Ronaldo set to go ahead of Messi and Raul as European football’s highest scorer

The Portuguese forward needs just one goal to surpass his Barcelona rival and the former Real Madrid striker as the continent’s top marksman > Cristiano Ronaldo can pull clear of Barcelona rival Lionel Messi and former team-mate Raul and become the all-time leading goalscorer in European competitions if he scores for Real Madrid in Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Schalke. The Portuguese netted in the first leg of the sides’ second- round tie in Gelsenkirchen last month to draw level with the Argentine attacker and the former Spain skipper on 76 strikes in Europe overall. A goal in the return at the Santiago Bernabeu will see him top the continental scoring charts ahead of Messi’s meeting with Manchester City at Camp Nou next week. Raul needed 168 games with Real and Schalke to reach 76 goals, while Ronaldo required just 117 and Messi only 95 to hit the same number. The Argentine also leads the way with 75 goals in the Champions League, with Cristiano two behind on 73 and Raul’s long-standing record of 71 now relegated to third place. > Ronaldo’s 76 are made up of 73 Champions League strikes, one in the competition’s qualifiers which does not count in his overall tally for the tournament and two in the Uefa Super Cup against Sevilla back in August. Messi, meanwhile, has scored 75 of his 76 in the Champions League, with the other coming in Barca’s Uefa Super Cup success against Porto in 2011. Real lead Schalke 2-0 heading into the second leg. Do you think he can meet up again