Reda Saleem (Dubai)
The Argentinean Lionel Messi, the Saint-Germain player, grabbed the attention during his team’s match with Benfica in the third round of the Champions League.
Messi achieved new numbers in the Champions League, following scoring Saint-Germain’s goal in the Portuguese match between Benfica in the group stage, which ended in a 1-1 draw, which is the goal nominated for the award for the best goal in this round, and it is the first time he has scored in 6 consecutive matches since a season 2018-2019.
Messi became the first player in the history of “Champions League” to score in 40 different clubs in the European Championship, and became the most scored goals from outside the penalty area in the history of the competition, following his goal once morest Benfica, which is the number 22 he scored from outside the penalty area.
The Argentine “flea” raised his score in the Champions League to 127 goals, reducing the difference with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United player, the top scorer in the “Champions League” to 13 goals.
Ronaldo has 140 goals in the Champions League from 183 games and is considered the tournament’s historical top scorer; With Manchester United, he scored 21 goals, Real Madrid 105, and Juventus 14.
Messi has 127 goals in 159 games, 120 goals with Barcelona and 7 goals with Saint-Germain, and he has an opportunity to break the “Don” number in the absence of the Portuguese star from the tournament, following his team failed to qualify for the tournament to participate in the European League.
Messi’s brilliance with the capital club comes amid speculation that he will return to his former team Barcelona next summer, as the London newspaper “Daily Mail” confirmed that Lionel will return following making “peace” with Joan Laporta, president of the Catalan club, following his exciting departure two years ago.
