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Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is the UEFA Champions League top-scorer of all time, with 140 goals to his name in 181 appearances in the European club competition. He leads his archrival, Lionel Messi, by 15 goals in the elite competition. Cristiano Ronaldo has been a Champions League winner on five different occasions with two clubs – Manchester United and Real Madrid.
The Portuguese star is currently the leading goalscorer in Champions League history, having scored 21 goals for Premier League side Manchester United, 105 goals for La Liga side Real Madrid and 14 for Series A club Juventus CF in the European competition.
Below is the total list of the top-50 all-time top goalscorers in the competition, since it started as the European Cup in 1955.
Champions League top-scorers of all-time
| Player | Goals | Games | Teams (No. of Games) |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 140 | 181 | Manchester United (21)Real Madrid (105)Juventus (14) |
| Lionel Messi | 125 | 154 | Barcelona (120)Paris Saint-Germain (5) |
| Robert Lewandowski | 82 | 102 | Borussia Dortmund (17)Bayern Munich (65) |
| Karim Benzema | 76 | 135 | Lyon (12)Real Madrid (64) |
| Raúl | 71 | 142 | Real Madrid (66)Schalke 04 (5) |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | 56 | 73 | PSV Eindhoven (8)Manchester United (35)Real Madrid (13) |
| Thierry Henry | 50 | 112 | Monaco (7)Arsenal (35)Barcelona (8) |
| Thomas Müller | 50 | 130 | Bayern Munich |
| Alfredo Di Stéfano | 49 | 58 | Real Madrid |
| Andriy Shevchenko | 48 | 100 | Dynamo Kyiv (15)Milan (29)Chelsea (4) |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | 48 | 124 | Ajax (6)Juventus (3)Inter Milan (6)Barcelona (4)Milan (9)Paris Saint-Germain (20) |
| Eusébio | 46 | 65 | Benfica |
| Filippo Inzaghi | 46 | 81 | Juventus (17)Milan (29) |
| Didier Drogba | 44 | 92 | Marseille (5)Chelsea (36)Galatasaray (3) |
| Alessandro Del Piero | 42 | 89 | Juventus |
| Neymar | 41 | 73[5] | Barcelona (21)Paris Saint-Germain (20) |
| Sergio Agüero | 41 | 79 | Atlético Madrid (5)Manchester City (36) |
| Ferenc Puskás | 36 | 41[6] | Budapest Honvéd (1)Real Madrid (35) |
| Mohamed Salah | 35 | 64[7] | Basel (2)Roma (1)Liverpool (32) |
| Edinson Cavani | 35 | 69[8] | Napoli (5)Paris Saint-Germain (30) |
| Gerd Müller | 34 | 35[6] | Bayern Munich |
| Fernando Morientes | 33 | 93 | Real Madrid (17)Monaco (9)Liverpool (1)Valencia (6) |
| Kylian Mbappé | 31 | 51 | Monaco (6)Paris Saint-Germain (25) |
| Arjen Robben | 31 | 110 | PSV Eindhoven (3)Chelsea (2)Real Madrid (1)Bayern Munich (25) |
| Samuel Eto’o | 30 | 78 | Mallorca (1)Barcelona (16)Inter Milan (10)Chelsea (3) |
| Wayne Rooney | 30 | 85 | Manchester United |
| Kaká | 30 | 86 | Milan (25)Real Madrid (5) |
| Francisco Gento | 30 | 89 | Real Madrid |
| David Trezeguet | 29 | 58 | Monaco (4)Juventus (25) |
| Roy Makaay | 29 | 61 | Deportivo La Coruña (12)Bayern Munich (17) |
| Patrick Kluivert | 29 | 71 | Ajax (9)Barcelona (20) |
| Antoine Griezmann | 29 | 75 | Atlético Madrid (25)Barcelona (4) |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | 28 | 37 | Marseille (19)Milan (7)Bayern Munich (2) |
| Ryan Giggs | 28 | 145 | Manchester United |
| Luis Suárez | 27 | 72 | Ajax (1)Barcelona (25)Atlético Madrid (1) |
| Rivaldo | 27 | 73 | Barcelona (22)Milan (2)Olympiacos (3) |
| Mario Gómez | 26 | 44 | VfB Stuttgart (3)Bayern Munich (23) |
| Mário Jardel | 25 | 46 | Porto (19)Galatasaray (6) |
| Robin van Persie | 25 | 59 | Arsenal (18)Manchester United (7) |
| Edin Džeko | 25 | 61 | VfL Wolfsburg (4)Manchester City (3)Roma (15)Inter Milan (3) |
| Hernán Crespo | 25 | 65 | Parma (2)Lazio (2)Inter Milan (11)Chelsea (4)Milan (6) |
| José Altafini | 24 | 28 | Milan (20)Juventus (4) |
| Marco Simone | 24 | 46 | Milan (15)Paris Saint-Germain (3)Monaco (6) |
| José Augusto | 24 | 56 | Benfica |
| Giovane Élber | 24 | 69 | Bayern Munich (21)Lyon (3) |
| Gonzalo Higuaín | 24 | 83 | Real Madrid (8)Napoli (4)Juventus (12) |
| Luís Figo | 24 | 103 | Barcelona (7)Real Madrid (16)Inter Milan (1) |
| Paul Scholes | 24 | 124 | Manchester United |
| Erling Haaland | 23 | 19 | Red Bull Salzburg (8)Borussia Dortmund (15) |
| Jari Litmanen | 23 | 59 | Ajax (20)Liverpool (3) |
| Álvaro Morata | 23 | 65 | Real Madrid (4)Juventus (15)Chelsea (1)Atlético Madrid (3) |
| Frank Lampard | 23 | 105 | Chelsea (23) |
Lionel Messi | 125 Goals | 0.81 goals per game
While Lionel Messi sits second on this list of all-time top scorers of the UEFA Champions League, the left-footed magician has a brilliant average of 0.81 goals per game. Also, the former Barcelona star has played 15 games fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo. Having spent a large chunk of his time with Barcelona, Messi has scored the most goals (120) in the Champions League for the Catalan club.
