With over 100 goals to his name in the Champions League, Lionel Messi has broken numerous records and set incredible milestones in the competition since his European debut in 2004.

Lionel Messi’s five best performances in the Champions League:

Ahead of his much-awaited reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo in a key game between Barcelona and Juventus, let’s run through five of Lionel Messi’s best games in the Champions League:

Honourable mentions:

Lionel Messi’s hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-0 win against Manchester City (September 2016), his brace in Barcelona’s 4-0 victory over AC Milan (March 2013) and the Argentinian’s double in Barcelona’s 3-0 triumph against Chelsea (March 2018).

#5 Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen (March 2012)

During the 2011-12 season, when he scored a freakish 73 goals in all competitions, Lionel Messi broke numerous records along the way, including becoming the first player to score five in a Champions League game.

Bayer Leverkusen were the hapless victims on that fateful night in Camp Nou, as the mercurial Argentine cut a swathe through the Bundesliga side to register one of the greatest performances of his career.

To put Lionel Messi’s achievement into perspective, only one player has matched that feat since then (Luiz Adriano against BATE Borisov in October 2014). Yet, this Lionel Messi performance is only fifth in this list. Read on to find out why.

#4 Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal (April 2010)

Almost two years before the Leverkusen shellacking, Lionel Messi had taken Arsenal to the cleaners in a similarly brilliant individual performance, bagging all four goals in Barcelona’s 4-1 win against the Premier League outfit.

With all to play for at the Camp Nou after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, Nicklas Bendtner gave the Gunners a shock lead in the 18th minute. However, that only served to spur the Barcelona star into action.

Lionel Messi responded with a clinical hat-trick before the half-time whistle, one that included an outrageous chip over Manuel Almunia.

Lionel Messi wasn’t done for the night, though. He added a fourth after a break with a spectacular solo goal to put the final nail in the Gunners’ coffin.

#3 Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona (May 2011)

Lionel Messi has long been a Real Madrid tormentor, producing several virtuoso displays in the El Clasico over the years. However, one of his best performances against Los Blancos came in the Champions League.

The Blaugrana number 10 lit up a cagey tactical affair with two moments of breathtaking brilliance.

Lionel Messi broke the deadlock with a well-timed finish at the near post in the 76th minute.

The Argentine then doubled Barcelona’s advantage with one of the greatest solo goals of all time: he cut through a stream of white shirts and then dragged a shot beyond Iker Casillas from close range.

It was magical stuff!

#2 Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich (May 2015)

Barcelona’s historic treble-winning campaign of 2014-15 is highlighted by the Argentine’s masterclass against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals: Lionel Messi ruined his former manager Pep Guardiola’s fairytale return to his old stomping ground with two virtuso goals.

Lionel Messi toppled Jerome Boateng to the ground like a tree being chopped with an axe and then chipped elegantly over Manuel Neuer…ah, those were the days!

Messi broke the deadlock in the second half with a powerful finish from the edge of the box and then put the contest to bed in injury-time by setting up Neymar to make it 3-0 on the night.

His second goal won him UEFA’s goal of the season. However, rather harshly, Lionel Messi was robbed of the Puskas award for the Best Goal of the Year that year.

#1 Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United (May 2011)

In arguably one of his best three performances of all time, Lionel Messi carved rings around the Manchester United defence to win Barcelona their second Champions League title in three years.

Given the stakes involved in this game, we’ve placed it at the top of the pile. Just ask Sir Alex Ferguson, who was effusive in his praise of Lionel Messi after the game.

Barcelona dominated Manchester United from start to finish, with Messi’s performance being the highlight, which earned the player the Man-of-the-Match award.

Lionel Messi was on target once again, just like he was in the 2009 final. He scored a wonderful goal from outside the box to restore Barcelona’s lead before helping create one for David Villa to rubber-stamp his side’s win.

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