIME. DARYL HAMMOND LOOKS AT FOOTBALL’S STILL-ACTIVE RECORD BREAKERS...Cristiano Ronaldo is
mentioned on over 40
separate occasions in
the list of European
Cup records’
LEFT:
Robert Lewandowski will
go down as one of the
Bundesliga’s greatest forwards
BOTTOM:
Martin Palermo famously
missed 3 penalties in one
gameRIGHT:
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
dominate football’s modern-day
records
TOP:
Trent Alexander-Arnold set a league
record of 12 assists by a defender.