List of UEFA Champions League top scorers
The UEFA Champions League, known until 1992 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or colloquially as the European Cup, is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1955. Originally a straight knockout competition open only to champion clubs, the tournament was expanded during the 1990s to incorporate a round-robin group phase and more teams. The expansion resulted in more games being played, increasing players' goalscoring chances; thus the rankings are weighted in favour of modern players: only seven out of the 52 players on the list never competed in the reformed Champions League.
With 140 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the all-time top scorer in the Champions League, while his career rival Lionel Messi is the only other player to have reached triple figures. Ronaldo has also finished as the top scorer for the most individual seasons in the competition's history, doing so seven times.
The title of highest goalscorer had previously been held by Raúl, who scored his 50th goal in 2005 while at Real Madrid to overtake Alfredo Di Stéfano.[1] He held the record until November 2014,[2][3] when his eventual tally of 71 was first equalled and then surpassed by Messi.[4][5] Ronaldo has remained the competition's outright top scorer since September 2015; after a back-and-forth exchange of the record between him and Messi, a hat-trick by the former against Shakhtar Donetsk put Ronaldo ahead with 80 goals, and he would not relinquish the top spot again after this.[6]
All-time top scorers
- A ‡ indicates the player was from the European Cup era.
- Players taking part in the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League are highlighted in bold.
- The table below does not include goals scored in the qualification stage of the competition.
Rank | Player | Goals | Apps | Ratio | Years | Club(s) (Goals/Apps) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 140 | 183 | 0.77 | 2003–2022 | Manchester United (21/59), Real Madrid (105/101), Juventus (14/23) |
2 | Lionel Messi | 129 | 163 | 0.79 | 2005–2023 | Barcelona (120/149), Paris Saint-Germain (9/14) |
3 | Robert Lewandowski | 99 | 124 | 0.8 | 2011– | Borussia Dortmund (17/28), Bayern Munich (69/78), Barcelona (13/18) |
4 | Karim Benzema | 90 | 152 | 0.59 | 2005–2023 | Lyon (12/19), Real Madrid (78/133) |
5 | Raúl | 71 | 142 | 0.50 | 1995–2011 | Real Madrid (66/130), Schalke 04 (5/12) |
6 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 56 | 73 | 0.77 | 1998–2009 | PSV Eindhoven (8/11), Manchester United (35/43), Real Madrid (13/19) |
7 | Thomas Müller | 54 | 154 | 0.35 | 2009– | Bayern Munich |
8 | Thierry Henry | 50 | 112 | 0.45 | 1997–2012 | Monaco (7/9), Arsenal (35/77), Barcelona (8/26) |
9 | Alfredo Di Stéfano ‡ | 49 | 58 | 0.84 | 1955–1964 | Real Madrid |
Kylian Mbappé | 49 | 77 | 0.64 | 2016– | Monaco (6/9), Paris Saint-Germain (42/64), Real Madrid (1/4) | |
11 | Andriy Shevchenko | 48 | 100 | 0.48 | 1994–2012 | Dynamo Kyiv (15/26), Milan (29/59), Chelsea (4/15) |
Zlatan Ibrahimović | 48 | 124 | 0.39 | 2001–2021 | Ajax (6/19), Juventus (3/19), Inter Milan (6/22), Barcelona (4/10), Milan (9/20), Paris Saint-Germain (20/33), Manchester United (0/1) | |
13 | Eusébio ‡ | 46 | 65 | 0.71 | 1961–1974 | Benfica |
Filippo Inzaghi | 46 | 81 | 0.57 | 1997–2012 | Juventus (17/26), Milan (29/55) | |
