King of goals Messi beats Raul's all time champions league record with a hat-trick

Thegoalmac can reveal that Barcelona forward Lionel Messi on Tuesday became the top goalscorer in Champions League history, his first strike at APOEL taking him past former Real Madrid star Raul in Barcelona's 4-0 hammering of Apoel. Congratulations Leo once more for breaking yet another record.

Messi's double at Ajax earlier this month saw him move one ahead of rival Cristiano Ronaldo and draw level with former Madrid captain Raul on 71 goals in Europe's premier club competition.

His close-range effort after 38 minutes in Cyprus edged him ahead of the pack and he followed that up with a deft finish from a cute Dani Alves pass to notch goal number 73 13 minutes into the second half, before scoring his hat-trick from a Pedro pass to take his champions league tally to 74 goals.

The 27-year-old has accumulated his haul in 91 games for Barcelona in the Champions League, while Ronaldo has scored his 70 in 106 matches. Raul needed 142 appearances to reach 71 strikes.

Ronaldo is in action for Madrid at Basel on Wednesday.