Robert Lewandowski | 82 Goals | 0.8 goals per game
Though not at his prime for as long as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Bundesliga star Robert Lewandowski has quickly caught up with the two legends with his prolific goal-scoring abilities. The 2020-21 season was momentous in the Polish international’s career, where he broke Bundesliga top scorer Gerd Muller‘s record of scoring 40 goals in a single season. That was also the season when Lewandowski won the UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich.
Karim Benzema | 76 Goals | 0.56 goals per game
Despite staying in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo for a major part of his club career, the Real Madrid forward has been quite efficient in front of the goal for the Whites. A centre-forward, who excels in falling deep to trigger a link-up play with the wide forwards, Benzema has done brilliantly to bag 76 Champions League goals to his name.
Champions League top-scorer: By season
| Season | Player(s) | Club(s) | Goals |
| 1955–56 | Miloš Milutinović | Partizan | 8 |
| 1956–57 | Dennis Viollet | Manchester United | 9 |
| 1957–58 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid | 10 |
| 1958–59 | Just Fontaine | Reims | 10 |
| 1959–60 | Ferenc Puskás | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 1960–61 | José Águas | Benfica | 11 |
| 1961–62 | Heinz Strehl | 1. FC Nürnberg | 8 |
| Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid | ||
| Justo Tejada | Real Madrid | ||
| Ferenc Puskás | Real Madrid | ||
| 1962–63 | José Altafini | Milan | 14 |
| 1963–64 | Vladica Kovačević | Partizan | 7 |
| Sandro Mazzola | Inter Milan | ||
| Ferenc Puskás | Real Madrid | ||
| 1964–65 | Eusébio | Benfica | 9 |
| José Torres | Benfica | ||
| 1965–66 | Flórián Albert | Ferencváros | 7 |
| Eusébio | Benfica | ||
| 1966–67 | Jürgen Piepenburg | Vorwärts Berlin | 6 |
| Paul Van Himst | Anderlecht | ||
| 1967–68 | Eusébio | 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 | Újpest | ||
| Lou Macari | Celtic | ||
| Silvester Takač | Standard Liège | ||
| 1972–73 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 11 |
| 1973–74 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 8 |
| 1974–75 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 5 |
| Eduard Markarov | Ararat Yerevan | ||
| 1975–76 | Jupp Heynckes | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 6 |
| 1976–77 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 5 |
| Franco Cucinotta | Zürich | ||
| 1977–78 | Allan Simonsen | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 5 |
| 1978–79 | Claudio Sulser | Grasshopper | 11 |
| 1979–80 | Søren 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 | Torbjörn Nilsson | IFK Göteborg | 7 |
| Michel Platini | Juventus | ||
| 1985–86 | Torbjörn Nilsson | IFK Göteborg | 6 |
| 1986–87 | Borislav Cvetković | Red Star Belgrade | 7 |
| 1987–88 | Gheorghe Hagi | Steaua București | 4 |
| Jean-Marc Ferreri | Bordeaux | ||
| Rabah Madjer | Porto | ||
| Ally McCoist | Rangers | ||
| Míchel | Real Madrid | ||
| Rui Águas | Benfica | ||
| 1988–89 | Marco van Basten | Milan | 10 |
| 1989–90 | Romário | 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 | Romário | 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 Pantić | Atlético Madrid | 5 |
| 1997–98 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus | 10 |
| 1998–99 | Andriy Shevchenko | Dynamo Kyiv | 8 |
| Dwight Yorke | Manchester United | ||
| 1999–2000 | Mário Jardel | Porto | 10 |
| Rivaldo | Barcelona | ||
| Raúl | Real Madrid | ||
| 2000–01 | Raúl | 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 | Kaká | 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 |
FAQs
Who was the UEFA Champions League top scorer 2020/21?
The UEFA Champions League top scorer for the 2020-21 season was Borussia Dortmund star, Erling Haaland. The towering Norwegian centre-forward had scored 10 goals as Dortmund had ended their campaign against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Who is the UEFA Champions League top scorer 2019-20?
The UEFA Champions League top scorer for the 2019/20 season was Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski. The Polish international had scored 15 goals in total as Bayern Munich had gone on to win the European competition by beating Paris Saint-Germain in the final match.
Who is the UEFA Champions League top scorer in the 2021-22 season?
Ajax forward Sabastian Haller is the UEFA Champions League top scorer in the ongoing 2021-22 season with 10 goals from six games. He is closely followed by Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (9), Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah (7) and RB Leipzig‘s Christopher Nkunku. The competition resumes on February 16 with the Round of 16 stages.
