The top goalscorers in UEFA Champions League history
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Footballing legends can be made through the UEFA Champions League, especially those with a penchant for finding the net regularly in the competition over the years. Many illustrious players have become household names through their goal-tally in UEFA Champions League, but the question is, who has scored the most goals in the competition since the start of the 1992-93 season?
The table below lists the 20 top goalscorers in the history of the UEFA Champions League in its current guise. These players have been ranked in order of their respective goal-tallies with the number of clubs they have represented in the tournament also included.
*Last updated on January 2023
As it stands, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo boasts the title of top goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history. Having played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus in the competition, 'CR7' has racked up 140 UEFA Champions League goals over the course of his career, 11 more than his long-time rival Lionel Messi, who has accumulated 129 goals as it stands, the vast majority of those whilst at Barcelona. However, with Ronaldo now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia and Messi still playing in Europe for PSG, the expectation is that Messi will overtake Ronaldo at some point, provided the Argentinian World Cup winner chooses to sign a new contract with the French giants.
Both Ronaldo and Messi are the only two footballers presently to have accrued over 100 UEFA Champions League goals with the next highest being Robert Lewandowski, who sits on 91 goals. It would be no surprise to see the Pole eventually join the UEFA Champions League '100 club' and the same could be said for Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, who has netted 86 goals since his UEFA Champions League debut for Lyon.
