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Since its inception in 1992, the UEFA Champions League has been the premier European club tournament. It has been the ultimate battle of wits, strategy and firepower in Europe. The Champions League is not just a tournament anymore, it is the definition of the minimum standard that all the big clubs in Europe wish to maintain season after season. It is the ultimate dream for every ambitious club playing in every league in Europe and winning a coveted spot in the group stages is a matter of prestige as well as an indication of the level of footballing excellence achieved by the club.
Like every top-level football tournament, the Champions League too has been home to some fantastic goal scorers since its start. From Raul Gonzalez to Ruud van Nistelrooy, from Andriy Shevchenko to Thierry Henry, from Inzaghi to Ibrahimovic, legendary striker from various countries around the world have graced the tournament and lit up the occasion. This season too, the competition will host some fabulous strikers, record breakers and trendsetters, who will strive to improve their as well as the tournament’s standards once again.
We look at the 7 strikers here, who, based on their records and current form, can be considered as the top 7 goal scorers in the Champions League right now.
#7 Edinson Cavani (Uruguay, PSG)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 32
The Uruguayan is one of the finest goalscorers in football and is good with his feet as well as in the air. He contributes to the overall tactics of his team, covering much ground in every game and drifting to the wings to carve out space or to allow runners from the midfield to arrive. However, it is his goal scoring form that has brought him most accolades in football.
He first played in the Champions League in the 2011/12 season, representing Napoli and scored 5 goals in 8 appearances. Since then he has appeared in the Champions League 52 times and scored 32 goals, out of which, 5 were scored for Napoli and rest for his current club PSG. Last season, he scored 7 goals from 8 appearances for PSG.
This season, Cavani has already scored 3 goals in 3 games in the league, while in the Champions League, PSG are in group C along with Liverpool, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade. They start their Champions League group stages with a visit to Anfield to face high flying Liverpool on Tuesday and the French side will hope their Champions League top scorer is on song to earn them the vital away points.
#6 Sergio Aguero (Argentina, Manchester City)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 37
Sergio Aguero is Manchester City’s highest goal scorer in the Champions League. Last season, he scored 4 goals in 7 games for his club in the Champions League. City are in Group F this season, along with Lyon, Hoffenheim and Shakhtar Donetsk this season, and the Argentinian will be looking forward to adding to his tally.
Aguero’s debut in the Champions League was in the 2008/09 season when he was a part of the Atletico Madrid team. He scored 3 goals from 8 appearances, which included a brace against PSV Eindhoven in his first game and one more against Marseille in the next game. Aguero has scored a total of 32 goals from 65 appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
The Argentinian has already scored 5 goals for Manchester City so far this season. The Premier League side kick-start their Champions League campaign this time with a home tie against Lyon on Wednesday night.
#5 Thomas Muller (Germany, Bayern Munich)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 42
Thomas Muller has 101 appearances in Champions League, scoring 42 goals and all of them have come for his current club Bayern Munich. Muller first played in the Champions League in the 2008/09 season, where he scored his first goal in his only appearance in that season. His highest return has been 8 goals, which he scored in the 2012/13 and 2015/16 season. The German has a fine record of scoring in the Champions League in every season since his debut in the tournament.
Last season, Muller scored 3 times in 10 appearances – a brace against Besiktas and a goal in the 3-0 home win against Celtic. Even though he is not their main striker, his ability to chip in with the goals consistently makes him a valuable part of this Bayern set up. He has already scored 2 goals from 5 appearances this season so far.
This season, Bayern are in Group E, with Ajax, Benfica and AEK Athens F.C. The Bundesliga side kick off their campaign with an away trip to Estadio da Luz to face Benfica on Wednesday night and Muller will be hoping to add to his tally.
#4 Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Bayern Munich)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 45
Lewandowski has 45 goals in the Champions League, but the fact that he has scored them in just 72 appearances makes him one of the finest strikers in the tournament. 28 of those goals were netted for Bayern and the rest were scored during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
His debut in the Champions League came in the 2011/12 season, where he scored the solitary goal for Dortmund in their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Olympiacos in the group stages. However, the next season saw Lewandowski hit top form for Dortmund in the Champions league, firing them to the finals with 10 goals from 13 appearances. It has been his best return for a season and the Polish striker has not been able to hit double figures in the Champions League for Bayern since his arrival.
