The UEFA Champions League is an annual club football tournament that was established in 1955. It was originally known as the European Cup before it was renamed as the UEFA Champions League after the 1991-1992 season. The UEFA Champions League has maintained a charm of its own over the years, asserting itself as the premier competition of Europe because of its reputation.
As of May 2025, former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time UEFA Champions League top scorer with 140 goals. Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ace Lionel Messi is second in the list with 129 goals in the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona star and former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund man Robert Lewandowski, who has netted 105 goals, is the third player to have scored more than 100 UEFA Champions League goals.
UEFA Champions League All-Time Top Scorers (Top 30)
| Rank | Player | Goals | Appearances | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 140 | 183 | Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 129 | 163 | Barcelona, PSG |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | 105 | 133 | Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona |
| 4 | Karim Benzema | 90 | 152 | Lyon, Real Madrid |
| 5 | Raúl | 71 | 142 | Real Madrid, Schalke 04 |
| 6 | Thomas Müller | 57 | 163 | Bayern Munich |
| 7 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 56 | 73 | PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid |
| 8 | Kylian Mbappé | 55 | 87 | AS Monaco, PSG, Real Madrid |
| 9 | Thierry Henry | 50 | 112 | AS Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona |
| 10 | Erling Haaland | 49 | 48 | Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City |
| 11 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | 49 | 58 | Real Madrid |
| 12 | Andriy Shevchenko | 48 | 100 | Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea |
| 13 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 48 | 124 | Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG, Manchester United |
| 14 | Mohamed Salah | 47 | 88 | Basel, Chelsea, AS Roma, Liverpool |
| 15 | Eusébio | 46 | 65 | Benfica |
| 16 | Filippo Inzaghi | 46 | 81 | Juventus, AC Milan |
| 17 | Didier Drogba | 44 | 92 | Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray |
| 18 | Neymar | 43 | 81 | Barcelona, PSG |
| 19 | Alessandro Del Piero | 42 | 89 | Juventus |
| 20 | Antoine Griezmann | 42 | 105 | Real Sociedad, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona |
| 21 | Sergio Agüero | 41 | 79 | Atlético Madrid, Manchester City, Barcelona |
| 22 | Harry Kane | 40 | 57 | Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich |
| 23 | Ferenc Puskás | 36 | 41 | Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid |
| 24 | Edinson Cavani | 35 | 70 | Napoli, PSG, Manchester United |
| 25 | Gerd Müller | 34 | 35 | Bayern Munich |
| 26 | Fernando Morientes | 33 | 93 | Real Madrid, AS Monaco, Liverpool, Valencia, Marseille |
| 27 | Arjen Robben | 31 | 110 | PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich |
| 28 | Samuel Eto'o | 30 | 78 | Real Madrid, RCD Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter, Chelsea |
| 29 | Wayne Rooney | 30 | 85 | Manchester United |
| 30 | Kaká | 30 | 86 | AC Milan, Real Madrid |
UEFA Champions League Top Scorers Season-by-Season
Miloš Milutinović was the top goal scorer in the first season of the UEFA Champions League in 1955-56, scoring eight goals. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals in a single UEFA Champions League season as he scored 17 goals in the 2013-14 season.
| Season | Player | Club | 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 |
| 1962–63 | José Altafini | AC Milan | 14 |
| 1963–64 | Vladica Kovačević | Partizan | 7 |
| Sandro Mazzola | Inter Milan | 7 | |
| Ferenc Puskás | Real Madrid | 7 | |
| 1964–65 | José Torres | Benfica | 11 |
| 1965–66 | Flórián Albert | Ferencváros | 7 |
| Eusébio | Benfica | 7 | |
| 1966–67 | Jürgen Piepenburg | Vorwärts Berlin | 6 |
| Paul Van Himst | Anderlecht | 6 | |
| 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 | 5 | |
| Lou Macari | Celtic | 5 | |
| Silvester Takač | Standard Liège | 5 | |
| 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 | 5 | |
| 1975–76 | Jupp Heynckes | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 6 |
| 1976–77 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 5 |
| Franco Cucinotta | Zürich | 5 | |
| 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 | 6 | |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Bayern Munich | 6 | |
| 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 | 7 | |
| 1985–86 | Torbjörn Nilsson | IFK Göteborg | 6 |
| 1986–87 | Borislav Cvetković | Red Star Belgrade | 7 |
| 1987–88 | Gheorghe Hagi | Steaua București | 4 |
| Petar Novák | Sparta Prague | 4 | |
| René van der Gijp | Neuchâtel Xamax | 4 | |
| Rabah Madjer | Porto | 4 | |
| Ally McCoist | Rangers | 4 | |
| Míchel | Real Madrid | 4 | |
| Rui Águas | Benfica | 4 | |
| 1988–89 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan | 10 |
| 1989–90 | Romário | PSV Eindhoven | 6 |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | 6 | |
| 1990–91 | Peter Pacult | Tirol Innsbruck | 6 |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | 6 | |
| 1991–92 | Sergei Yuran | Benfica | 7 |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | 7 | |
| 1992–93 | Romário | PSV Eindhoven | 7 |
| 1993–94 | Ronald Koeman | Barcelona | 8 |
| Wynton Rufer | Werder Bremen | 8 | |
| 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 | 8 | |
| 1999–2000 | Mário Jardel | Porto | 10 |
| Rivaldo | Barcelona | 10 | |
| Raúl | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| 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 | AS Monaco | 9 |
| 2004–05 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2005–06 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2006–07 | Kaká | AC 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 | 10 | |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 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 |
| 2021–22 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2022–23 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 12 |
| 2023–24 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 8 |
| Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 8 |
UEFA Champions League Most Times Top Scorers in a Season
As of May 2025, Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for being the top scorer the most times in a UEFA Champions League season. He has topped the list seven times.
| Player | Top Scorer Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 7 | 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 |
| Lionel Messi | 6 | 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2018–19 |
| Gerd Müller | 4 | 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77 |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | 3 | 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | 3 | 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05 |
| Ferenc Puskás | 2 | 1959–60, 1963–64 |
| Eusébio | 2 | 1965–66, 1967–68 |
| Torbjörn Nilsson | 2 | 1984–85, 1985–86 |
| Romário | 2 | 1989–90, 1992–93 |
| Raúl | 2 | 1999–2000, 2000–01 |
| Andriy Shevchenko | 2 | 1998–99, 2005–06 |
| Erling Haaland | 2 | 2020–21, 2022–23 |
FAQs on UEFA Champions League
A. Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time UEFA Champions League top scorer with 140 goals to his name, as of May 2025.
A. Karim Benzema was the UEFA Champions League top scorer with 15 goals in the 2021-22 season.
A. Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, and Karim Benzema have all scored 15 goals or more in a UEFA Champions League season, as of May 2025.
