To feature in the UEFA Champions League can be considered as one of the highest honours in a professional footballer’s career. The world’s biggest stars have regularly shone in Europe’s elite competition and to finish as a seasonal UEFA Champions League top scorer can only increase their profile.
Since the competition was re-branded in 1992, some of the greatest ever players have taken goalscoring heights to new levels, some that were barely believable. In recent years, the UEFA Champions League has seen global superstars constantly top the goalscoring charts, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo And Messi’s Champions League Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi made their UEFA Champions League debuts (excluding qualifiers) in 2003/04 and 2004/05 respectively. Ronaldo has an eye-watering 140 goals to his name in the competition and Messi has an impressive 129 strikes.
Ronaldo’s first goals in the main competition didn’t come until the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League campaign, when he scored a brace in Manchester United’s 7-1 quarter-final 2nd leg win against AS Roma at Old Trafford. Messi’s first came when he scored against Panathinaikos in a 5-0 group stage win in 2005/06.
It seems like such a long time ago that Ronaldo and Messi notched their first UEFA Champions League goals and their last, came in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns. Ronaldo netted in a 2-0 group stage win away to Villarreal whereas Messi secured his against Maccabi Haifa.
Champions League All-Time Top Scorers
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo (140) and Lionel Messi (129) are the all-time top UEFA Champions League scorers. They are the only two players to have hit 100+ goals in the competition with Robert Lewandowski third on the list (92), and Karim Benzema fourth (90).
Furthermore, Ronaldo has finished as a seasonal Champions League top scorer on seven different occasions; with no player achieving this feat more. His most prolific campaign was in 2013/14, where he scored 17 times to set a new competition record of most goals in a single season.
Messi is not far behind his great rival, finishing as the seasonal Champions League top scorer on six different occasions. His best year came in 2011/12, netting just the 14 goals as Barcelona went all the way to the semi-final, where they were beaten by eventual winners Chelsea.
Champions League Top Scorers By Season
| Season | Player(s) | Nationality | Club(s) | Goals |
| 1992-93 | Romario | Brazil | PSV Eindhoven | 7 |
| 1993-94 | Ronald Koeman | Netherlands | Barcelona | 8 |
| Wynton Rufer | New Zealand | Werder Bremen | 8 | |
| 1994-95 | George Weah | Liberia | Paris Saint-Germain | 7 |
| 1995-96 | Jari Litmanen | Finland | Ajax | 9 |
| 1996-97 | Milinko Pantic | Serbia & Montenegro | Atletico Madrid | 5 |
| 1997-98 | Alessandro Del Piero | Italy | Juventus | 10 |
| 1998-99 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | Dynamo Kyiv | 8 |
| Dwight Yorke | Trinidad & Tobago | Manchester United | 8 | |
| 1999-00 | Raul Gonzalez | Spain | Real Madrid | 10 |
| Mario Jardel | Brazil | Porto | 10 | |
| Rivaldo | Brazil | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 2000-01 | Raul Gonzalez | Spain | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 2001-02 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | Manchester United | 10 |
| 2002-03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | Manchester United | 12 |
| 2003-04 | Fernando Morientes | Spain | Monaco | 9 |
| 2004-05 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2005-06 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2006-07 | Kaka | Brazil | AC Milan | 10 |
| 2007-08 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2008-09 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 9 |
| 2009-10 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 8 |
| 2010-11 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2011-12 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 14 |
| 2012-13 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2013-14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2014-15 | Neymar | Brazil | Barcelona | 10 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 2015-16 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2016-17 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2017-18 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2019-20 | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 2020-21 | Erling Haaland | Norway | Borussia Dortmund | 10 |
| 2021-22 | Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid | 15 |
Note: Don’t forget, the best UK betting sites have all the latest 2023/24 UEFA Champions League markets and odds ahead of match day 6.
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