Last season, Lewandowski scored 5 goals in the Champions League and finished with an astonishing 41 goals from 48 appearances in total for his club. He has already scored 6 goals in 5 appearances this season so far and the German giants will be looking to their Polish striker to guide them to the Champions League trophy this season.
#3 Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 56
Benzema has scored 56 goals in 104 appearances, for his former club Lyon and his current club Real Madrid. Among all the players currently active, the Frenchman is the player closest to the runaway duo of Messi and Ronaldo in the goalscoring department of the Premier European Club Competition, yet he is a long way off from both of them.
Benzema first appeared in the Champions League in the 2005/06 season, when he played one match for Lyon, scoring 1 goal in the win against Rosenborg BK. He joined Real Madrid in the 2009/10 season, played 5 games that season in the Champions League and scored 1 goal. Last season, Benzema scored 5 goals from 9 appearances as Real became European Club Champions yet again.
Things are a bit different this season, as the Frenchman is finally out of Ronaldo’s shadow at club level, and has already scored 5 goals from 5 games for his club. He will also be raging from the snub at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which saw him miss out on a winner’s medal. In the Champions League Group Stages, Real are in Group G, along with CSKA Moscow, Roma and Plzen and face Roma on Wednesday night in their first game of the new season. Benzema will have a lot of scores to settle, a lot of people to prove wrong and he will be desperately waiting to hit the back of the net on Wednesday.
#2 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 100
Lionel Messi has scored 100 Champions League goals from 125 appearances, with a fascinating return of 0.8 goals per game! He has the record of taking the least amount of game to reach 100 Champions League goals and has been the UEFA Champions League top goalscorer in 5 seasons. The Argentinian is also the youngest player to reach 100 appearances in the Champions League and also has the joint most hattricks in the Champions League.
Messi made his Champions League debut in the 2004/05 season, when he played in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, however, the Argentinian was not able to find the back of the net. Next season, however, Messi scored his first Champions League goals against Panathinaikos and since then, Messi has scored every season in the Champions League. He has hit double figures 4 times and the 14 goals he scored in the 2011/12 season is his best return.
Last season, Messi scored 6 goals from 10 games in the Champions League, as Barcelona crashed out of the Quarter Finals. It has been 3 seasons since Barcelona last won the tournament and Messi has recently talked of his desire to win the Champions League again. The Argentinian has started the season strong, after being handed the armband at Barcelona and has scored 4 goals in 5 games already.
Barcelona are in Group B this season, along with Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham. They welcome PSV at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night and will be looking up to their Skipper to start the tournament with a bang!
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Juventus)
Career Goals in UEFA Champions League – 121
Cristiano Ronaldo has the most goals in the UEFA Champions League till date and is behind only Iker Casillas in the most overall appearances. Ronaldo has scored 121 goals from 157 appearances and has been the Champions League top goalscorer in 7 seasons! He also has the most Champions League Hattricks, shared with Messi
Ronaldo first appeared in the Champions League qualifying stage for Sporting CP in the 2002/03 season. He played one game, but could not score. His debut in the actual tournament occurred next season, where he played 5 games in the colours of Manchester United, but could not score either. His first Champions League goal came in the 2005/06 season, when he scored in the third Champions League Qualifying round for Manchester United in the home game against Debrecen, however, he was unable to score in the main event that season as well. The Portuguese finally found the net in the 2006/07 Champions League season, scoring 3 goals from 11 appearances and since then, has scored in every season in the tournament. In the 2013/14 season, he scored a record 17 goals, which is his highest return as well as the most goals scored by a player in the Champions League in one season.
Last season, Ronaldo scored 15 goals in the Champions League and after securing a transfer to Juventus in the summer, will be hoping to replicate his fine form in the tournament for his new club. Juventus have been placed in Group H this season, along with his old club Manchester United, Valencia and Young Boys. They start their Champions League season with an away tie at Mestalla against Valencia on Wednesday. Ronaldo has already scored 2 goals from 4 games at his new club and will be looking forward to the start of his favourite tournament.
