All-Time Top 10 Scorers in UEFA Champions League History: The all-time top scorers in UEFA Champions League history are the players who turned Europe’s biggest stage into their personal hunting ground. These are the names that opposition goalkeepers feared most. The ones who delivered in the knockout rounds, the semi-finals, the finals.
Goals in the Champions League carry a different weight. They come against the best defenders in the world. Under the brightest lights. With everything on the line.
The UEFA Champions League began its modern format in the 1992-93 season. Since then it has been the ultimate test of any footballer’s quality.
Scoring in this competition consistently is rare. Scoring 50, 70, or over 100 times across your career? That is almost impossible. Yet the players on this list did exactly that.
They are the greatest Champions League scorers of all time. Their records may never be matched.
All-Time Top 10 Scorers in UEFA Champions League History
Here is the definitive list, fully updated for 2026.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
- Total Goals: 140
- Appearances: 183
- Ratio: 0.77 per game
- Years: 2003–2022
- Clubs: Manchester United (21 in 59), Real Madrid (105 in 101), Juventus (14 in 23)
Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest scorer in Champions League history. He scored 140 goals across 183 appearances for three clubs over nearly two decades.
His Real Madrid record is the most staggering part. 105 goals in just 101 games. That is a goals-per-game ratio above 1.0 in Europe’s toughest competition. No striker in history has come close to matching that output at a single club in this tournament.
He was clinical in every round. Semi-finals, finals, group stages. It did not matter. The net moved.
Achievements:
- 140 Champions League goals, the all-time record
- Five Champions League titles across his career
- Champions League winner with Manchester United in 2008
- Four Champions League titles with Real Madrid
- Five Ballon d’Or awards
- All-time leading scorer for Portugal
- Named in the FIFA 100 list of greatest living footballers
2. Lionel Messi
- Total Goals: 129
- Appearances: 163
- Ratio: 0.79 per game
- Years: 2005–2023
- Clubs: Barcelona (120 in 149), Paris Saint-Germain (9 in 14)
Lionel Messi scored 129 Champions League goals in 163 appearances. His ratio of 0.79 per game is the second best among the top five on this list.
120 of those goals came for Barcelona. He turned every European night at the Camp Nou into a moment of magic. His ability to dribble past defenders and score in the tightest of spaces made him almost impossible to contain.
He was not a traditional striker. Yet he scored like one. Consistently. For 18 years at the top level.
Achievements:
- 129 Champions League goals in 163 appearances
- Second highest scorer in Champions League history
- Four Champions League titles with Barcelona
- Eight Ballon d’Or awards, the most in history
- FIFA World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022
- All-time leading scorer for both Barcelona and Argentina
3. Robert Lewandowski
- Total Goals: 109
- Appearances: 144
- Ratio: 0.76 per game
- Years: 2011–present
- Clubs: Borussia Dortmund (17 in 28), Bayern Munich (69 in 78), Barcelona (23 in 38)
Robert Lewandowski is still active and already has 109 Champions League goals to his name. He is the only player outside of Ronaldo and Messi to have broken the 100-goal barrier in the competition.
His Bayern Munich record of 69 goals in 78 games is extraordinary. He was the most clinical centre forward in Europe for nearly a decade. He has continued to deliver at Barcelona, adding 23 more to his tally.
At 37 years old in 2026, he is still playing in the Champions League. Still scoring.
Achievements:
- 109 Champions League goals, third on the all-time list
- Champions League winner with Bayern Munich in 2020
- Bundesliga top scorer for eight consecutive seasons
- FIFA Best Men’s Player award in 2020 and 2021
- All-time leading scorer for Poland
- Still active in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League
4. Karim Benzema
- Total Goals: 90
- Appearances: 152
- Ratio: 0.59 per game
- Years: 2005–2023
- Clubs: Lyon (12 in 19), Real Madrid (78 in 133)
Karim Benzema scored 90 Champions League goals across 152 appearances. 78 of those came for Real Madrid, making him one of the most prolific scorers in the club’s European history.
