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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 list below is weighted in favour of modern players.
The Champions League has featured some of the best goalscorers in history.
As the premier club competition in Europe and arguably the world, it is a stage that has been graced by countless icons of football.
Striking sensations such as Raul and Andriy Shevchenko dominated during the 1990s and 2000s, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have taken the art of scoring to a whole new level.
Top UEFA Champions League scorers (excluding qualifying)
124: Cristiano Ronaldo (POR, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
108: Lionel Messi (ARG, Barcelona)
71: Raúl González (ESP, Real Madrid, Schalke)
60: Karim Benzema (FRA, Lyon, Real Madrid)
56: Ruud van Nistelrooy (NED, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid)
53: Robert Lewandowski (POL, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern München)
50: Thierry Henry (FRA, Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
48: Zlatan Ibrahimović (SWE, Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale Milano, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United)
48: Andriy Shevchenko (UKR, Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea)
46: Filippo Inzaghi (ITA, Juventus, AC Milan)
