Ronaldo Beats Messi To A Unique 21st-Century Milestone With Brace In Juventus’ 3-1 Win [Watch]

Cristiano Ronaldo clinched a unique record with his brace in Juventus’ 3-1 win over Genoa in Serie A, Sunday.

It was Ronaldo’s 400th win in Europe's top five leagues, a feat no other player has achieved in the 21st century. Ronaldo’s arch-rival Lionel Messi remains second in the list with 365 wins in the 2000s ahead of Italian veteran Gianluigi Buffon with 350 wins.

Ronaldo’s milestone includes his stint with Manchester United, where he spent six years, and La Liga giants Real Madrid, where Ronaldo had a nine-year spell. Barcelona skipper Messi, who has represented only one club so far in his already illustrious career, may catch Ronaldo in the record in the coming seasons. Meanwhile, Buffon, who is Ronaldo’s current Juventus teammate, has also played for Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the past.

On Sunday, Paulo Dybala put Juventus 1-0 up with his goal a few minutes into the second half. Less than 10 minutes later, Genoa midfielder Stefano Sturaro negated Juventus’ advantage by making it 1-1. In the final 12 minutes of the second half, Ronaldo rescued the reigning Serie A champions by scoring twice from the spot-kick.

"What better way to celebrate my 100th game for Juventus, than scoring two more goals for the team? I’m very proud of reaching this number with the Vecchia Signora jersey, but guess what: I also have my mind already set on the 100 goals for Juve. Fino Alla Fine!" Ronaldo wrote on Twitter after helping Juventus go past Genoa in an away fixture Sunday.

The Serie A clash with Genoa was also Ronaldo’s 100th competitive appearance for Juventus. The Portuguese legend has so far netted 79 goals for Juventus since his move from Real Madrid to Turin ahead of the 2018-19 campaign. Only Argentine club legend Omar Sivori, with 84 goals, and local hero Felice Borel (80 goals) netted more goals in their first 100 appearances for the Old Lady.

In addition to that, Sivori is also only one of three players to score 31 Serie A goals or more in a calendar year for Juventus, as Ronaldo has in 2020, achieving the landmark in 1961.