Top scorers in the Champions League: The Champions League is the football tournament par excellence at club level, and the players who score goals in it are legendary names. We review the list with the top historical scorers of the Champions League and the old European Cup.
The Champions League is the competition par excellence worldwide, as far as the club category is concerned. Although we could consider that the Club World Cup is still a championship of a higher nature (when facing, among others, the champion of America and the champion of Europe), the truth is that the most posh football tournament on our planet is the League of Champions.
Classification of The Top Scorers in The Champions League 2021/2022
This is the table of top scorers in the Champions League 2021/2022 with the players who have scored the most goals in this edition of the Champions League.
GT: total goals | GP: penalty goals | PJ: games played | Min: minutes played
| # | PLAYER | GT | GP | PJ | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. Lewandowski | 12 | 3 | 8 | 696 |
| 2 | S Haller | 11 | 1 | 7 | 578 |
| 3 | Mohammed Salah | 8 | 1 | 8 | 645 |
| 4 | K. Benzema | 8 | 1 | 7 | 616 |
| 5 | C.Nkunku | 7 | 0 | 6 | 531 |
| 6 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 6 | 0 | 6 | 521 |
| 7 | R. Mahrez | 6 | 2 | 8 | 654 |
| 8 | L. Sane | 6 | 0 | 8 | 680 |
| 9 | K. Mbappe | 6 | 0 | 8 | 673 |
| 10 | L. Messi | 5 | 2 | 7 | 630 |
| 11 | A. Colak | 5 | 0 | 6 | 501 |
| 12 | R. Mmaee | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 13 | A. Groeneveld | 4 | 0 | 7 | 565 |
| 14 | L. Henrique | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | M.Uzuni | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 | T. Muller | 4 | 0 | 8 | 627 |
| 17 | V. Birmancevic | 4 | 0 | 6 | 355 |
| 18 | A. Griezmann | 4 | 0 | 6 | 300 |
| 19 | pot | 4 | 1 | 5 | 330 |
| 20 | E. Džeko | 3 | 0 | 7 | 541 |
| 21 | M. Reus | 3 | 2 | 6 | 499 |
| 22 | S.Berghuis | 3 | 0 | 7 | 548 |
| 23 | P. Sotiriou | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 24 | J.David | 3 | 1 | 7 | 602 |
| 25 | K. Adeyemi | 3 | 2 | 8 | 610 |
| 26 | D. Nunez | 3 | 1 | 7 | 352 |
| 27 | Roberto Firmino | 3 | 0 | 4 | 191 |
| 28 | T. Werner | 3 | 0 | 4 | 162 |
| 29 | D. Zapata | 3 | 0 | 6 | 464 |
| 30 | Andre Silva | 3 | 0 | 6 | 410 |
All-Time Top Scorers in the Champions League
| # | Player | GT | PJ | GT/PJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 140 | 182 | 0.75 |
| 2 | Leo Messi | 125 | 156 | 0.81 |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | 85 | 104 | 0.81 |
| 4 | Karim Benzema | 79 | 137 | 0.55 |
| 5 | Raul | 71 | 144 | 0.49 |
| 6 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 60 | 81 | 0.74 |
| 7 | Andriy Shevchenko | 59 | 116 | 0.51 |
| 8 | Thierry Henry | 51 | 115 | 0.44 |
| 9 | Filippo Inzaghi | 50 | 85 | 0.59 |
| 10 | Alfredo DiStefano | 49 | 58 | 0.84 |
| 11 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 49 | 123 | 0.4 |
| 12 | Thomas Muller | 49 | 127 | 0.38 |
| 13 | Eusébio | 47 | 63 | 0.75 |
| 14 | Sergio Aguero | 47 | 81 | 0.58 |
| 15 | Didier Drogba | 44 | 94 | 0.47 |
| 16 | Alessandro Del Piero | 43 | 91 | 0.47 |
| 17 | Neymar | 41 | 71 | 0.6 |
| 18 | Fernando Morientes | 39 | 104 | 0.38 |
| 19 | Ferenc Puskas | 35 | 414 | 0.85 |
| 20 | Edinson Cavani | 35 | 665 | 0.53 |
Active players in bold
Champions League Top Scorers By Season
| YEAR | PLAYER | CLUB | GOALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | 10 |
| 2020 | Robert Lewandowski | FC Bayern | 15 |
| 2019 | Leo Messi | FC Barcelona | 12 |
| 2018 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar | Barcelona (Messi and Neymar) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | 10 |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2012 | Messi | FC Barcelona | 14 |
| 2011 | Messi | FC Barcelona | 12 |
| 2010 | Messi | FC Barcelona | 8 |
| 2009 | Messi | FC Barcelona | 9 |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Man Utd | 8 |
| 2007 | Kaka | AC Milan | 10 |
| 2006 | Shevchenko | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2005 | van Nistelrooy | Man Utd | 8 |
| 2004 | Dying | AC Monaco | 9 |
| 2003 | van Nistelrooy | Man Utd | 12 |
| 2002 | van Nistelrooy | Man Utd | 10 |
| 2001 | Raul | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 2000 | Mario Jardel, Rivaldo, Raul | Porto, FC Barcelona, and Real Madrid | 10 |
| 1999 | Shevchenko and Dwight Yorke | Dynamo Kyiv and Manchester United | 8 |
| 1998 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus | 10 |
| 1997 | Milinko Pantić | Atletico Madrid | 5 |
| 1900 | Jari Litmanen | Ajax | 9 |
| 1995 | George Weah | PSG | 7 |
| 1994 | Stoichkov | FC Barcelona | 5 |
| 1993 | Franck Sauzée | Olympic Marseille | 5 |
*In bold the record for goals in an edition
Top Scorers of The Former European Cup
| PLAYER | CLUB | GOALS |
|---|---|---|
| Alfredo DiStefano | Real Madrid | 49 goals |
| Eusébio | Benfica | 47 goals |
| Puskas | Honvéd and Real Madrid | 35 goals |
| Gerd Muller | FC Bayern | 34 goals |
| people | Real Madrid | 32 goals |
It is often said that it is the tournament that elevates the great football legends and overshadows those who fail to measure up; given the relevance that the Champions League enjoys, especially when it comes time for the life-and-death qualifiers.