He carried Real Madrid’s attack for years after Ronaldo left in 2018. And he delivered every time. His hat-trick against Chelsea in 2022 and his performances in that entire knockout run are among the greatest by any forward in the competition’s history.
Achievements:
- 90 Champions League goals in 152 appearances
- Fifth Champions League title with Real Madrid in 2022
- Ballon d’Or winner in 2022
- Real Madrid’s second all-time leading scorer behind Ronaldo
- All-time leading scorer for France
- La Liga title winner multiple times with Real Madrid
5. Raul
- Total Goals: 71
- Appearances: 142
- Ratio: 0.50 per game
- Years: 1995–2011
- Clubs: Real Madrid (66 in 130), Schalke 04 (5 in 12)
Raul scored 71 Champions League goals across 142 appearances and was the competition’s all-time leading scorer for many years before Messi and Ronaldo overtook him.
He was Real Madrid’s heartbeat throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. Composed, intelligent, and a natural born finisher. He did not rely on pace or power. He relied on reading the game better than everyone else in the box.
Achievements:
- 71 Champions League goals, fifth on the all-time list
- Three Champions League titles with Real Madrid
- Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer before Ronaldo arrived
- Six La Liga titles with Real Madrid
- Named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2001
- Held the Champions League all-time scoring record from 2000 to 2014
6. Kylian Mbappe
- Total Goals: 70
- Appearances: 98
- Ratio: 0.71 per game
- Years: 2016–present
- Clubs: Monaco (6 in 9), Paris Saint-Germain (42 in 64), Real Madrid (22 in 25)
Kylian Mbappe is sixth on the all-time list with 70 goals in 98 appearances. He is 27 years old in 2026. He is still playing. And he is still closing in on the players above him.
His ratio of 0.71 per game is one of the best among the active players on this list. He has scored at every club he has played for in Europe. Monaco. PSG. And now Real Madrid, where his Champions League journey continues.
Achievements:
- 70 Champions League goals in just 98 appearances
- Still active in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid
- Champions League winner with Real Madrid
- FIFA World Cup winner with France in 2018
- All-time leading scorer for the French national team
- Winner of multiple Ligue 1 titles with PSG
7. Erling Haaland
- Total Goals: 57
- Appearances: 58
- Ratio: 0.98 per game
- Years: 2019–present
- Clubs: Red Bull Salzburg (8 in 6), Borussia Dortmund (15 in 13), Manchester City (34 in 39)
Erling Haaland has the best goals-per-game ratio on this entire list. He has scored 57 goals in just 58 appearances. That is essentially one goal every single game in the Champions League.
He is 25 years old in 2026. He is still active. If he stays fit and continues at this rate, he has a realistic chance of threatening the records at the very top of this list over the next decade.
Achievements:
- 57 goals in 58 appearances, the best ratio on the all-time list
- Still active in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023
- Premier League Golden Boot in multiple seasons
- Broke the single-season Premier League scoring record with 36 goals in 2022-23
- All-time leading scorer for Norway
7. Thomas Muller
- Total Goals: 57
- Appearances: 163
- Ratio: 0.35 per game
- Years: 2009–2025
- Club: Bayern Munich
Thomas Muller scored all 57 of his Champions League goals for Bayern Munich. He retired from European competition in 2025 having spent his entire career at the club.
He was never a traditional striker. His goals came from clever movement, instinctive positioning, and an almost supernatural ability to be in the right place at the right time. Bayern teammates called him “Raumdeuter,” a German term meaning interpreter of space. It described him perfectly.
