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Champions League Highest Goals Scorer | Champions League Most Goals in A Season: Cristiano Ronaldo dominates

Portugal and Manchester United star forward Cristiano Ronaldo dominates the goal-scoring charts along with Argentina's Paris Saint-German star Lionel Messi in the Champions League since the transformation of European Cup in 1992/92.

While Ronaldo and Messi lead the list for most goals in the Champions League, the race for the third spot has heated up in recent seasons with Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema going toe-to-toe.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading goal-scorer in the Champions League

Lewandowksi made huge strides in the 2019/20 season and Benzema caught up with a high-flying 2021/22 season. Lewandowski is on 89 goals, but Benzema has a chance to catch up again in the ongoing season.

Champions League Winners List: Full List of UCL Winners & Runners Up Season WiseChampions League Winners List: Full List of UCL Winners & Runners Up Season Wise

Ronaldo and Messi, who have scored goals for fun over the years, have scored 8 hattricks each. The pair are also the only players to have crossed the 100-goal mark in the Champions League.

The next generation of stars after Messi and Ronaldo - Neymar, Mbappe and Haaland also are slowly catching up on the number of goals in recent seasons alongside Benzema and Lewandowski.

Top 25 Champions League (European Cup) Highest Goal-scorers (excluding goals from qualifying rounds)

Position Player Goals
1 Cristiano Ronaldo 140
2 Lionel Messi 129
3 Robert Lewandowski 91
4 Karim Benzema 90
5 Raul Gonzalez 71
6 Ruud van Nistelrooy 56
7 Thomas Muller 53
8 Thierry Henry 50
9 Alfredo Di Stefano 49
10 Andriy Shevchenko 48
10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic 48
12 Eusebio 46
12 Filippo Inzaghi 46
14 Didier Drogba 44
14 Mohamed Salah 44
16 Alessandro Del Piero 42
17 Neymar 43
18 Sergio Aguero 41
19 Kylian Mbappe 40
20 Ferenc Puskas 36
21 Erling Haaland 35
21 Edinson Cavani 35
23 Gerd Muller 34
24 Fernando Morientes 33
25 Arjen Robben 31

While Ronaldo tops the list for all-time goal-scorers, Messi leads the list for most goals scored for a single club. The Portuguese great is also on the list for his goals at Real Madrid, where he won a lot of titles as well.

Most Champions League goals for a single club

Player (Club) Goals
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 120
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 105
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 74
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) 69
Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid) 66
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) 52
Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) 41
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 36
Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 36
Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 35
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) 35

Benzema, who has had a fantastic season so far with Real Madrid, leads the goal-scoring charts in the Champions League 2021/22 season. But even the goals for a single Champions League season is also dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo.

List for most Champions League goals in a season from 1955/56 (excluding goals from qualifying rounds

Season Player(s) Club(s) Goals
1955–56 Milos Milutinovic Partizan 8
1956–57 Dennis Viollet Manchester United 9
1957–58 Alfredo Di Stefano Real Madrid 10
1958–59 Just Fontaine Reims 10
1959–60 Ferenc Puskas Real Madrid 12
1960–61 Jose Aguas Benfica 11
1961–62 Heinz Strehl 1. FC Nurnberg 8
Alfredo Di Stefano Real Madrid
Justo Tejada Real Madrid
Ferenc Puskas Real Madrid
1962–63 Jose Altafini Milan 14
1963–64 Vladica Kovacevic Partizan 7
Sandro Mazzola Inter Milan
Ferenc Puskas Real Madrid
1964–65 Eusebio Benfica 9
Jose Torres Benfica
1965–66 Florian Albert Ferencvaros 7
Eusebio Benfica
1966–67 Jurgen Piepenburg Vorwarts Berlin 6
Paul Van Himst Anderlecht
1967–68 Eusebio Benfica 6
1968–69 Denis Law Manchester United 9
1969–70 Mick Jones Leeds United 8
1970–71 Antonis Antoniadis Panathinaikos 10
1971–72 Johan Cruyff Ajax 5
Antal Dunai Ujpest
Lou Macari Celtic
Silvester Takac Standard Liege
1972–73 Gerd Muller Bayern Munich 11
1973–74 Gerd Muller Bayern Munich 8
1974–75 Gerd Muller Bayern Munich 5
Eduard Markarov Ararat Yerevan
1975–76 Jupp Heynckes Borussia Moenchengladbach 6
1976–77 Gerd Muller Bayern Munich 5
Franco Cucinotta Zurich
1977–78 Allan Simonsen Borussia Moenchengladbach 5
1978–79 Claudio Sulser Grasshopper 11
1979–80 Soren Lerby Ajax 10
1980–81 Terry McDermott Liverpool 6
Graeme Souness Liverpool
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern Munich
1981–82 Dieter Hoeness Bayern Munich 7
1982–83 Paolo Rossi Juventus 6
1983–84 Viktor Sokol Dinamo Minsk 6
1984–85 Torbjorn Nilsson IFK Goteborg 7
Michel Platini Juventus
1985–86 Torbjorn Nilsson IFK Goteborg 6
1986–87 Borislav Cvetkovic Red Star Belgrade 7
1987–88 Gheorghe Hagi Steaua Bucuresti 4
Jean-Marc Ferreri Bordeaux
Algeria Rabah Madjer Porto
Ally McCoist Rangers
Michel Real Madrid
Rui Aguas Benfica
1988–89 Marco van Basten Milan 10
1989–90 Romario PSV Eindhoven 6
Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille
1990–91 Peter Pacult Tirol Innsbruck 6
Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille
1991–92 Sergei Yuran Benfica 7
Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille
1992–93 Romario PSV Eindhoven 7
1993–94 Ronald Koeman Barcelona 8
Wynton Rufer Werder Bremen
1994–95 George Weah Paris Saint-Germain 7
1995–96 Jari Litmanen Ajax 9
1996–97 Milinko Pantic Atlético Madrid 5
1997–98 Alessandro Del Piero Juventus 10
1998–99 Andriy Shevchenko Dynamo Kyiv 8
Dwight Yorke Manchester United
1999–2000 Mario Jardel Porto 10
Rivaldo Barcelona
Raul Real Madrid
2000–01 Raul Real Madrid 7
2001–02 Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United 10
2002–03 Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United 12
2003–04 Fernando Morientes Monaco 9
2004–05 Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United 8
2005–06 Andriy Shevchenko Milan 9
2006–07 Kaka Milan 10
2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 8
2008–09 Lionel Messi Barcelona 9
2009–10 Lionel Messi Barcelona 8
2010–11 Lionel Messi Barcelona 12
2011–12 Lionel Messi Barcelona 14
2012–13 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 12
2013–14 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 17
2014–15 Neymar Barcelona 10
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Lionel Messi Barcelona
2015–16 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 16
2016–17 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 12
2017–18 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 15
2018–19 Lionel Messi Barcelona 12
2019–20 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 15
2020–21 Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund 10
2021-22 Karim Benzema Real Madrid 15
2022-23 Erling Haaland Manchester City 12
Story first published: Sunday, June 11, 2023, 12:38 [IST]
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