Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will become the outright record holder for the most appearances by a player in the UEFA Champions League, during the Reds’ clash with Villarreal.
Having been named in the starting XI to face the Yellow Submarine in our group stage clash at Old Trafford, our No.7 will move on to 178 appearances in the competition.
It means he now moves one clear of Iker Casillas, who was the previous all-time record holder, having drawn level with the Spaniard after playing against BSC Young Boys earlier in the competition.
The Portuguese was already the record holder for having appeared in the most finals, with six across his time at both the Reds and Real Madrid, but is also now equal with Casillas’ record number of group stage appearances with 95.
In addition, Cristiano will also be making his 900th appearance in club football against tonight’s Spanish opposition, having scored 678 goals during that time.
Ronaldo made his debut in the competition proper in 2003 at the age of 18 years and 238 days, lining up against Stuttgart under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Since then he has also notched up more goals in the tournament than any other player, with 135 (and counting!) during his time at United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Congratulations on the achievement Cristiano
