Lionel Messi’s transfer to Inter Miami has put a safety seal around Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals in UEFA Champions League history, a record that feels unlikely to fall any time soon.
Erling Haaland, however, is one of a few players asking your permission to be considered a contender for the crown.
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Messi still holds the record for the most goals with a single club, but he seemed destined to catch Ronaldo once the aging forward moved to the Saudi Pro League. Messi’s a couple of years younger, and 11 more goals were not a far cry.
Haaland, however, has already entered the competition’s all-time top 20 with 41 goals. And, yes, he’s still just 23. Kylian Mbappe’s about a year-and-a-half older and is closing in on the top 10 after passing Didier Drogba, Sergio Aguero, and Eusebio to join Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah — currently in the Europa League — on 48 career UCL goals.
The closest active threat to Ronaldo’s 141 goals is Robert Lewandowski, 47 behind the Portuguese. And high-flying Mbappe and Haaland are respectively 93 and 100 goals away.
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Here’s the list of the most goals scored in UEFA Champions League play, excluding qualifying.
European Cup / UEFA Champions League all-time goal scorers
names in bold are active in European football
(UEFA.com)
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Cristiano Ronaldo, 141
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Lionel Messi, 129
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Robert Lewandowski, 94
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Karim Benzema, 90
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Raul, 71
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Ruud van Nistelrooy, 60
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Andriy Shevchenko, 59
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Thomas Muller, 54
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Thierry Henry, 51
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Filippo Inzaghi, 50
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Alfredo Di Stefano, 49
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 49
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Mohamed Salah, 48
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Kylian Mbappe, 48
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Eusebio, 47
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Sergio Aguero, 47
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Didier Drogba, 44
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Neymar, 43
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Alessandro Del Piero, 43
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Erling Haaland, 41
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Fernando Morientes, 39
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Antoine Griezmann, 37
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Ferenc Puskas, 35
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Edinson Cavani, 35
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Gerd Muller, 34
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Wayne Rooney, 34
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Samuel Eto’o, 33
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Arjen Robben, 32
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Francisco Gento, 32
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David Trezeguet, 32
Source Agencies
