Real Madrid ace has performed better than Ronaldo in UCL, staring at Messi, Neymar’s records | OneFootball

Vinicius Jr. recently made Champions League history by becoming the youngest player to feature in 80 matches in the competition, beating the record previously held by teammate Kylian Mbappe.

The Brazilian marked such an occasion with a brilliant performance, notably scoring a brace in the 2-1 win over Manchester City that helped Real Madrid advance to the quarterfinals.

This is not the first time Vinicius Jr. has stepped up in the Champions League either, as the forward generally tends to play more freely in Europe’s coveted competition.

Vinicius’ superb record in UCL

As pointed out by Diario AS, Vinicius’ statistics are already eclipsing those of the competition’s all-time leading scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Before turning 26, Ronaldo had played 64 matches with 26 goals and 13 assists. In comparison, Vinicius has already reached 80 matches, boasting an incredible 34 goals and 26 assists.

Vinicius’ record in the UCL has been quite promising. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

This gap becomes even more significant in the high-stakes knockout rounds, where Vinicius has registered 26 goals and 13 assists, far outperforming Ronaldo’s 16 goals at the same age.

Beyond the Ronaldo comparisons, the Real Madrid star is now firmly staring at the records of Lionel Messi and Neymar.

In knockout matches alone, he has been involved in 29 goals across 39 appearances, a tally that places him second only to Messi, who had 35 involvements at that age.

Furthermore, he is already the most productive Brazilian in Champions League knockout history, having been involved in seven more goals than Neymar and six more than Kaka.

With 60 total goal involvements already in the bag, Vinicius is well on his way to surpassing Neymar’s record of 73 to become the most successful Brazilian in the tournament’s history.

His clinical form at the Etihad also highlights a growing trend; he has now scored four times against Manchester City, with three of those strikes coming in their own stadium.