Barcelona ace Lionel Messi has revealed that he is delighted to have equalled Raul's goalscoring Champions League record in Wednesday night's 2-0 win away to Ajax.

Messi struck in both halves to move level with the Real Madrid icon with 71 tournament goals as the Catalans also sealed their place in the last 16 of the competition.

"It's a happy moment for me," he told reporters. "We secured the points, therefore I'm happy.

"I think it's great but the most important thing was to get the three points so that we will be able to qualify for the next round."

The race is still on between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Raul's record, however, as the Portuguese sits just one goal behind on 70.

The Catalans face APOEL in matchday five of the competition in two weeks, while Ronaldo's Real Madrid face Basel in Switzerland.

Written by
Shane Callaghan