Top 14 Champions League Goalscorers of all time

Sally Polly March 18, 2021 | 22:13

Who is in the lead in the race to become the all-time top scorer in Europe's leading club competition? Here we provide you a list of the top Champions League goalscorers of all time, and how many scores they have archived.

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1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus) – 134 goals

Photo: DW

It's no coincidence that the Portuguese superstar has won the Champions League five times. Wherever he has played, whether it be Manchester United (15 goals), Real Madrid (105) or now Juventus (14) – Cristiano Ronaldo has always found the back of the net. With 134 goals, Ronaldo is the undisputed top scorer in Europe's top club competition.

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 119 goals

Photo: Getty Images

Even if Barcelona aren't the outfit they once were, there's one thing that remains a constant – Lionel Messi's nose for goal. The diminutive Argentine has scored 120 goals in his Champions League career so far. He has been the competition's top scorer six times and has led Barca to the title three times.

3. Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich) – 72 goals

Photo: Getty Images

In third place in the all-time scorer's list is The Best FIFA Men's Player of 2020, Robert Lewandowski. The Poland striker secured that honor in part by becoming the top scorer in the Champions League in 2019-20 with 15 goals. Over his Champions League career he has found the back of the net 17 times for Borussia Dortmund and 56 times for Bayern.

4. Raul (Real Madrid, Schalke) – 71 goals

Photo: AP

Raul is truly a legend at Real Madrid. The long-time captain made more appearances for Real than any other player, with 550 games in La Liga and 132 in the Champions League. He also led Real to the Champions League title three times. Raul scored five of his 71 Champions League goals during his two-year stint with Schalke in the twilight of his career.

5. Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid) – 69 goals

Photo: AFP

The Frenchman made his scoring debut in the Champions League for Lyon at the tender age of 18. Karim Benzema left Lyon in 2009 and has since helped Real Madrid lift the Champions League trophy four times. He has a total of 69 goals in Europe's most prestigious club competition.

6. Ruud van Nistelrooy – 56 goals

Photo: Martin Rickett

Dutch striker Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij scored for three clubs in the Champions League: PSV Eindhoven (8 goals), Manchester United (35) and Real Madrid (13). Van Nistelrooy failed to win a Champions League title, but he was the top scorer in Europe's top competition in three different seasons

7. Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona) – 50 goals

Photo: firo Sportphoto

The French striker cracked the half-century mark over his long career in the Champions League, finding the back of the net for three clubs: Monaco (7 goals), Arsenal (35) and Barcelona (8). Having won the World Cup with France in 1998, Henry would also go on to win the Champions League with Barca in 2008-09.

8. Alfredo di Stefano – 49 goals

Photo: AP

The Argentine striker (right) helped Real Madrid become champions of Europe five years running between 1956 and 1960, when the competition was still a straight knock-out tournament known as the European Cup. Alfredo di Stefano, who passed away in 2014, was regarded as one of the best players in the world during his 11 years at Real, between 1953 and 1964.

9. Andriy Shevchenko – 48 goals

Photo: Sergei Dalzhenko

Like Ibrahimovic, the Ukrainian, who has long since ended his career, scored 48 times in the Champions League. Unlike the Swede, though, he won the title – with AC Milan in 2002-03. The striker scored 29 Champions League goals for Milan, 15 for Dynamo Kyiv and four for Chelsea.

10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 48 goals

Photo: Goal

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 48 goals in the Champions League have been spread over six different clubs: Ajax (6 goals), Juventus (3), Inter Milan (6), Barcelona (4), AC Milan (9) and Paris Saint-Germain (20). Despite all that club hopping, he has never managed to be with the right team at the right time to lift the Champions League trophy.

11. Thomas Müller – 47 goals

Photo: Reuters

A member of the 2014 German team that won the World Cup, Thomas Müller is knocking on the door of the top 10. At the age of 19, Müller scored his first of 47 Champions League goals for Bayern Munich in a 7-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in March 2009. He won the Champions League twice with Bayern, in 2012-13 and 2019-20

12. Filippo Inzaghi (Juventus, AC Milan) – 46 goals

Photo: Getty Images

Inzaghi played as a striker for several Italian clubs, and spent the most notable spells of his club career with Juventus and Milan, winning two UEFA Champions League titles (2003, 2007), and three Serie A titles (1998, 2004, 2011). He is the seventh highest scorer in Italy, with 313 goals scored in official matches. He is currently the fifth-highest goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals, behind only Robert Lewandowski, Raúl, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He is also Milan's top international goal scorer in the club's history with 43 goals. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in Serie A with 10.

At international level, Inzaghi earned 57 caps for the Italy national team between 1997 and 2007, scoring 25 goals. He represented his country at three FIFA World Cups, winning the 2006 edition, and he also took part at UEFA Euro 2000, where he won a runners-up medal.

13. Didier Drogba – 44 goals

Photo: UEFA

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (French pronunciation: [didje dʁɔɡba]; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker.[5] He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. Widely regarded as one of Chelsea's greatest players, Drogba was named in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade by Chelsea's fans.[6] He was named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009.

14. Alessandro Del Piero – 42 goals

Alessandro Del Piero is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia. A technically gifted and creative supporting forward who was also a free-kick specialist, Del Piero is widely regarded by players, pundits, and managers as one of the greatest players of his generation[15][16] and as one of the best Italian players of all time, winning the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award in 1998 and 2008.

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