Which footballer has won most MOTM awards in UEFA Champions League history?

These players have shone on the biggest platform for club football on a consistent basis.

Great players have displayed a range of abilities, from mesmerizing the crowd with sheer skill and ability to Man of the Match performances on the biggest of occasions. There have already been 23 of the latter in Champions League finals throughout this century, with varied degrees of quality in those performances.

Equal weight has been given to each player's individual performance and impact on the squad, as well as how much they contributed to the final score (goals, assists, and penalty saves).

In contrast to Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona icon Lionel Messi has received numerous additional Champions League MOTM honours.

Over the past 15 years or more, the Portuguese superstar has turned club football's premier league into his own private playground.

Ronaldo leads the Champions League in both goals (143) and assists (42) but Paco Gento is the only player with more European Cup victories (6) than the 37-year-old.

It's safe to conclude that Ronaldo has done far superior in European competition than his enduring opponent, Lionel Messi.

The striker for Paris Saint-Germain does, however, excel in one area.

It is what? Man of the Match honours in the Champions League. Messi has a substantial amount of goals to his name, more than any other footballer since 2009, according to the guys at PopFoot.

20. Kylian Mbappe (7 in 53 games)
21. Dries Mertens (7 in 34 games)
22. Thomas Muller (8 in 133 games)
23. Nicolas Gaitan (8 in 46 games)
24. Toni Kroos (9 in 124 games)
25. Antoine Griezmann (9 in 79 games)
26. Thiago Alcantara (9 in 73 games)
27. Hulk (9 in 40 games)
28. Raheem Sterling (10 in 72 games)
29. Arjen Robben (10 in 70 games)
30. Gareth Bale (10 in 66 games)
31. Riyad Mahrez (10 in 45 games)
32. Angel Di Maria (11 in 93 games)
33. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (12 in 64 games)
34. Willian (12 in 63 games)
35. Karim Benzema (13 in 121 games)
36. Robert Lewandowski (19 in 106 games)
37. Neymar (23 in 75 games)
38. Cristiano Ronaldo (40 in 131 games)
39. Lionel Messi (64 in 123 games)