UEFA Champions League’s all-time top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, will take part in the most prestigious cup competition in Asia, the AFC Champions League, this season. His team, Al Nassr, have overcome the grueling qualifiers to take their place alongside fellow Sauri Pro League teams Al Hilal and Al Ittihad in the group stage of the 2023 AFC Champions League.
The Portugal icon scored a staggering 140 goals in arguably the most difficult cup competition in the world, and now, he will be expected to make his mark in its Asian counterpart. The 38-year-old is undoubtedly one of the greatest goalscorers the game has ever seen, but breaking into AFC Champions League’s all-time scorers list will not be an easy task. Today, we will take a look at the 10 leading scorers in the competition’s history and figure out how many goals Ronaldo needs to enter the list.
Special note: We have only considered data from the 2002-03 season, after the Asian Club Championship, Asian Cup Winners’ Cup, and Asian Super Cup combined to become the AFC Champions League. All of the data has been derived from Transfermarkt.
#10 Muriqui – 20 goals
Having scored 20 goals in 40 matches, Brazilian left-winger Muriqui is the first name on this list. The wide man has not only been excellent in front of goal at the AFC Champions League, but he also has a penchant for providing assists, with him claiming 12 of them over the years.
Muriqui has represented two clubs, Guangzhou Evergrande and Al Sadd, in the tournament, going all the way with the former. His best-ever AFC Champions League campaign came in the 2012-13 season, during which he scored 13 times in 14 games to fire his team to glory.
#9 Baghdad Bounedjah – 21 goals
In ninth place, we have Baghdad Bounedjah, who has scored 21 times and provided nine assists in 38 matches in the AFC Champions League. All of his matches in the competition have come for Qatari outfit Al Sadd.
Bounedjah is still searching for his first AFC Champions League but has already bagged a top-scorer award. In his debut campaign (2017-18) for Al Sadd, Bounedjah scored a staggering 13 times in 12 games. No player in history has scored more than him in a single campaign.
#8 Omar Al-Somah – 23 goals
Syria international Omar Al-Somah has been Al Ahli’s most proficient player in the AFC Champions League, netting 23 times and claiming three assists in 33 matches.
Al-Somah, who recently joined Qatari club Al Arabi, was at his best in the 2018-19 season. He scored seven times in eight matches for Al Ahli, coming to the fore as his team’s top scorer.
#7 Abderrazak Hamdallah – 24 goals
Al Ittihad forward Abderrazak Hamdallah has scored 24 times and provided nine assists in 37 appearances in the AFC Champions League. The 32-year-old, who has represented four teams in the competition, will look to add to his tally when the competition resumes in September.
Although he has not won the cup yet, Hamdallah has delivered many memorable performances. He set the competition on fire in the 2019-20 season, scoring seven times in as many games for Al Nassr to emerge as the top scorer.
#6 Ricardo Goulart – 25 goals
Guangzhou Evergrande legend Ricardo Goulart is the sixth name on the rankings, with him scoring 25 times in 42 AFC Champions League matches. Goulart, 32, played all 42 games for Guangzhou.
A gifted attacking midfielder, Goulart won the AFC Champions League in the 2014-15 season. He emerged as the tournament’s top goalscorer that season, netting eight times.
#5 Shinzo Koroki – 27 goals
Former Japan international Shinzo Koroki has netted 27 times in 69 appearances in the AFC Champions League to become its all-time fifth-highest scorer. Koroki has represented two teams in the competition so far, Kashima Antlers and his current employers Urawa Red Diamonds.
Koroki, who won the AFC Champions League with the Red Diamonds last season, has scored 17 times and claimed three assists for Maciej Skorza’s side in 43 games. He was the Red Diamonds’ best player (4 goals, 3 assists) as they bagged the silverware in the 2016-17 season.
#4 Elkeson – 30 goals
Brazil-born center-forward Elkeson has scored 30 goals in 69 AFC Champions League matches so far in his career. The China international’s goals in the competition came for Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG.
The 34-year-old played 35 of his 69 games for Guangzhou, scoring 16 times and providing four assists. The rest came for Shanghai, during which he netted 14 times and provided nine assists.
#3 Nasser Al-Shamrani – 32 goals
Saudi Arabian legend Nasser Al-Shamrani scored an impressive 32 goals in 52 appearances for four Saudi Arabian teams in the AFC Champions League.
Al-Shamrani represented Al Shahab, Al Hilal, Al Ayin, and Al Ittihad in the competition. He played the most number of games (27) and scored the most goals (15) for Al Shahab, but enjoyed his best-ever campaign at Al Hilal. He scored 10 times in 13 appearances in the 2013-24 AFC Champions League to emerge as the top scorer.
#2 Dong-gook Lee – 37 goals
Former South Korea ace Dong-gook Lee scored 37 goals in 74 matches in the AFC Champions League, emerging as one of its most consistent performers. The former Werder Bremen and Middlesbrough ace only represented Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the continental competition.
Lee, who also claimed three assists, enjoyed his best-ever campaign in the 2015-16 season, in which he scored five times in 13 games to take his team to AFC Champions League glory.
#1 Dejan Damjanovic – 42 goals
Montenegro legend Dejan Damjanovic is the competition’s all-time top scorer with 42 goals in 77 appearances. Damjanovic, who has represented four clubs in the AFC Champions League over nine seasons, also provided five assists.
Damjanovic played the most games for FC Seoul in the cup competitions, scoring 25 times and claiming five assists for them in 46 appearances. The 42-year-old’s last AFC Champions League game came for Kitchee in the 2021-22 season. He scored twice in five games that season.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
