Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in 16 years
- Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the Champions League quarterfinals.
- Barcelona was dumped out of the competition Wednesday, ahead of Juventus' elimination Thursday.
- It is the first time Messi and Ronaldo will be absent from this stage of the tournament in 16 years.
For the first time in 16 years, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Messi and FC Barcelona were knocked out of this season's competition at the last-16 stage by Paris Saint Germain, which drew 1-1 with the Catalans on Wednesday to seal an impressive 5-2 aggregate win.
Ronaldo and Juventus were eliminated at the same stage by FC Porto, which went through on the away goal ruling following a thrilling second-leg in Turin on Tuesday.
The last time both superstars missed the last eight of the competition was in 2004/05.
That season, Messi and Barcelona were knocked out of the last-16 by Chelsea, while Ronaldo's Manchester United were dumped out at the same stage by AC Milan.
In addition to both players seeing their streak of reaching the Champions League last eight come to an end, Barcelona's defeat on Tuesday compounded it to its earliest exit from the competition in 14 years.
Not since the 2006/07 season, when it was eliminated by Liverpool in the last-16, has Barcelona failed to reach the quarterfinals.
The Catalan club was on a record-breaking run of 13 consecutive quarter-final appearances prior to its elimination at the hands of PSG.
Elsewhere in the competition, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool also qualified for the last eight.
Dortmund drew 2-2 with Sevilla on Tuesday to secure a 5-4 aggregate win, while Liverpool beat RB Leipzig 2-0 on Wednesday, the same scoreline by which it beat the German side last month.
The draw for the Champions League quarterfinals will take place on Friday, March 19.