15 | Mohamed Salah | 45 | 83 | 0.54 | 2013– | Basel (2/6), Chelsea (0/2), Roma (1/7), Liverpool (42/68) |
16 | Erling Haaland | 44 | 43 | 1.02 | 2019– | Red Bull Salzburg (8/6), Borussia Dortmund (15/13), Manchester City (21/24) |
Didier Drogba | 44 | 92 | 0.48 | 2003–2015 | Marseille (5/6), Chelsea (36/74), Galatasaray (3/12) | |
18 | Neymar | 43 | 81 | 0.53 | 2013–2022 | Barcelona (21/40), Paris Saint-Germain (22/41) |
19 | Alessandro Del Piero | 42 | 89 | 0.47 | 1995–2009 | Juventus |
20 | Sergio Agüero | 41 | 79 | 0.52 | 2008–2021 | Atlético Madrid (5/14), Manchester City (36/64), Barcelona (0/1) |
21 | Antoine Griezmann | 37 | 99 | 0.37 | 2014– | Real Sociedad (0/6), Atlético Madrid (33/76), Barcelona (4/17) |
22 | Ferenc Puskás ‡ | 36 | 41 | 0.88 | 1956–1966 | Budapest Honvéd (1/2), Real Madrid (35/39) |
23 | Edinson Cavani | 35 | 70 | 0.50 | 2011–2022 | Napoli (5/8), Paris Saint-Germain (30/54), Manchester United (0/8) |
24 | Gerd Müller ‡ | 34 | 35 | 0.97 | 1969–1977 | Bayern Munich |
Harry Kane | 34 | 48 | 0.71 | 2016– | Tottenham Hotspur (21/32), Bayern Munich (13/16) | |
26 | Fernando Morientes | 33 | 93 | 0.35 | 1997–2009 | Real Madrid (17/58), Monaco (9/12), Liverpool (1/5), Valencia (6/14), Marseille (0/4) |
27 | Arjen Robben | 31 | 110 | 0.28 | 2002–2018 | PSV Eindhoven (3/10), Chelsea (2/19), Real Madrid (1/11), Bayern Munich (25/70) |
28 | Samuel Eto'o | 30 | 78 | 0.38 | 1999–2014 | Real Madrid (0/3), Mallorca (1/5), Barcelona (16/38), Inter Milan (10/23), Chelsea (3/9) |
Wayne Rooney | 30 | 85 | 0.35 | 2004–2015 | Manchester United | |
Kaká | 30 | 86 | 0.35 | 2003–2014 | Milan (25/62), Real Madrid (5/24) | |
Francisco Gento ‡ | 30 | 89 | 0.34 | 1955–1969 | Real Madrid | |
32 | David Trezeguet | 29 | 58 | 0.50 | 1997–2009 | Monaco (4/9), Juventus (25/49) |
Roy Makaay | 29 | 61 | 0.48 | 2000–2007 | Deportivo La Coruña (12/29), Bayern Munich (17/32) | |
Patrick Kluivert | 29 | 71 | 0.41 | 1994–2006 | Ajax (9/22), Barcelona (20/46), PSV Eindhoven (0/3) | |
Edin Džeko | 29 | 74 | 0.39 | 2009– | VfL Wolfsburg (4/6), Manchester City (3/24), Roma (15/25), Inter Milan (7/19) | |
Álvaro Morata | 29 | 86 | 0.34 | 2012– | Real Madrid (4/15), Juventus (15/35), Chelsea (1/7), Atlético Madrid (8/25), Milan (0/3) | |
37 | Jean-Pierre Papin ‡ | 28 | 37 | 0.76 | 1989–1994 | Marseille (19/21), Milan (7/13), Bayern Munich (2/3) |
Ryan Giggs | 28 | 145 | 0.19 | 1993–2014 | Manchester United | |
39 | Sadio Mané | 27 | 63 | 0.43 | 2017–2023 | Liverpool (24/55), Bayern Munich (3/8) |
Luis Suárez | 27 | 73 | 0.37 | 2010–2022 | Ajax (1/5), Barcelona (25/55), Atlético Madrid (1/13) | |
Rivaldo | 27 | 73 | 0.37 | 1997–2007 | Barcelona (22/43), Milan (2/13), Olympiacos (3/17) | |
Raheem Sterling | 27 | 84 | 0.32 | 2014– | Liverpool (0/6), Manchester City (24/67), Chelsea (3/9), Arsenal (0/2) | |
43 | Mario Gómez | 26 | 44 | 0.59 | 2007–2013 | VfB Stuttgart (3/5), Bayern Munich (23/39) |
44 | Mário Jardel | 25 | 46 | 0.54 | 1996–2001 | Porto (19/32), Galatasaray (6/14) |
Robin van Persie | 25 | 59 | 0.42 | 2002–2014 | Feyenoord (0/2), Arsenal (18/45), Manchester United (7/12) | |
Vinícius Júnior | 25 | 60 | 0.42 | 2018– | Real Madrid | |
Hernán Crespo | 25 | 65 | 0.38 | 1997–2007 | Parma (2/6), Lazio (2/11), Inter Milan (11/23), Chelsea (4/15), Milan (6/10) | |
48 | José Altafini ‡ | 24 | 28 | 0.86 | 1959–1976 | Milan (20/17), Juventus (4/11) |
