Cristiano Ronaldo, the master of football dominance, has written another chapter, cementing his status as the player with the most games in the 21st century.
However, the story is not just about Ronaldo’s triumph; so is the story of Lionel Messi, who narrowly missed out on a podium finish in this prestigious record.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) recently published a list of the players with the most appearances in the 21st century, with Ronaldo taking the top spot with an impressive 1,204 official appearances.
This famous journey includes renowned clubs such as Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr and the Portuguese national team. At 38, Ronaldo’s enduring dedication is evident and he has maintained a staggering average of 52 games a year for an unprecedented 22 consecutive years.
In contrast, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s arch-rival in the pursuit of supremacy, finds himself fourth on the list, having amassed 1,047 appearances for Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.
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The top three on the list are Brazilian goalkeeper Fabio (1,156 games) and former Barcelona right-back Dani Alves (1,056 games). Remarkably, only four players have surpassed the 1,000 game mark, while 21 players boast more than 900 games, including 17 currently active players.
Top 10 players with the most matches in the 21st century
- Fabio (Brazil) – 1156
- Dani Alves (Brazil) – 1056
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 1047
- Luka Modrić (Croatia) – 1010
- João Moutinho (Portugal) – 997
- Iker Casillas (Spain) – 974
- Sergio Ramos (Spain) – 974
- Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) – 953
- Andrés Iniesta (Spain) – 949
Although Ronaldo leads the games in the 21st century, he remains within striking distance of Rogerio Ceni’s record of 1,225 games. With Ronaldo just 21 games away from this historic milestone, the ongoing season promises more records to be etched into the football history books, keeping the battle for supremacy exciting in the 21st century.
