We have the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League top scorers on this very page. It may be European club football’s secondary competition behind the Champions League but some players embraced the continental stage anyway.
Rebranding to the Europa League from the start of the 2009-10 season, the old UEFA Cup dates back to 1971. Over the next 40 years or so, it has produced a number of sides that seem to specialise in winning it. Get the lowdown on Europa League top scorers right here.
Explore Our Football Betting Sites
All Time Europa League Top Scorers
Despite playing second fiddle on the Champions League top scorers in terms of kudos and prestige, goals still propel players and teams to a European trophy in this competition. The Europa League top scorers of all-time include some modern greats and genuine legends of the beautiful game in their respective countries.
Some footballers have even straddled both eras of the competition, first turning out in the UEFA Cup only to play in the rebranded competition after 2009. Coming into the 2022-23 edition, the 10 Europa League top scorers ever all had over 25 goals. These include those netted in qualifying rounds or play-offs.
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Clubs | Years | Goals |
| 1 | Henrik Larsson | Sweden | Feyenoord, Celtic, Helsingborgs | 1994-2009 | 40 |
| 2 | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | Netherlands | Heerenveen, Ajax, Schalke 04 | 2004-2020 | 34 |
| 3 | Alfredo Morelos | Colombia | HJK Helsinki, Rangers | 2016-present | 32 |
| 4= | Aritz Aduriz | Spain | Valencia, Athletic Bilbao | 2011-2018 | 31 |
| 4= | Radamel Falcao | Colombia | Porto, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray | 2009-2022 | 31 |
| 6 | Dieter Muller | Germany | FC Koln, VfB Stuttgart, Bordeaux | 1973-1985 | 29 |
| 7= | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Gabon | Lille, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona | 2009-present | 27 |
| 7= | Shota Arvelazde | Georgia | Dinamo Tbilisi, Trabzonspor, Ajax, Rangers, AZ Alkmaar | 1993-2007 | 27 |
| 7= | Vagner Love | Brazil | CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Kairat | 2004-2021 | 27 |
| 10 | Mu’nas Dabbur | Israel | Maccabi Tel Aviv, Red Bull Salzburg, Grasshopper, Sevilla, Hoffenheim | 2011-2021 | 26 |
Europa League top scorers all time list covers both the UEFA Cup (1971-2009) and current era of the competition (2009-present day) with goals in qualifying and play-offs counting. Correct as of 1 August 2022.
Europa League Odds to Win
The 52nd season of the Europa League Final will be held on May 31 in Budapest, Hungary, at Puskas Arena Park. Arsenal is the clear favorite to advance to the Europa League’s quarterfinals. Track odds for each team competing in the League on our odds comparison table below:
| Club | William Hill | 888 Sport | BetWay | Bet365 | BetVictor | Boyle Sports | Betfred | Paddy Power | |
| Manchester United | 7/1 | 7/1 | 9/1 | 9.00 | N/A | N/A | 8/1 | 1/1 | |
| Arsenal | 4/1 | 4/1 | 4/1 | 5.00 | N/A | N/A | 4/1 | 4/1 | |
| Roma | 18/1 | 16/1 | 20/1 | 21.00 | N/A | N/A | 16/1 | 20/1 | |
| Real Sociedad | 14/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 | 15.00 | N/A | N/A | 14/1 | 14/1 | |
| Real Betis | 14/1 | 14/1 | 16/1 | 15.00 | N/A | N/A | 16/1 | 14/1 | |
| Lazio | 20/1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Union Berlin | 40/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | 51.00 | N/A | N/A | 40/1 | 40/1 | |
| Freiburg | 20/1 | 20/1 | 25/1 | 17.00 | N/A | N/A | 16/1 | 19/1 |
Europa League Top Scorers History by Season
The change of competition name from UEFA Cup to Europa League in 2009 was a watershed. Extra incentive to score goals soon came in when it was announced from the 2014-15 campaign that the winners would go into the following season’s Champions League group stage automatically.
