Champions League Top Scorers | Opta Analyst

Which gamers have scored probably the most Champions League targets within the historical past of the competitors? Right here, we glance over the all-time UEFA Champions League high scorers.

UEFA Champions League Prime Scorers

Cristiano Ronaldo: 140
Lionel Messi: 129
Robert Lewandowski: 94
Karim Benzema: 90
Raúl: 71
Ruud van Nistelrooy: 56
Thomas Müller: 53
Thierry Henry: 50
Kylian Mbappé: 48
Andriy Shevchenko: 48
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 48
Filippo Inzaghi: 46
Didier Drogba: 44
Mohamed Salah: 44
Neymar: 43
Alessandro Del Piero: 42
Sergio Agüero: 41
Erling Haaland: 41

*All objective totals exclude UCL qualifiers.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 140 Objectives

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time main scorer within the UEFA Champions League with 140 targets.

With the Portuguese now enjoying at Saudi Arabian membership Al Nassr, it’s unlikely that he’ll add to this tally, which he amassed over spells at Manchester United (21), Actual Madrid (105) and Juventus (14).

Ronaldo holds the file for many targets in a single Champions League season, along with his 17 targets for Actual Madrid in 2013-14, as they gained the UCL trophy with a win over Atlético Madrid within the closing that marketing campaign, whereas he adopted that up with 16 targets two years later in 2015-16.

The Portuguese legend has gained the competitors high scorer award on seven completely different events, which is a file throughout each the European Cup and Champions League eras.

He scored in a file 93 completely different UCL matches – 51% of his appearances within the competitors, whereas eight of these noticed him rating a hat-trick, which is a file he shares with Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo discovered the online in opposition to 38 completely different opponents in his Champions League profession, along with his 10 targets versus Juventus probably the most by any single participant in opposition to an opponent within the historical past of the competitors.

Lionel Messi: 129 Objectives

Lionel Messi is the second highest scorer in UEFA Champions League historical past with 129 targets. He does, nonetheless, maintain the file of scoring probably the most targets for a single membership in UCL historical past, with 120 of his 129 targets coming at Barcelona.

He added 9 extra after shifting to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in the summertime of 2021, nevertheless it’s unlikely he’ll ever get an opportunity so as to add to his 129 goal-tally following his transfer to MLS membership Inter Miami.

Messi’s file of scoring in opposition to 40 completely different opponents within the UEFA Champions League is a file, forward of Ronaldo’s tally of 38. 9 of these targets got here in opposition to Arsenal (7%), his favorite opponent in UCL historical past.

Total, 2022 World Cup winner Messi has scored in 18 completely different seasons of UCL motion, netting in each marketing campaign since 2005-06 after failing to attain in his solely look for Barcelona in his debut season of 2004-05. He shares this file with Karim Benzema, however the French striker has managed to attain in all 18 of the UCL seasons that he’s performed in since 2005-06.

He could share the UCL file for probably the most hat-tricks within the competitors with Cristiano Ronaldo (eight), however he as soon as did one thing the Portuguese by no means managed: rating 5 targets in a single Champions League match. He managed this in Barcelona’s 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in March 2012 as a part of his record-breaking 2011-12 season during which he scored 73 targets in 60 aggressive membership appearances.

Robert Lewandowski: 94 Objectives

Robert Lewandowski is edging in direction of the century of UEFA Champions League targets, however with the Barcelona striker nonetheless seven targets away and now 35 years of age, he could run out of time.

He tried his greatest in 2022-23, with 5 targets in 5 appearances for Barcelona, however their group-stage elimination despatched them into the UEFA Europa League so Lewandowski had an even bigger hole between UCL video games than he’s used to. Thus far in 2023-24, he’s scored 3 times – versus Antwerp in Barca’s opening sport of the marketing campaign and in each legs of the last-16 tie in opposition to Napoli.

Of his 94 UCL targets, 69 got here at Bayern Munich after he arrived from Borussia Dortmund.

He holds the Bayern file for probably the most targets in Europe, forward of Gerd Müller (65). He additionally holds the Bundesliga membership’s file for many targets in a single season inside the competitors, along with his 15-goal effort in 2019-20 on the way in which to Bayern profitable the competitors. In doing so, he grew to become the primary Polish participant to complete as the highest scorer in a single season of UCL/European Cup motion.

Karim Benzema: 90 Objectives

Together with his switch to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, Karim Benzema is likely to be 90 and out.

Benzema has scored in probably the most UCL seasons with out having failed to search out the online in a single, scoring in all 18 seasons of the competitors since 2005-06 at Lyon.

