Top Goalscorers in Continental Competitions in Manchester City: The all-time top goalscorers in continental competitions for Manchester City are the players who delivered on the biggest European and global stages. The Champions League. The Europa League. The FIFA Club World Cup.
These are the hardest goals to score in football. The opponents are elite. The stakes are enormous. The margins are razor thin.
Manchester City were not always a European powerhouse. For decades, they struggled to make an impact in continental competition.
That changed under Pep Guardiola. The players on this list were central to that transformation. They scored in knockout rounds, semi-finals, and finals. They turned City into genuine European royalty.
All-Time Top Goalscorers in Continental Competitions in Manchester City History
These ten players scored more in those competitions than anyone else in Manchester City’s history.
1. Sergio Aguero
- Total Continental Goals: 43
- UEFA Champions League: 39 | UEFA Europa League: 4
- Career Span: 2011–2021
- Nationality: Argentina
Sergio Aguero scored 43 goals in continental competition across his decade at Manchester City. His 39 Champions League goals make him the club’s all-time leading scorer in the competition by a significant margin.
He scored in multiple knockout campaigns and was the focal point of City’s European attack throughout his time at the club. He never won the Champions League with City. He retired in December 2021, just 18 months before the club lifted the trophy in Istanbul.
Achievements:
- Five Premier League titles during his decade at the club
- Manchester City’s all-time record goalscorer with 260 goals across all competitions
- Named in the Premier League Hall of Fame after retirement
2. Erling Haaland
- Total Continental Goals: 37
- UEFA Champions League: 34 | FIFA Club World Cup: 3
- Career Span: 2022–present
- Nationality: Norway
Erling Haaland has scored 37 continental goals in just four seasons at Manchester City. His 34 Champions League goals have come at a rate that no City player has ever matched.
He scored 12 Champions League goals in his debut season alone, contributing directly to City’s historic treble in 2023. He is still active, still scoring, and still closing in on Aguero’s all-time continental record.
Achievements:
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023
- FIFA Club World Cup winner with Manchester City
- Premier League Golden Boot winner in 2022-23 and 2023-24
3. Phil Foden
- Total Continental Goals: 24
- UEFA Champions League: 20 | FIFA Club World Cup: 4
- Career Span: 2017–present
- Nationality: England
Phil Foden has scored 24 continental goals for Manchester City and continues to add to that total as an active squad member. His contributions span the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
He grew from a teenage academy product into one of the most dangerous attacking players in European football. His performances across multiple Champions League campaigns have been consistently excellent.
Achievements:
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023
- Premier League Player of the Season in 2023-24
- FIFA Club World Cup winner with Manchester City
3. Raheem Sterling
- Total Continental Goals: 24
- UEFA Champions League: 24
- Career Span: 2015–2022
- Nationality: England
Raheem Sterling scored 24 continental goals during seven seasons at Manchester City, all of them in the Champions League. He was a constant attacking threat in European competition throughout that period.
His pace and directness made him almost impossible to contain on the counter-attack in Champions League football. His performances in City’s 2021 Champions League run, when they reached the final for the first time, were among the best of his career.
Achievements:
- Four Premier League titles with Manchester City
- UEFA Champions League finalist with City in 2021
- FA Cup winner with Manchester City in 2019
5. Gabriel Jesus
- Total Continental Goals: 21
- UEFA Champions League: 20 | Others: 1
- Career Span: 2017–2022
- Nationality: Brazil
Gabriel Jesus scored 21 continental goals in five seasons at Manchester City. His 20 Champions League goals reflect his consistency as a reliable attacking option in European competition across multiple campaigns.
He was the ideal Guardiola forward in European competition. His pressing, movement, and willingness to create for teammates made him invaluable even in games where he did not score.
Achievements:
- Four Premier League titles with Manchester City
- FA Cup and League Cup winner during his time at the club
- Copa America winner with Brazil during his City career
6. Bernardo Silva
- Total Continental Goals: 17
- UEFA Champions League: 15 | FIFA Club World Cup: 2
- Career Span: 2017–present
- Nationality: Portugal
Bernardo Silva has scored 17 continental goals for Manchester City and is still actively competing in European competition. His contributions across the Champions League and Club World Cup reflect his importance to the squad in every major competition.
He was outstanding throughout City’s 2023 Champions League campaign. His goals and work rate in the knockout rounds were central to the club’s historic treble.
