While Ronaldo has just become the ‘king of assists’ and holds the record for most appearances in the EURO arena, at the Copa America playground, Messi is also doing the same thing.
In the 56th minute of the match between Portugal and Turkey (June 22), Vitinha crossed the line so Cristiano Ronaldo broke the offside trap and ran down to face the opponent’s goalkeeper. Faced with a better opportunity to score the first goal at the EURO 2024 finals, CR7 surprised the whole world when he decided to pass to the opposite side for teammate Bruno Fernandes to score. It was a surprise, because at that time, the Portuguese team was leading Türkiye 2-0 and Ronaldo could have finished by himself to put his name on the scoreboard.
Ronaldo currently leads the list of top scorers in EURO history, as he has 14 goals after 5 consecutive European Championships (in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021). However, when the former Real Madrid star could not extend his scoring record at EURO tournaments, another record came to this 39-year-old striker. With the pass for Bruno Fernandes to seal the victory in the match against Türkiye, Ronaldo became the player with the most assists in EURO history. According to statistics from the European Football Federation (UEFA), CR7 has reached the milestone of 8 assists for his teammates to score, matching the achievement of former famous player Karel Poborsky (Czech Republic). The following names have all retired, respectively: Fabregas (Spain), Schweinsteiger (Germany), Robben (Netherlands), Luis Figo (Portugal), Hazard (Belgium), Beckham (England) together. 5 assists.
In addition, Ronaldo holds the record for the player who has played the most matches at EUROs, with 27 appearances. CR7 is also the only player to appear at 6 EURO finals (from 2004 to present). The things that Ronaldo is doing make many people think of the milestones that Lionel Messi is conquering. Even though they are no longer at their peak, these two superstars still create interesting competitions. Notably, the records that Ronaldo and Messi are competing to break have many similarities.
If Ronaldo holds the record for appearances in Europe’s top tournament, then at America’s largest playground, Messi can do the same. After Argentina’s opening match at Copa America 2024 against Canada, Messi became the player who played the most matches (34 matches) in the history of the Copa America tournament. At the same time, the former Barcelona star is also the person who attended the most Copa America editions (7 editions: in 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024). And yet, if Ronaldo has just become the “king of assists”, then Messi also holds the record for being the best assist player in Copa America history, with a total of 18 assists for teammates to score. He has assisted in all 7 consecutive Copa America tournaments.