The French striker gained the Champions League high scorer award for the primary time ever in 2021-22, along with his 15 targets serving to Actual Madrid to the title, though he failed to attain within the closing win over Liverpool in Paris.

His 78 targets for Actual Madrid within the competitors are solely behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s 105.

Raúl: 71 Objectives

Former Spanish worldwide Raúl is Actual Madrid’s third highest scoring participant in UEFA Champions League historical past (66), whereas his total tally of 71 is the fifth most of all gamers within the competitors.

Raúl was the highest scoring participant within the competitors till November 2014, when he was ultimately overtaken by Messi and Ronaldo, whereas the Actual Madrid nice was the primary participant to achieve 50 targets within the competitors, in September 2005. The truth is, he was the primary Actual participant to achieve 50 targets in Europe after Alfredo Di Stéfano had beforehand scored 49 instances in European competitors for the Spanish facet.

His closing season within the competitors got here at German facet FC Schalke 04 in 2010-11, when he scored 5 instances as a 33-year-old. This took his total tally to 71 within the competitors, which is greater than double the following greatest by a Spanish participant within the competitors: Fernando Morientes’ 33 targets.

Different Gamers with 50+ UCL Objectives

Ruud van Nistelrooy: 56 Objectives

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy scored 56 targets total within the UEFA Champions League, however that tally might have been extra had he performed extra UCL motion earlier in his profession. He made simply 11 appearances at PSV earlier than his twenty fifth birthday and debut for Manchester United within the competitors.

No participant reached 50 UEFA Champions League targets faster than Van Nistelrooy (62 appearances) however he was 31 years outdated when he broke that mark.

He scored 35 targets within the Champions League for Manchester United – a membership file, forward of Wayne Rooney (30) and Ryan Giggs (28).

Van Nistelrooy is the highest scoring participant to have by no means gained the UEFA Champions League, regardless of enjoying 11 seasons within the competitors and enjoying for golf equipment which have gained the trophy a mixed 10 instances.

Thomas Müller: 53 Objectives

Thomas Müller simply performed his fifteenth Champions League season as a Bayern Munich participant, scoring in 14 of those (solely failing in 2018-19).

Since his competitors debut in 2008-09, he’s scored 53 targets and has 23 assists. His objective tally is greater than double that of every other German participant within the competitors: Mario Gomez (26).

He’s gained the Champions League on two events with Bayern Munich, in each 2012-13 and 2019-20.

Thierry Henry: 50 Objectives

Thierry Henry scored 50 targets within the UEFA Champions League throughout three golf equipment: Arsenal (35), Barcelona (eight) and Monaco (seven).

He started life as a UCL participant in model, with six targets throughout his first 5 appearances at Monaco as a 20-year-old, earlier than shifting to Arsenal in 1999-00. His 35 targets on the Gunners make him their highest scoring participant in Champions League/European Cup historical past.

Will Haaland and Mbappé Break the Champions League Objective File?

With the entire gamers to have scored 50-plus UEFA Champions League targets both retired or within the twilight years of their profession, the main target is now on which gamers might ultimately go on and break the UCL scoring information in years to come back.

Kylian Mbappé appears the stable guess to achieve 50 targets within the competitors subsequent, with the PSG and France ahead on 48 UCL targets after having fun with one other spectacular marketing campaign in 2023-24. He’s now simply two off the half-century, and few would guess in opposition to him reaching that mark this season with the Parisians into the semi-finals.

The pace at which Mbappé is rising up the rating ought to start to fret Cristiano Ronaldo on the high of the standings.

Mbappé scored seven targets in eight Champions League appearances for PSG in 2022-23 earlier than their final 16 elimination to Bayern Munich. He reached 40 targets within the competitors in 59 video games – two fewer than it took Messi and Robert Lewandowski (61) and 23 video games faster than Ronaldo (82). He’s additionally the youngest of all 17 gamers to have reached 40 targets within the competitors (23 years, 316 days) – breaking Messi’s earlier file of doing so at 24 years and 130 days outdated.

The French star will likely be trying over his shoulder at Manchester Metropolis’s goalscoring phenomenon Erling Haaland, nonetheless.

Haaland has now scored a ridiculous 41 targets in 39 Champions League appearances, and he’s nonetheless solely 23 years outdated. To place that into context, he’s already bought as many UCL targets as Metropolis legend Sergio Agüero from 40 fewer matches within the competitors.

The Norwegian hit 40 UCL targets at an age (23 years, 130 days) that was 187 days youthful than Mbappé did and it took him fewer matches in comparison with Frenchman (59) and Lionel Messi (61).

Haaland additionally grew to become simply one among three gamers to attain 5 targets in a single Champions League match in Man Metropolis’s last-16 win over RB Leipzig in March 2023.

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