Nuno Mendes surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in a historic record among Portuguese players in the UEFA Champions League. Paris Saint-Germain secured a 5-4 win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday, a result that moves them closer to the UEFA Champions League final. Nuno Mendes featured for the French side, and his appearance allowed him to reach a historic milestone for Portuguese players, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo.
After being named in the starting lineup and playing 84 minutes before being replaced by Lucas Hernandez, Mendes became the youngest Portuguese player to reach 50 Champions League appearances.
The Portuguese left-back hit that mark at 23 years and 313 days, comfortably surpassing Ronaldo. The forward had reached that total during the 2008-09 season, when he was still playing for Manchester United, at 24 years and 83 days, and held the record for more than 17 years.
Mendes’ numbers come exclusively from his time with Paris Saint-Germain. Before joining the French side, he spent three seasons with Sporting CP, where he did not make a Champions League appearance. Since 2021, however, the defender has become a key player for PSG, something reflected in his seven goals and four assists in 50 matches in European competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo won five Champions League titles.
Portuguese players with the most Champions League appearances
What makes Nuno Mendes’ achievement even more impressive is how it compares to other Portuguese stars from recent decades. At under 24, the PSG left-back is already approaching numbers that other icons took years to build.
At the moment, Mendes is just 14 matches away from breaking into the top 10 Portuguese players with the most appearances in Champions League history. That spot is currently held by Jose Bosingwa, who made 64 appearances with Boavista, Porto and Chelsea, as well as Vitor Baia, who played for Porto and Barcelona.
Top 10 Portuguese players by Champions League appearances:
1- Cristiano Ronaldo (183)
2- Pepe (120)
3- Luis Figo (103)
4- Bernardo Silva (101)
5- Ricardo Carvalho (86)
6- Deco (75)
7- Joao Moutinho (66)
8- Ruben Dias (65)
9- Vitor Baia (64)
10- Jose Bosingwa (64)
It is worth noting that this ranking only includes players who have featured in the competition since it adopted the UEFA Champions League format in the 1991-92 season. Before that, during its time as the European Cup, other Portuguese players also made their mark. The most notable case is Eusebio, who recorded 59 goals in 78 matches and won the title with Benfica in 1962.