4 South American players with the most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League history

South America is a continent with a very rich football heritage and has produced some of the best players in world football over the years. The likes of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay rank top among some of the very best footballing nations in the world.

Legendary footballers such as Ronaldinho, Hernan Crespo, Pele, Diego Maradona, and Carlos Teves have been among a handful of players to break out of South America.

The continent has also been heavily represented in Europe, with a handful of their talents playing in major European leagues and club competitions.

The UEFA Champions League is one such tournament in Europe that has witnessed a huge number of South American football players.

As such, this article will take a look at four of the most prolific goal scorers from the continent in the UEFA Champions League.

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#4 Edinson Cavani

Cavani is PSG's all-time highest goal scorer

The Uruguayan striker has been one of the best players to break out of South America in recent years and has been exceptional in Europe.

Edinson Cavani is also regarded as one of Europe's most lethal strikers. He has played for top European clubs such as Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and presently Valencia.

The 35-year-old forward holds a couple of club records, including being the all-time highest goal scorer for French giants PSG with 200 goals.

Cavani has also been very much prolific in the UEFA Champions League, as he has registered a total of 35 goals. His tally makes him the fourth highest goal-scoring South American in the competition.

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#3 Sergio Aguero

Aguero is Manchester City's all-time club goal scorer

Another prolific forward from South America to play in the UEFA Champions League is Argentine veteran Sergio Aguero.

Although now retired, the 34-year-old is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, due to his exploits in front of goal.

Aguero played for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona during his illustrious career in Europe. He announced his retirement in 2021 due to an unfortunate heart condition.

He is currently the all-time leading goal scorer for Premier League club Manchester City with 260 goals.

The Argentine was also prolific in the UEFA Champions League and scored a total of 41 goals in the competition.

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#2 Neymar Jr.

Neymar has scored 42 UEFA Champions League goals in his career

Brazilian forward Neymar Jr. is arguably one of the best players in world football at the moment. His career has been on the rise since moving to Europe in 2013 from Brazilian side Santos.

Neymar has also been very impressive in the UEFA Champions League since making his debut several years ago. He won the competition in 2015 with Barcelona scoring 12 goals and registering 10 assists.

The 30-year-old forward is also currently the second highest scoring South American player in the history of the UEFA Champions League.

Neymar has so far registered 42 goals in the competition, scoring 21 goals each for both Barcelona and PSG respectively.

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#1 Lionel Messi

Messi is the highest scoring South American player in the UEFA Champions League

Very few players can rival the Argentine in terms of goal scoring exploits and he is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Lionel Messi holds a huge number of individual records, including Barcelona's all-time leading goal scorer with 672 goals and most Ballon d'Or trophies (seven). He also has six European Golden Shoe awards to his credit.

The Argentine forward has also been very dominant in the UEFA Champions League, winning the competition on four different occasions.

Messi is currently the highest scoring South American player in UEFA's top tier cup competition with 126 goals. He has scored 120 goals for Barcelona in the competition and currently has six with PSG.

He is second on the Champions League all-time goalscoring list, just behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 140 goals.