This has certainly helped to improve the calibre of player featuring among Europa League top scorers each and every year since a spot in the elite competition was introduced. A few on the list will be familiar to fans of Premier League betting, so here they all are from 2009 onwards:
| Season | Player(s) | Nationality | Club(s) | Goals |
| 2009-10 | Oscar Cardozo | Paraguay | Benfica | 9 |
| Claudio Pizarro | Peru | Werder Bremen | 9 | |
| 2010-11 | Radamel Falcao | Colombia | FC Porto | 17 |
| 2011-12 | Radamel Falcao | Colombia | Atletico Madrid | 12 |
| 2012-13 | Libor Kozak | Czech Republic | Lazio | 8 |
| 2013-14 | Jonathan Soriano | Spain | Red Bull Salzburg | 8 |
| 2014-15 | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | Everton | 8 |
| Alan Carvalho | Brazil | Red Bull Salzburg | 8 | |
| 2015-16 | Aritz Aduriz | Spain | Athletic Bilbao | 10 |
| 2016-17 | Edin Dzeko | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Roma | 8 |
| Giuliano de Paula | Brazil | Zenit St Petersburg | 8 | |
| 2017-18 | Aritz Aduriz | Spain | Athletic Bilbao | 8 |
| Ciro Immobile | Italy | Lazio | 8 | |
| 2018-19 | Olivier Giroud | France | Chelsea | 11 |
| 2019-20 | Bruno Fernandes | Portugal | Sporting Lisbon & Manchester United | 8 |
| 2020-21 | Borja Mayoral | Spain | Roma | 7 |
| Gerard Moreno | Spain | Villarreal | 7 | |
| Pizzi | Portugal | Benfica | 7 | |
| Yusuf Yazici | Turkey | Lille | 7 | |
| 2021-22 | James Tavernier | England | Rangers | 7 |
UEFA Cup Top Scorers in the 1970s
Looking back on UEFA Cup / Europa League top scorers from the competition’s early years, those who topped the charts largely played for West German Bundesliga teams or clubs in the Dutch Eredivisie. The number goals needed to get the Golden Boot had a high bar set right from the very start, as this table shows:
| Season | Player(s) | Nationality | Club | Goals |
| 1971-72 | Ludwig Brundl | West Germany | Eintracht Braunschweig | 10 |
| 1972-73 | Jupp Heynckes | West Germany | Borussia Monchengladbach | 12 |
| Jan Jeuring | Netherlands | FC Twente | 12 | |
| 1973-74 | Lex Schoenmaker | Netherlands | Feyenoord | 11 |
| 1974-75 | Jupp Heynckes | West Germany | Borussia Monchengladbach | 10 |
| 1975-76 | Ruud Geels | Netherlands | Ajax | 14 |
| 1976-77 | Stan Bowles | England | Queens Park Rangers | 11 |
| 1977-78 | Gerrie Deijkers | Netherlands | PSV Eindhoven | 8 |
| Raimondo Ponte | Switzerland | Grasshopper Zurich | 8 | |
| 1978-79 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Borussia Monchengladbach | 9 |
UEFA Cup Top Scorers in the 1980s
The 1980s saw a more diverse crop of UEFA Cup / Europa League top scorers than the early years. Swedish side Gothenburg were a force to be reckoned with during this decade. Sharing the Golden Boot became a common occurrence at this time with the high standards set in the 1970s by the West Germans and Dutch declining, as the table below demonstrates:
| Season | Player(s) | Nationality | Club | Goals |
| 1979-80 | Dieter Hoeness | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 7 |
| Harald Nickel | West Germany | Borussia Monchengladbach | 7 | |