Achievements:
- 57 Champions League goals, all for Bayern Munich
- Two Champions League titles in 2013 and 2020
- Champions League Golden Boot in 2009-10 season
- 12 Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich
- FIFA World Cup winner with Germany in 2014
- Named in the Champions League squad of the season multiple times
9. Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Total Goals: 56
- Appearances: 73
- Ratio: 0.77 per game
- Years: 1998–2009
- Clubs: PSV Eindhoven (8 in 11), Manchester United (35 in 43), Real Madrid (13 in 19)
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored 56 Champions League goals in just 73 appearances. His ratio of 0.77 matches Ronaldo’s overall average. For a striker who retired in 2009, that is a phenomenal return.
He was the purest penalty box striker of his generation. No wasted movement. No flair. Just clinical finishing. His Manchester United record of 35 goals in 43 games is one of the best in the club’s Champions League history.
Achievements:
- 56 goals in 73 appearances, a ratio matching Ronaldo
- 35 Champions League goals in 43 games for Manchester United
- Premier League winner with Manchester United in 2003
- Champions League top scorer in 2002-03
- All-time leading scorer for the Netherlands national team at time of retirement
- PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2002
10. Harry Kane
- Total Goals: 54
- Appearances: 70
- Ratio: 0.77 per game
- Years: 2016–present
- Clubs: Tottenham Hotspur (21 in 32), Bayern Munich (33 in 38)
Harry Kane has scored 54 Champions League goals in 70 appearances. He is still active in 2026 and his ratio of 0.77 per game is exceptional.
He never won the Champions League at Tottenham despite reaching the final in 2019. He moved to Bayern Munich in 2023 and has continued scoring at the highest level. His 33 goals in 38 appearances for Bayern show he is still among the most clinical strikers in Europe.
Achievements:
- 54 Champions League goals in 70 appearances
- Still active in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich
- Champions League finalist with Tottenham in 2019
- Three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner
- All-time leading scorer for the England national team
- Bundesliga top scorer in his debut season with Bayern Munich
The Best Goals-Per-Game Records
Erling Haaland’s ratio of 0.98 is the most remarkable number on this entire list. He has scored in virtually every Champions League game he has ever played.
Messi’s ratio of 0.79 edges Ronaldo’s 0.77, which shows that despite scoring fewer goals overall, Messi was marginally more efficient per game. Van Nistelrooy, Kane, and Ronaldo all share that same 0.77 ratio, placing them among the most reliable finishers the competition has ever seen.
Active Players Still Chasing History
Three players on this list are still competing in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League. Lewandowski, Mbappe, Haaland, and Kane are all still scoring at the highest level.
Haaland is the most dangerous of the active challengers. At 25 with a ratio of nearly one goal per game, he has the most realistic chance of eventually threatening Ronaldo’s all-time record. It will take another decade of consistency. But the numbers say it is possible.
FAQs
Q: Who is the all-time top scorer in UEFA Champions League history?
Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored 140 goals in 183 appearances across Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus between 2003 and 2022.
Q: Who has the best goals-per-game ratio in Champions League history?
Erling Haaland. He has scored 57 goals in just 58 appearances, a ratio of 0.98 per game. No player on the all-time list comes close to that efficiency.
Q: How many Champions League goals did Cristiano Ronaldo score for Real Madrid?
105 goals in 101 appearances for Real Madrid, giving him a goals-per-game ratio above 1.0 for that specific club in the competition.
Q: Is Robert Lewandowski still playing in the Champions League?
Lewandowski is still active and competing in the Champions League with Barcelona, where he has scored 23 goals in 38 appearances.
Q: Who was the all-time Champions League top scorer before Ronaldo broke the record?
Raul of Real Madrid held the record for many years with 71 goals. He held that record from 2000 until Messi overtook him in 2014.
Conclusion
The all-time top scorers in UEFA Champions League history represent the finest strikers and forwards the sport has ever produced. From Ronaldo’s 140 goals to Haaland’s breathtaking ratio, every player on this list achieved something most footballers only dream of.
They scored when it mattered most. On the biggest stage. Against the best defenders in the world.
Records in football are made to be broken. But these numbers will stand for a very long time.
Data Note: Data sourced from UEFA’s official Champions League website, The Football Faithful, and ESPN.
