Since its very first rally in 1992/93, the UEFA Champions League has brought together some of the best strikers in the history of world football. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski have raised the bar for performance in UEFA club competition to levels that previous generations could only dream of Ronaldo and Messi remain the only players to have scored over 100 goals in the tournament so far. At the same time, they and the rest of the players in the top 10 did not take part in this tournament in the era of the European Champions Cup. For making betting on the games, check out Aussie betting apps.
The Champions Cup has been played since the 1955/56 season in the playoffs. Without the group stage, players played fewer matches in a season and thus had fewer opportunities to score. Real Madrid, for example, made only seven appearances on their way to their first trophy, while 2020/21 UEFA Champions League winner Chelsea needed 13. Champions Cup top scorer Alfredo Di Stefano scored 49 goals in 58 games, with an average rate of fire cannot be matched by any of the modern top scorers, writes taleoftwohalves.uk.
Champions League top scorers (excluding qualifications)
Ronaldo is both the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League and European competition, as well as the top scorer at national team level. The Portuguese began his career as a winger and scored his first goal in the Champions League only in the 27th match. After moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid, Ronaldo played as a center striker and scored much more often.
On 14 February 2018, Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 goals in the Champions League. It took him 144 matches. Ronaldo is a five-time Champions League winner (once with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid). He is the only player to have scored in three Champions League finals. Like Messi, he has eight hat-tricks in the Champions League.
Most UEFA Champions League goals per club (excluding qualifications)
Messi moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021, having previously scored 120 goals for the Spanish club in the Champions League, a record far beyond even Ronaldo’s 105 goals for Real Madrid. Although, at the same time, the Portuguese striker was the first to reach 100 goals for his club. Along with Karim Benzema, Messi has scored 17 straight appearances and is the only player to have scored in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons with the same team.
The Argentinian joined Barcelona in early 2001 at the age of 13 and spent the next two decades with the team, winning the Champions League four times, as well as the Spanish championship 10 times, the national cup seven times and the UEFA Super Cup three times. He became the second player to score 100 goals in the Champions League (after Ronaldo) and was the top scorer (or tied for the title) in six Champions League rallies, one fewer than Ronaldo.
120: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
105: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
66: Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid)
65: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
64: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
50: Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)
41: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
36: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
36: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
35: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
35: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)