Marco Simone ‡ | 24 | 46 | 0.52 | 1989–2001 | Milan (15/36), Paris Saint-Germain (3/4), Monaco (6/6) | |
Gabriel Jesus | 24 | 50 | 0.48 | 2017– | Manchester City (20/38), Arsenal (4/12) | |
José Augusto ‡ | 24 | 56 | 0.43 | 1960–1969 | Benfica | |
Olivier Giroud | 24 | 64 | 0.38 | 2012–2023 | Arsenal (12/29), Chelsea (6/12), Milan (6/23) | |
Giovane Élber | 24 | 69 | 0.35 | 1997–2004 | Bayern Munich (21/60), Lyon (3/9) | |
Marco Reus | 24 | 72 | 0.33 | 2012–2024 | Borussia Dortmund | |
Gonzalo Higuaín | 24 | 83 | 0.29 | 2007–2020 | Real Madrid (8/48), Napoli (4/5), Juventus (12/30) | |
Luís Figo | 24 | 103 | 0.23 | 1997–2009 | Barcelona (7/24), Real Madrid (16/58), Inter Milan (1/21) | |
Ángel Di María | 24 | 111 | 0.22 | 2007– | Benfica (2/15), Real Madrid (8/39), Paris Saint-Germain (14/54), Juventus (0/3) | |
Paul Scholes | 24 | 124 | 0.19 | 1997–2009 | Manchester United |
Top scorers by season
The table below does not include goals scored in the qualification stage of the competition.[9]
By player
Player | Titles | Seasons |
---|---|---|
Cristiano Ronaldo | 7 | 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 |
Lionel Messi | 6 | 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2018–19 |
Gerd Müller | 4 | 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77 |
Jean-Pierre Papin | 3 | 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92 |
Ruud van Nistelrooy | 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05 | |
Ferenc Puskás | 2 | 1959–60, 1963–64 |
Eusébio | 1965–66, 1967–68 | |
Torbjörn Nilsson | 1984–85, 1985–86 | |
Romário | 1989–90, 1992–93 | |
Raúl | 1999–2000, 2000–01 | |
Andriy Shevchenko | 1998–99, 2005–06 | |
Erling Haaland | 2020–21, 2022–23 |
By club
- Notes
By country
- Notes
- ^ Two Brazilian players were joint top scorers in this season.
See also
References
- ^ "Raúl ya es el máximo goleador de la Copa de Europa" [Raúl is now the top scorer of the European Cup]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 28 September 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Hunter, Graham (30 May 2014). "Look out, Messi, Ronaldo is the real record breaker". ESPN. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Bate, Adam (2 November 2014). "Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are closing in on Raul's UEFA Champions League goalscoring record of 71". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Arnett, George; Sedghi, Ami (7 November 2014). "Champions League goalscoring record: charting Messi, Ronaldo and Raúl". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Messi breaks Champions League record". BBC Sport. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Ronaldo reaches 80 goals as Madrid fell Shakhtar". UEFA. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Champions League all-time top scorers". UEFA. 29 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ "Champions League + European Cup – All-time Topscorers". WorldFootball.net. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ For players active prior to the introduction of the Champions League in 1992, see: Di Maggio, Roberto; Mamrud, Roberto; Rota, Davide; Owsianski, Jarek (8 June 2017). "Champions Cup/Champions League Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 2 November 2017. For all other players, see: "UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2017/18: Facts and figures" (PDF). UEFA. p. 11. Retrieved 2 November 2017.