Real Madrid were eliminated from the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League after falling to Bayern Munich on Wednesday in Germany. However, the match allowed Vinicius Junior to surpass a Lionel Messi mark and move closer to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Vini produced a brilliant play and assisted Kylian Mbappe on Real Madrid’s third goal in the closing minutes of the first half, which temporarily put the Spanish side level in the tie. With that contribution, the Brazilian winger reached 13 assists in the knockout stages of the European competition.
In doing so, Vinicius moved past Lionel Messi for second place in the all-time rankings in that category. The Argentine forward had recorded 12 assists in Champions League knockout matches during his time with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains at the top of the list, having recorded a total of 15 assists in the tournament’s knockout stages across his spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. No other player has come close to those numbers, but Vinicius, at just 25 years old, needs only three more to claim the all-time record.
Vinicius also draws level with Neymar
That assist to Mbappe at the Allianz Arena also helped Vinicius climb the all-time Champions League assist rankings, including both the knockout rounds and the group stage. Vini is now tied with Neymar for fourth place on the list with 33 assists, and he has strong prospects of closing in on the top spots in the near future.
see also
Mbappe reaches 70 Champions League goals at 27: How many did Messi, Ronaldo have at the same age?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as expected, are also in the top three, with the Portuguese star leading the way. However, there is another somewhat unexpected name included: Angel Di Maria, who played alongside both legends at Real Madrid and PSG, respectively.
All-time Champions League assist leaders:
1- Cristiano Ronaldo (42)
2- Angel Di Maria (41)
3- Lionel Messi (40)
4- Neymar (33)
4- Vinicius (33)
6- Kevin De Bruyne (31)
6- Ryan Giggs (31)
8- Xavi Hernandez (30)
8- Thomas Muller (30)
10- Karim Benzema (29)
10- Andres Iniesta (29)
