Agüero, Messi, Neymar, Cavani: where do they rank among Europe's top South Americans?
Tuesday 26 January 2021
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Lionel Messi is South America's top scorer, but who else makes the list?
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Most appearances by a South American** player in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League (including qualifying)
147: Lionel Messi (ARG – Barcelona)
128: Roberto Carlos (BRA – Real Madrid, Fenerbahçe)
114: Dani Alves (BRA – Sevilla, Barcelona, Paris)
105: Fernandinho (BRA – Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City)
105: Javier Zanetti (ARG – Inter Milan)
98: Javier Mascherano (ARG – Liverpool, Barcelona)
98: Marcelo (BRA – Real Madrid)
97: Maxwell (BRA – Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris)
90: Angel Di María (ARG – Benfica, Real Madrid, Paris)
88: Kaká (BRA – Real Madrid, AC Milan)
Top-scoring South American** players in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League (including qualifying)
118: Lionel Messi (ARG – Barcelona)
49: Alfredo Di Stéfano (ARG – Real Madrid)
47: Sergio Agüero (ARG – Atlético Madrid, Man. City)
41: Neymar (BRA – Barcelona, Paris)
35: Edinson Cavani (URU – Napoli, Paris, Man. United)
31: Rivaldo (BRA – Barcelona, AC Milan, Olympiacos, AEK Athens)
30: Kaká (BRA – Real Madrid, AC Milan)
30: Luis Suárez (URU – Ajax,Liverpool, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid)
28: Hernán Crespo (ARG – Parma, Inter Milan, Chelsea, AC Milan)
28: Jardel (BRA – Porto, Galatasaray)
Most appearances by South American** players in UEFA club competition*
160: Javier Zanetti (ARG – Inter Milan)
155: Daniel Alves (BRA – Sevilla, Barcelona, Paris)
151: Lionel Messi (ARG – Barcelona)
144: Roberto Carlos (BRA – Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Fenerbahçe)
136: Fernandinho (BRA – Shakhtar Donetsk, Man. City)
127: Luisão (BRA – Benfica)
116: Willian (BRA – Shakhtar Donetsk, Chelsea)
114: Gonzalo Higuaín (ARG – Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea)
113: Angel Di María (ARG – Benfica, Real Madrid, Paris)
112: Claudio Pizarro (PER – Werder Bremen, Bayern München, Chelsea)
Top-scoring South American** players in UEFA club competition*
121: Lionel Messi (ARG – Barcelona)
63: Sergio Agüero (ARG – Atlético Madrid, Manchester City)
50: Alfredi Di Stéfano (ARG – Real Madrid)
49: Edinson Cavani (URU – Palermo, Napoli, Paris, Man. United)
48: Radamel Falcao (COL – Porto, Atlético Madrid, Monaco, Galatasaray)
48: Claudio Pizarro (PER – Werder Bremen, Bayern München, Chelsea)
47: Luis Suárez (URU – Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid)
41: Neymar (BRA – Barcelona, Paris)
40: Sonny Anderson (BRA – Servette, Monaco, Barcelona, Lyon, Villarreal)
39: Hernán Crespo (ARG – Parma, Inter Milan, Chelsea, AC Milan, Genoa)
39: Rivaldo (BRA – Barcelona, AC Milan, Olympiacos)
Nation-by-nation: South American nations' UEFA record holders
Argentina
ECCC/UCL appearances: 147 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
ECCC/UCL goals: 118 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
UEFA club appearances: 160 – Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan)
UEFA club goals: 121 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Bolivia
ECCC/UCL appearances: 13 – Erwin Sánchez (Boavista)
ECCC/UCL goals: 3 – Erwin Sánchez (Boavista)
UEFA club appearances: 36 – Erwin Sánchez (Benfica, Boavista)
UEFA club goals: 6 – Erwin Sánchez (Benfica, Boavista)
Brazil
ECCC/UCL appearances: 128 – Roberto Carlos (Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Fenerbahçe)
ECCC/UCL goals: 41 – Neymar (Barcelona, Paris)
UEFA club appearances: 155 – Dani Alves (Sevilla, Barcelona, Paris)
UEFA club goals: 41 – Neymar (Barcelona, Paris)
ECCC/UCL appearances: 76 – Arturo Vidal (Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona, Inter Milan)
ECCC/UCL goals: 14 – Arturo Vidal (Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona, Inter Milan)
UEFA club appearances: 100 – Arturo Vidal (Leverkusen, Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona, Inter Milan)
UEFA club goals: 21 – Iván Zamorano (Real Madrid, Inter Milan)
ECCC/UCL appearances: 68 – Iván Córdoba (Inter Milan)
ECCC/UCL goals: 14 = Radamel Falcao (Porto, Monaco), Jackson Martínez (Porto, Atlético Madrid)
UEFA club appearances: 92 – Iván Córdoba (Inter Milan)
UEFA club goals: 48 – Radamel Falcao (Porto, Atlético Madrid, Monaco)
Ecuador
ECCC/UCL appearances: 45 – Antonio Valencia (Villarreal, Manchester United)
ECCC/UCL goals: 6 = Christian Noboa (Rubin, Dinamo Moskva, Rostov, Zenit), Antonio Valencia (Villarreal, Manchester United)
UEFA club appearances: 62 – Christian Noboa (Rubin, Dinamo Moskva, Rostov, Zenit)
UEFA club goals: 12 – Felipe Caicedo (Basel, Man. City, Sporting CP, Lokomotiv Moskva, Lazio)
Paraguay
ECCC/UCL appearances: 61 – Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern München, Málaga)
ECCC/UCL goals: 12 – Óscar Cardozo (Benfica)
UEFA club appearances: 93 – Óscar Cardozo (Benfica, Trabzonspor, Olympiacos)
UEFA club goals: 35 – Óscar Cardozo (Benfica, Trabzonspor, Olympiacos)
Peru
ECCC/UCL appearances: 77 – Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen, Bayern München, Chelsea)
ECCC/UCL goals: 24 – Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen, Bayern München, Chelsea)
UEFA club appearances: 112 – Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen, Bayern München, Chelsea)
UEFA club goals: 48 – Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen, Bayern München, Chelsea)
Uruguay
ECCC/UCL appearances: 70 – Luis Suárez (Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid)
ECCC/UCL goals: 35 – Edinson Cavani (Napoli, Paris, Man. United)
UEFA club appearances: 111 – Diego Godín (Villarreal, Atlético, Inter Milan)
UEFA club goals: 49 – Edinson Cavani (Palermo, Napoli, Paris, Man. United)
Venezuela
ECCC/UCL appearances: 12 – José Rondón (Zenit)
ECCC/UCL goals: 4 – José Rondón (Zenit)
UEFA club appearances: 38 – José Rondón (Rubin Kazan, Zenit)
UEFA club goals: 18 – José Rondón (Rubin Kazan, Zenit)
*UEFA club competitions means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, European/South American Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup
**South American means registered with the ten CONMEBOL member nations; thus Surinamese and Guyanan players are not counted