Career Achievements By Cristiano Ronaldo: Biography, Stats, Awards, Titles
How is the scorer’s table in the Champions League framed?
Players With The Most Goals in The History of the Champions League
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Karim Benzema occupies the fourth position in the historical table of goleadores
In this list, we will find several of the best scorers in the history of football, especially in the last two decades; except for some particular names, such as Ronaldo Nazario (who, curiously, does not have any European Cup in his record).
From 10th to 6th
In this part of the classification, we find a good handful of players who managed to score between 46 and 50 goals; all of them, posh names that have gone down in football history and that are already retired (with the exception of Thomas Müller).
It is conceivable, given that he is the only one who is still active, and that he does so, moreover, in a team like Bayern, that Thomas Müller will manage to surpass all the great scorers ahead of him, to place sixth, at least.
From 5th to 3rd
In the lowest part of this section of the classification, we find the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, with 56 goals, most of them with Manchester United; and also some with Real Madrid. Despite being fifth in the historical classification, he does not have any European Cup in his record.
Next, we find another retired player, Raúl González, a Real Madrid legend, with 71 goals, which did win him three Champions Leagues (1998, 2000, and 2002); he has been the all-time top scorer for many seasons until the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
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Finally, we came across two excellent players, still active, who were able to share the lead at Real Madrid: Karim Benzema (73 goals) and Robert Lewandowski (78 goals). The first and second places seem unattainable, but everything seems to indicate that the French and the Polish will star in a fierce fight to complete this dream podium. Real Madrid and FC Bayern seem to make it easier for them to score goals.
Second All-Time Top Scorer in The Champions League
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We finish the part of the classification in which we talk about earthly players, to start referring to aliens.
Second place is occupied, today, by Lionel Messi, with 120 goals, all of them with FC Barcelona, a figure that has come to an end after the announcement of his non-renewal with Barça.
However, Leo surely promises a tough fight to challenge Cristiano Ronaldo for first place, who occupies the highest place in this classification. There are many great goals and performances that Messi has achieved to find himself in this position, especially highlighting the 5 goals he scored against Bayern Leverkusen, something unique in the competition.
All-Time Top Scorer in The Champions League
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At the top of the podium, to the left of Messi, is Cristiano Ronaldo, probably the most voracious striker in the history of football, whose ambition and work (and the teammates who have accompanied him) have led him to be the top scorer in the history of the competition, with 134 goals… so far.
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Many of them scored with the Real Madrid shirt, which undoubtedly helped the meringues win 4 European Cups in 5 seasons; many of them, with many goals by the Portuguese.
Although it seemed in the twilight of his football career, Cristiano seems determined to arrive in top form at age 40, something that his representative, Jorge Mendes, had announced a few years ago, and that many took as a joke. The truth is that that date is approaching and Cristiano continues to score a huge number of goals season after season.
As far as teams are concerned, no one can doubt that the king of this competition is Real Madrid, which with the last 4 Champions won practically consecutively, is close to doubling the number of trophies of the second-placed AC Milan.
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Raúl González was, for a few seasons, the all-time top scorer in the Champions League
Against this reality, that of Real Madrid’s 13 European Cups, many use the argument that a good number of them (specifically, six) achieved the ‘black and white; It seems, therefore, quite complex to be able to say that there is a team that can overshadow the whites in terms of teams.
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Lewandowski is the third top scorer in history today
If we talk about players in particular, in order to choose the ‘king’ of this competition, we must take into account the top scorers in the tournament; not in vain, goals are the sauce of football.
