Despite Bayern’s elimination, Harry Kane has reason to be content with his performance, as the English forward has reached 40 Champions League goals. We compare his scoring pace with that of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and other legends.
Harry Kane joined elite company in European football this week by reaching 40 Champions League goals. The England captain found the net in Bayern Munich’s 2–2 draw with Inter Milan on Wednesday, scoring in the 52nd minute. While the result wasn’t enough to save Bayern from elimination, Kane’s personal milestone puts him in the conversation with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Kane now has 40 goals in just 57 Champions League appearances: 21 of them with Tottenham and 19 with Bayern. Only two players have done it faster than Kane: Erling Haaland (35 games) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (45).
That total puts him ahead of several legendary forwards in terms of speed to 40 goals, including Messi, who needed 61 games, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who reached the mark in 82.
Kane also got there at an older age. He reached 40 goals at 30, while Messi was 24 years and 130 days old and Ronaldo was 27 years and 241 days. Today’s young stars have pushed the pace even further: Haaland was just 23 years and 130 days old when he hit 40 goals, and Kylian Mbappe reached it at 23 years and 317 days.
While new names are starting to catch up in the goalscoring table, Ronaldo and Messi still hold the highest overall Champions League goal totals. The Portuguese has scored 141 goals in the competition, while the Argentine has 129.
Messi and Ronaldo still lead, but young stars are closing in
Ronaldo, Messi, and Robert Lewandowski are the only three players with over 100 goals in the Champions League. Ronaldo hit the 100-goal mark at age 32 (72 days), Messi did it at 30 (263 days), and Lewandowski reached the milestone most recently.
Haaland and Mbappe are both on pace to join that group much earlier. Haaland reached 40 goals in just 35 games, a record, and Mbappe followed closely with 59 appearances.
While Kane may not have reached his 40th as quickly as the Norwegian or the Frenchman, his consistency across two clubs and his goal-per-game ratio keep him in the race with Europe’s best.
From: bolavip.com
