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Champions League is a prestigious European competition trophy which every player dreams of having in their locker room. Forwards, like defenders, will have to play a big role in a teams success.
Cristiano Ronaldo has the maximum number of goals in a single season with 17 goals en route to the Champions League success in 2014. Liverpool scored the most goals in a single campaign by scoring 47 but ended up as runner-ups in 2018.
As the Champions League is set to kick off in few hours time, here are the five forwards who have scored the most in this competition.
#5 Andriy Shevchenko - 59 Goals
Andriy Shevchenko was an extraordinary forward and has the most number of goals and second most number of caps with his national side, only behind the great Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. He is the fifth top scorer in the Champions League with 59 goals.
He kicked off his footballing career at Dynamo Kyiv and went on to score 60 goals from 117 appearances which included 19 in the Champions League with the Ukrainians. He was wanted by a host of clubs, but AC Milan was his preferred destination.
He spent 7 years at San Siro and got his hands on the Ballon D'Or in 2004. He scored 37 Champions League goals for the famous side which wore Red and black and won Europe's prestigious competition in 2003. Andriy Shevchenko's career went downhill when he chose to sign for the English outfit Chelsea in 2006.
Upon his return to Kyiv in 2009, the forward struggled to replicate the same kind of form and retired three years later.
#4 Ruud van Nistelrooy - 60 Goals
Ruud van Nistelrooy is known for his remarkable goalscoring capabilities and the forward enjoyed life at Netherlands, England, Germany, and Spain by netting nearly 250 goals for his club and country between 1993 and 2011.
He rose through the academy ranks of Den Bosch, where he spent four years of his early career. His phenomenal goalscoring numbers with Heerenveen and PSV caught the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 2001. He won the Dutch player of the season twice in 1999 and 2000.
He had a fantastic record with the Red Devils in the European competition by bagging 38 goals from just 45 appearances. Subsequently, the Dutch striker spent another four seasons and found the back of the net on 13 occasions from 19 times with Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid before signing his career off with Hamburg and Malaga in 2012.
#3 Raul - 71 Goals
Born in the capital city of Spain, Raul Gonzalez was put up in Atletico Madrid academy. Two years later, the clubs decision to remove their youth academy forced the striker to find a new club. He joined their noisy neighbors Real Madrid in 1992.
He has represented the Los Blancos at all levels - Real Madrid C, Real Madrid B, and Real Madrid senior team. The Spanish striker holds the record number of appearances with the club by appearing on 741 occasions. The forward holds the record by winning the La Liga Player of the year five times.
The striker has scored 64 times for Real Madrid in Europe and signed off with his club in 2010. He spent two years with Schalke and Al Sadd and penned a one-year deal with New York Cosmos, before hanging up his boots.
#2 Lionel Messi - 100 Goals
A young boy from the central part of Argentina was attracting interest from various parts of Europe at such a young age. Luckily, Barcelona were able to sign him when he was just 13 years of age in 2001.
It took just 3 years for the Argentine to break into the first team and make his debut for the senior team in the Champions League against FC Porto. Former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard eased the youngster into the squad and the 31-year-old became an integral member of the roster from 2005/06 season.
Since then, many records have been shattered by the Barcelona forward which includes the breathtaking 91 goals in a calendar year in 2012. He is the second highest scorer in the competition, bagging 100 goals and helping his side win the trophy four times.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - 121 Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is the joint second highest Champions League title holder (4) with Paolo Maldini, Alessandra Costacurta, Alfredo Di Stefano and Hector Rial. The Portuguese forward is the highest scorer in Europe's elite competition with 121 goals.
Sporting CP offered him the senior football, but it was at Manchester United where he made his name. After having a fantastic season by scoring 42 goals, he was strongly linked with Real Madrid during the summer of 2008. However, the Red Devils were able to keep hold of their star man for another year at Old Trafford.
During the summer of 2009, Real Madrid came calling. He became the club's highest scorer with 450 goals, before waving goodbye to the Spanish side during the summer of 2018. Juventus showed interest and lured him to Italy following his fourth Champions League title with the Los Blancos.
