Messi nets hat-trick to break Champions League scoring record, now sits on 74 goals

Hide your outstanding records. Lionel Messi is coming for all of them.

Days after Barcelona's superlative superstar surpassed Telmo Zarra as the greatest scorer in La Liga history, he knocked another legendary Spanish striker off his lofty perch.

Messi is now the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Champions League, scoring three times against APOEL on Tuesday to bring his total in the competition to 74 goals - three beyond Real Madrid legend Raul.

It wasn't vintage Messi, but the goal that broke the record displayed something that often goes under the radar when discussing the star attacker: his predatory instincts inside the penalty area.

Messi added goals No. 73 and No. 74 in the second half of the contest.

The Argentine, who tied Raul's record with a brace against Ajax in Barcelona's most recent Champions League match earlier this month, needed, remarkably, just 91 matches to accomplish the feat.

At only 27 years old, the question now becomes how much separation Messi can create between himself and everyone else now craning their necks to look up at him. That includes perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who sits on 70 goals heading into Real Madrid's match against FC Basel on Wednesday.

The king of Spain is now the ruler of the entire continent.