Who has made the most UEFA club competition appearances?
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
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Cristiano Ronaldo is ahead of Pepe Reina and Iker Casillas on the all-time list, with 197 outings at the pinnacle of world club football; Manuel Neuer is the latest to pass 150 appearances.
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All-time UEFA club competition appearances*
197: Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
192: Pepe Reina (Barcelona, Villarreal, Liverpool, Napoli, AC Milan, Lazio)
188: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Porto)
174: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)
173: Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)
167: Gianluigi Buffon (Parma, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain)
167: Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain)
164: Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
163: Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter, AC Milan)
161: Raúl González (Real Madrid, Schalke)
160: Luka Modrić (Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham, Real Madrid)
160: Javier Zanetti (Inter)
159: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
157: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
156: Thomas Müller (Bayern)
155: Dani Alves (Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain)
152: Sergio Ramos (Sevilla, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain)
151: Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)
150: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
150: Zlatan Ibrahimović (Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United)
150: Ivan Rakitić (Basel, Schalke, Sevilla, Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo climbed ahead of the now-retired Iker Casillas, having already broken his record for UEFA Champions League appearances when he contested his 178th game in the competition against Villarreal. Former Yellow Submarine goalkeeper Pepe Reina moved above Casillas into second on the list on Matchday 5 of the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League, his 189th European outing.
The 150+ club is made up of four goalkeepers, five defenders, six midfielders and six forwards with the latest addition Manuel Neuer in Bayern's 9-2 win against GNK Dinamo on Matchday 1 in 2024/25.
Toni Kroos joined the list when he started in Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg at Chelsea on 18 April 2023; his former club-mate Karim Benzema had brought up 150 away to Shakhtar Donetsk on 11 October 2022.
Another Real Madrid great, Luka Modrić, reached the landmark on Matchday 3 of the 2023/24 Champions League as the Spanish side visited Braga, while his former team-mate Sergio Ramos brought up his own 150 on the same evening in Sevilla's home game against Arsenal. Thomas Müller did the same on Matchday 5 as Bayern took on Copenhagen; he is one of five players on the list to have only played for one club in UEFA competition, while Ivan Rakitić also reached the mark on Matchday 6 in Sevilla's defeat at Lens.
The other front men to feature are Lionel Messi, who reached the mark in November 2020, Raúl González, a long-time talisman at the Santiago Bernabéu whose final campaign in the Spanish capital (2009/10) crossed over with Ronaldo's first, and Zlatan Ibrahimović, who got there in Milan's game against Liverpool on 7 December 2021.
*UEFA club competitions means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, European/South American Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup. Clubs listed are those for whom a player has appeared in UEFA competition.