By Victor Kanayo
As the UEFA Champions League resumes on Tuesday September 6, 2022, five-time Balon d’Or winner and Manchester United forward, Christiano Ronaldo, will not be in action.
The Portuguese star is missing out on European glamorous competition for the first time in 19 years of his professional football career.
Ronaldo, 37, failed to secure a transfer move to a champions league club before the summer transfer window closed on September 1, 2022.
United had failed to qualify for Europe’s top flight’s league this season after an abysmal run saw them finish 13 points below the top 4 spot.
Ronaldo’s absence hands Messi massive advantage in chasing Manchester United star’s elite UEFA Champions League record.
After a disastrous campaign with Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in the Champions League last season, Argentine stalwart Messi has hit a purple patch in the Ligue 1.
Four-time Champions League winner Messi is set to lead the charge of the Kylian Mbappe-starrer side after shattering multiple records in the French top light.
Messi’s PSG side is unbeaten in six Ligue 1 matches.
All eyes will be on Messi, who is set to rewrite history in Europe’s biggest competition at the club level.
One of the greatest players in the history of the game, Messi is the only player to have managed to score in 16 successive campaigns for the same team at the UEFA Champions League.
Messi, who scored 120 goals for FC Barcelona in the Champions League, is currently the only player to break Ronaldo’s goal-scoring record.
However, Ronaldo is expected to make his UEFA Europa League debut as Manchester United failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Nicknamed CR7, Ronaldo is the all-time leading goal-scorer in the Champions League. Ronaldo has netted 141 goals in his illustrious Champions League career.
PSG icon Messi has fired 125 goals for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in the same competition. Messi can bridge the 15-goal gap on Ronaldo in the 2022-2023 season.
