Champions League All-time Top Scorers: Ronaldo, Messi & Other Scorers

Who is the leading footballers in the Champions League all-time top scorer? let’s find out.

The biggest football tournament after the FIFA Football World Cup is the international European competition, UEFA Champions League. It is a straight knockout competition open only to the top European clubs. The European Cup currently known as Champions League has witnessed some of the top goalscorers in history.

The UEFA Champions League tournament was expanded during the 1990s to incorporate a round-robin group phase and more teams. The expansion resulted in more games being played, increasing players’ goalscoring chances. The list of UEFA Champions League top scorers bend more in favour of modern players than old players.

List of Champions League All-time Top Scorers

PosPlayerGoalsAppearancesGoals per game
1Cristiano Ronaldo1341750.77
2Lionel Messi1191480.8
3Robert Lewandowski 72950.76
3Raul711420.5
5Karim Benzema671240.54
6Ruud van Nistelrooy56730.77
7Thierry Henry501120.45
8Alfredo di Stefano49580.84
9Andriy Shevchenko481000.63
9Zlatan Ibrahimovic481200.4
11Thomas Muller471200.39
12Eusebio46650.71
12Filippo Inzaghi46810.57
14Didier Drogba44920.48
15Alessandro Del Piero42890.47
16Neymar41650.63
17Sergio Aguero  41730.55
18Ferenc Puskas35410.85
18Edinson Cavani35650.54
20Gerd Muller34350.95

No surprises as the two top FIFA Ballon d’Or contenders Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the UEFA Champions League top scorers in the world right now.

However, the world does compare these two Legends and henceforth Ronaldo has overtaken Messi as the all-time top scorer in champions league history having scored on 134 occasions while Messi’s has 119 goals to his name. 

The left-footed Argentinian magician Lionel Messi has played lesser games compared to the UCL top scorer Ronaldo. Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is at the third spot with 72 goals in 95 games.