Achievements:
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023
- Five Premier League titles during his time at the club
- FIFA Club World Cup winner with Manchester City
7. Kevin De Bruyne
- Total Continental Goals: 16
- UEFA Champions League: 16
- Career Span: 2015–2025
- Nationality: Belgium
Kevin De Bruyne scored 16 Champions League goals during his decade at Manchester City. For a creative midfielder, that return reflects his ability to contribute directly in front of goal as well as creating for others.
His European performances were consistently world class across ten seasons. His vision and delivery in the knockout rounds made him one of the most feared midfielders in Champions League history during his peak years.
Achievements:
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023
- Six Premier League titles during his decade at the club
- Premier League single-season assist record holder with 20 in 2019-20
7. Riyad Mahrez
- Total Continental Goals: 16
- UEFA Champions League: 16
- Career Span: 2018–2023
- Nationality: Algeria
Riyad Mahrez scored 16 Champions League goals in five seasons at Manchester City, level with De Bruyne. He was particularly dangerous in the knockout rounds, where his technical quality and composure under pressure allowed him to deliver in the biggest moments.
His performances across City’s consecutive Champions League semi-final campaigns were some of the finest individual contributions by any wide player in the competition during that period.
Achievements:
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023
- Three Premier League titles during his time at City
- Africa Cup of Nations winner with Algeria in 2019
9. Francis Lee
- Total Continental Goals: 11
- Other Competitions: 11
- Career Span: 1968–1975
- Nationality: England
Francis Lee scored 11 continental goals for Manchester City, all of them coming in other European competitions rather than the Champions League or Europa League. His contributions came primarily in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup during the early 1970s.
He was the most dangerous English striker of his era in both domestic and European football. His continental goals came during a period when City were competing seriously in European competition for the first time in their history.
Achievements:
- UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup winner with Manchester City in 1970
- First Division title winner with City in 1968
- England international, earning 27 caps during his playing career
10. David Silva
- Total Continental Goals: 11
- UEFA Champions League: 9 | UEFA Europa League: 2
- Career Span: 2010–2020
- Nationality: Spain
David Silva scored 11 continental goals across a decade at Manchester City. His contributions came in both the Champions League and the Europa League during a period when City were establishing themselves as genuine European contenders.
He never won the Champions League with City. But his influence in European competition was significant throughout his ten-year stay. He brought composure, intelligence, and creativity to every continental campaign he was involved in.
Achievements:
- Four Premier League titles during his decade at Manchester City
- Named in the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021
- FIFA World Cup winner with Spain in 2010
Aguero leads with 43 continental goals. Haaland sits second with 37. The gap is just six goals.
Haaland is still active in 2026. He is 25 years old. If Manchester City continue competing in the Champions League at the highest level, he will almost certainly overtake Aguero’s continental record within the next one or two seasons.
That would make him both the club’s all-time league record holder and continental record holder simultaneously.
FAQs
Q: Who has scored the most goals in continental competition for Manchester City?
Sergio Aguero. He scored 43 continental goals between 2011 and 2021, including 39 in the Champions League alone.
Q: Is Erling Haaland close to Aguero’s continental record?
Yes. He has 37 continental goals in just four seasons. He needs only seven more to break Aguero’s all-time record of 43. At his current scoring rate, that could happen in the 2025-26 or 2026-27 Champions League campaign.
Q: Did Sergio Aguero ever win the Champions League with City?
No. Aguero retired in December 2021 due to a heart condition. Manchester City won their first Champions League title in June 2023, almost two full years after his departure.
Q: Which players are still active and adding to their continental totals?
Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Haaland are all still active Manchester City players in 2026 and continue to compete in UEFA competitions regularly.
Q: Why does Francis Lee’s record show zero Champions League or Europa League goals?
Lee played for City in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At that time, City competed in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup rather than the modern Champions League format. His 11 goals came in those earlier European competitions.
Conclusion
The all-time top continental goalscorers in Manchester City history delivered when it mattered most. On European nights. Against the finest defences in the world.
Aguero scored 43 times and never won the trophy. Haaland is closing in on that record and already has a Champions League winners medal. The contrast between those two stories says everything about football’s cruel beauty.
Every goal on this list contributed to City’s journey from European also-rans to genuine continental giants.
Data Note: Data sourced from verified football statistics platforms and club records.
