The UEFA Champions League has been the pinnacle of European football for years. This season will be no different. So far, there have been plenty of surprises, while perennial contenders have flexed their muscles.
One of the biggest talking points thus far has been the plight of Manchester United. The three-time champions entered the tournament with renewed optimism following an impressive end to the previous campaign under Erik Ten Hag.
However, their continental exploits have been breathtaking for all the wrong reasons.
Defeats at home to Galatasaray and away at FC Copenhagen have seen them all but eliminated at the group stage, with those two sides set to battle it out on the final matchday for a spot in the last 16.
But it is the fourth team in Group A that looks to be a genuine contender. Bayern Munich won their first four matches and qualified for the second round at a canter.
Now, soccer betting odds providers make them the +400 second favorites for glory, just behind the +200 outright favorite and reigning champion Manchester City. Real Madrid and the talented young Arsenal side are also among the front-runners.
For players though, it’s not just about representing their clubs, it’s also about the prestige that comes with scoring goals in the competition.
While many have tried and failed, there are a handful of players who have consistently found the back of the net, becoming icons for both their clubs and the continent as a whole in the process. These are the players that have scored the most goals in the competition, and we’re going to take a closer look at each one of them.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 141 goals
The reigning king of Champions League football, Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated the competition over the last decade. He’s won the competition an incredible five times, more than any other player in history. The first of those triumphs came way back in 2008 when he scored in Manchester United’s penalty shootout victory against fellow English side Chelsea in Moscow. The next four came with Real Madrid, including the elusive La Decima in 2014 and a historic threepeat between 2016 and 2018.
CR7 also holds the record for most goals scored in Champions League finals.
He netted in the Luzhniki, as well as a penalty in Los Blancos’ 4-1 extra-time victory against cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid six years later. He then netted twice in a 4-1 demolition job of Juventus in Cardiff in 2017.
Lionel Messi – 129
Ronaldo’s long-time rival Messi comes in at a close second on this list.
The Argentinian magician has been a nemesis for many a defense in the competition over the years scoring bucketloads of goals along the way. All of his success on the continental stage came with his boyhood club Barcelona, leading the Blaugrana to four titles throughout his time in Catalonia.
He played a bit part role in the team’s first success as a teenager back in 2006 but three years later he was front and centre, nodding home en route to a 2-0 victory over the reigning champion Manchester United in Rome.
Further triumphs came against the same side two years later at Wembley as well as a 3-1 victory against Juventus in Berlin in 2015.
Just like Ronaldo before him, however, it looks as though his time in the competition is over following a move to MLS side Inter Miami earlier in the year.
Robert Lewandowski – 91 goals
Robert Lewandowski is the only striker still playing in the competition that makes this list, however, at the age of 35, it would take a herculean effort for him to overthrow the leading pair.
He is currently the main man for Barcelona following a megamoney move from Bayern Munich last summer, and his new side has reached the knockout round of the tournament for the first time in three years.
The Polish striker announced himself on the world stage in 2013 when he scored four goals in a single game for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid, knocking the Spanish giants out at the semifinal stage in the process.
Their trip to the final would end in heartbreak however as they lost out to German compatriots Bayern in the Wembley showpiece courtesy of Arjen Robben’s last-gasp winner.
Lewandowski would have to move to the Bavarians to lift the trophy, which is exactly what he did in 2020.
He top-scored in that year’s tournament with a mighty 15 goals and he will be aiming to have one last crack at the famed ‘Big-Eared’ trophy before heading off into the sunset.
Karim Benzema – 90 Goals
Like Ronaldo, Benzema has been a key part of Real Madrid’s Champions League success in recent years.
The Frenchman has won the competition five times with Los Blancos, and his ability to hold up the ball and link with his teammates has made him a fan favorite.
His performances in the 2021/22 installment of the tournament were the primary reason for Los Blancos’ success, netting aa number of clutch goals in the knockout round victories against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City en route to yet another winners medal and the Balon d’Or.
