Exciting Champions League players who might not be on your radar [Mehdi Taremi]

Squawka – GZIRA, It’s club football’s most celebrated knockout tournament, so naturally, the Champions League is home to the sport’s greatest players.

Scour the landscape of this season’s knockout rounds and you’ll find World Cup winners, Ballon d’Or collectors, international centurions and club legends. It’s a Who’s Who of superstars and household names, including the globally-recognised Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe.

However, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find several lesser-known gems blipping on the radar and attempting to crystallise their names in public consciousness. This is the Champions League, after all, Europe’s blue-riband competition and a magnet for the mesmeric. Expect elite talent every which way.

So, away from the usual suspects, we’ve picked out a collection of lesser-known stars — and by lesser-known, we mean in comparison to the usual heavyweights, Messi et al — who have already taken the tournament by storm, and will be hoping to star in the last 16.

Mehdi Taremi (Porto)

Mehdi Taremi has been shining in Europe for a fair few seasons now, but he has really grabbed the Champions League by the scruff of the neck this campaign. In fact, only Mbappe (10), Messi and Mohamed Salah (eight apiece) have been directly involved in more goals than Taremi (seven) in the Champions League so far.

The 30-year-old Iranian has also created the most ‘Big Chances’ (six), while only Zlatko Zahovic in 1998/99 (seven) has scored more for Porto in a single group stage campaign in the competition. Fans will always remember that bicycle kick against Chelsea, but he is really pulling up trees this campaign.