Champions League goal records: Most scored in a season, fastest in a match, and all-time in UCL history originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The UEFA Champions League is considered the world's preeminent club tournament, and players can become legends with great performances in Europe's top competition.
Since scoring goals is considered the most glamorous skill in football, those who find the back of the net consistently can earn legendary status in the game.
Today, talents like Erling Haaland the Kylian Mbappe look like they have what it takes to match the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have left their indelible mark on Europe's elite tournament.
The Sporting News brings you the top names and numbers for the goalscoring legends of all-time in European play. The lists below combine goalscoring from both iterations of UEFA's top competition: the European Cup (beginning in 1955) and the Champions League (since 1992/93).
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Cristiano Ronaldo holds the two greatest seasons in European club football history.
His record from the 2013/14 season still stands after nearly a decade, scoring 17 goals across 11 matches and 993 minutes as Real Madrid won the title during that campaign. Ronaldo scored in every single match he appeared in except one, going 73 goal-less minutes in the first leg of their semifinal match against Bayern. He started the Champions League with a hat-trick against Galatasaray to open group stage play, and added braces against FC Copenhagen, Juventus, Schalke (twice), and Bayern Munich.
He would nearly repeat that incredible feat just two seasons later, bagging 16 goals as Madrid yet again won the title in 2015/16. He scored hat-tricks against Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg, plus a four-goal stunner against Malmo in the group stage. That year, Ronaldo would manage 'just' five goals in the knockout stage, doing most of the work early on in a soft group stage. He was held off the scoresheet in the semifinals and final, but Madrid hoisted the trophy anyway.
Lionel Messi's best season ranks him sixth, bagging 14 goals in the 2011/12 season as Barcelona reached the semifinals before falling to Chelsea. Others on the list from football's earlier days include goal hawk Jose Altafini, German great Gerd 'Der Bomber' Muller, and Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas, for whom FIFA's Goal of the Season award is named.
Kylian Mbappe has put himself in a strong position to challenge the all-time mark in 2025/26 after he raced to 11 goals on matchday seven of league phase play.
With consistent goalscoring numbers in European play season after season, it's no surprise that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are atop the Champions League career goalscoring charts.
A wide gap exists below those two all-time greats and the duo chasing them: Robert Lewandowski (3rd) and Karim Benzema (4th).
The top non-active player is Raul with 71 goals, with Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy 15 goals behind him. However, many of the active players at the top of the list are no longer playing in Europe and therefore ineligible to participate in the Champions League.
Champions League career goals as of January 21, 2026, only counts goals scored in group or knockout stages, excluding qualifying.
Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG
On September 18, 2025, Erling Haaland set a new record for the fewest games needed to reach the 50-goal mark in the competition.
His opener against Napoli for Manchester City was the striker's 50th Champions League goal in just 49 games.
The previous record was held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who got to 50 in 62 appearances.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both tied atop the Champions League hat-trick list, with twice as many as anyone else in the history of the competition save Robert Lewandowski, who's just two behind.