The Champions League is into a new era when it comes to goalscoring greatness, in the first full season since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi moved away from Europe.
Erling Haaland’s incredible first season at Manchester City saw him break new ground in the Premier League Golden Boot race with 36 goals scored for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Haaland added the Champions League Golden Boot award to his domestic crown, with 12 goals in European action, as City wrapped up a historic treble at the end of the campaign.
The Norwegian goal machine is being challenged by Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe this season, but with Karim Benzema joining Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, Haaland and Barcelona hotshot Robert Lewandowski are the only current Champions League players to have previously won the award.
The Sporting News will update the top scorers’ table below, with assists and minutes played serving as the first and second tiebreakers as per major European tournaments run by UEFA.
MORE: Who will win the 2023/24 Champions League? Defending champs Man City to be tested again
The Sporting News will be updating the table below after every matchday of the 2023/24 Champions League season, through to the final on June 1, 2024.
Table updated on Wednesday, April 17. Stats begin at the start of the group stage, excluding the qualifying and playoff rounds.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 8 (3) | 0 | 10 | 900 |
| 2. | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 7 (2) | 3 | 10 | 890 |
| 3. | Erling Haaland | Man City | 6 (2) | 1 | 9 | 778 |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 6 (0) | 1 | 10 | 822 | |
| 5. | Phil Foden | Man City | 5 (0) | 3 | 8 | 684 |
| Galeno | Porto | 5 (0) | 3 | 7 | 651 | |
| Alvaro Morata | Atletico Madrid | 5 (0) | 1 | 10 | 667 | |
| Rodrygo | Real Madrid | 5 (0) | 2 | 10 | 765 | |
| Rasmus Hojlund | Man United | 5 (0) | 0 | 5 | 431 | |
| Julian Alvarez | Man City | 5 (0) | 2 | 7 | 278 | |
| 11. | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 4 (0) | 4 | 8 | 744 |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 4 (0) | 4 | 9 | 725 | |
| Gabriel Jesus | Arsenal | 4 (0) | 3 | 8 | 405 | |
| Leandro Trossard | Arsenal | 4 (0) | 1 | 9 | 533 | |
| Evanilson | Porto | 4 (1) | 1 | 7 | 491 | |
| Ciro Immobile | Lazio | 4 (1) | 0 | 8 | 507 | |
| Danylo Sikan | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 (0) | 0 | 6 | 479 | |
| Lois Openda | RB Leipzig | 4 (0) | 0 | 8 | 588 |
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the majority of Golden Boot races with Ronaldo’s 16-goal haul in 2015/16 still the single-season Champions League record.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 12 |
| 2021-22 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2020-21 | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | 10 |
| 2019-20 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2017-18 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2016-17 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2015-16 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2014-15 | Neymar | Barcelona | 10 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 10 | |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 2013-14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2012-13 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2011-12 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 14 |
| 2010-11 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2009-10 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 8 |
| 2008-09 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 9 |
| 2007-08 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2006-07 | Kaka | AC Milan | 10 |
| 2005-06 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2004-05 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2003-04 | Fernando Morientes | AS Monaco | 9 |
| 2002-03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 12 |
| 2001-02 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 10 |
| 2000-01 | Raul | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 1999-00 | Raul | Real Madrid | 10 |
| Mario Jardel | Porto | 10 | |
| Rivaldo | Barcelona | 10 | |
| 1998-99 | Andriy Shevchenko | Dynamo Kyiv | 8 |
| Dwight Yorke | Manchester United | 8 | |
| 1997-98 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus | 10 |
| 1996-97 | Milinko Pantić | Atletico Madrid | 5 |
| 1995-96 | Jari Litmanen | Ajax | 9 |
| 1994-95 | George Weah | PSG | 7 |
| 1993-94 | Ronald Koeman | Barcelona | 8 |
| Wynton Rufer | Werder Bremen | 8 | |
| 1992-93 | Romario | PSV Eindhoven | 7 |
Haaland still has a long way to go to break into the top 10 all-time Champions League goalscorer list based on some incredible performances since 1992.
Cristiano Ronaldo is still the frontrunner, ahead of Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, with Haaland on 35 at the start of the 2023/24 season.
(Data correct as of April 10, 2024 and excludes qualifying rounds)
| Player | Team(s) | UCL goals | UCL games | |
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus | 140 | 183 |
| 2. | Lionel Messi | Barcelona, PSG | 129 | 163 |
| 3. | Robert Lewandowski | Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona | 94 | 118 |
| 4. | Karim Benzema | Lyon, Real Madrid | 90 | 152 |
| 5. | Raul | Real Madrid, Schalke | 71 | 142 |
| 6. | Ruud van Nistelrooy | PSV Eindhoven, Man United, Real Madrid | 56 | 73 |
| 7. | Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich | 54 | 149 |
| 8. | Thierry Henry | AS Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona | 50 | 112 |
| 9. | Andriy Shevchenko | Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea | 48 | 100 |
| = | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG, Man United | 48 | 124 |
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| India | Sony TEN | JioTV, Sony LIV |
| UK | BT Sport | BT Sport site/app |
| USA | CBS, CBSSN, Univision, TUDN, UniMas |
Fubo, Paramount+, ViX or ViX+ |