| 1980-81 | John Wark | Scotland | Ipswich Town | 14 |
| 1981-82 | Torbjorn Nilsson | Sweden | IFK Gothenburg | 9 |
| 1982-83 | Zoran Filipovic | Yugoslavia | Benfica | 8 |
| 1983-84 | Tibor Nyilasi | Hungary | Austria Vienna | 9 |
| 1984-85 | Edin Bahtic | Yugoslavia | Zeljo Sarajevo | 7 |
| Gary Bannister | England | Queens Park Rangers | 7 | |
| 1985-86 | Klaus Allofs | West Germany | FC Cologne | 9 |
| 1986-87 | Paulinho Cascavel | Brazil | Vitoria de Guimaraes | 5 |
| Peter Houtman | Netherlands | FC Groningen | 5 | |
| Jari Rantanen | Finland | IFK Gothenburg | 5 | |
| Wim Kieft | Netherlands | Torino | 5 | |
| 1987-88 | Kenneth Brylle Larsen | Denmark | Club Brugge | 6 |
| Dimitris Saravakos | Greece | Panathinaikos | 6 | |
| 1988-89 | Torsten Gutschow | East Germany | Dynamo Dresden | 7 |
UEFA Cup Top Scorers in the 1990s
While the list of UEFA Cup / Europa League top scorers in the 1990s still has a traditional look to it with German names aplenty, this decade belonged to the Serie A teams from neighbouring Italy across the Alps. Between 1989 and 1999, Italian football clubs won eight of the 11 finals. Some big names start appearing on the list of leading marksmen from the 90s too:
| Season | Player(s) | Nationality | Club | Goals |
| 1989-90 | Karl-Heinz Riedle | West Germany | Werder Bremen | 6 |
| Falko Gotz | East Germany | FC Cologne | 6 | |
| 1990-91 | Rudi Voller | Germany | Roma | 10 |
| 1991-92 | Dean Saunders | Wales | Liverpool | 9 |
| 1992-93 | Gerald Baticle | France | AJ Auxerre | 8 |
| 1993-94 | Edgar Schmitt | Germany | Karlsruher SC | 8 |
| Dennis Bergkamp | Netherlands | Inter Milan | 8 | |
| 1994-95 | Ulf Kirsten | Germany | Bayer Leverkusen | 10 |
| 1995-96 | Jurgen Klinsmann | Germany | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 1996-97 | Maurizio Ganz | Italy | Inter Milan | 8 |
| 1997-98 | Stephane Guivarc’h | France | AJ Auxerre | 7 |
| 1998-99 | Enrico Chiesa | Italy | Parma | 8 |
| Darko Kovacevic | Serbia & Montenegro | Real Sociedad | 8 | |
| Tomasz Kulawik | Poland | Wisla Krakow | 8 |
UEFA Cup Top Scorers in the 2000s
Up until the rebrand from the UEFA Cup and we have to refer to the players with most goals as Europa League top scorers, more South American names appear on the list. The 2000s reflects the increased internationalisation of European football. Remember some of these cult heroes from the start of the new millennium? Our table will remind you of them:
| Season | Player(s) | Nationality | Club | Goals |
| 1999-00 | Darko Kovacevic | Serbia & Montenegro | Juventus | 10 |
| 2000-01 | Dimitar Berbatov | Bulgaria | CSKA Sofia | 7 |
| Bolo | Spain | Rayo Vallecano | 7 | |
| 2001-02 | Pierre van Hooijdonk | Netherlands | Feyenoord | 8 |
| 2002-03 | Delrei | Brazil | FC Porto | 12 |
| 2003-04 | Sonny Anderson | Brazil | Villarreal | 6 |
| 2004-05 | Alan Shearer | England | Newcastle United | 11 |
| 2005-06 | Matias Delgado | Argentina | FC Basel | 9 |
| 2006-07 | Walter Pandiani | Uruguay | RCD Espanyol | 11 |
| 2007-08 | Pavel Pogrebnyak | Russia | Zenit St Petersburg | 10 |
| Luca Toni | Italy | Bayern Munich | 10 | |
| 2008-09 | Vagner Love | Brazil | CSKA Moscow | 11 |
