As one of the world’s most prominent football competitions, the UEFA Champions League can be a breeding ground for superstars of today and tomorrow.
The best players in the world look not only to vault their clubs to the coveted title, but also put themselves on a pathway to global renown.
While players all over the pitch are scrutinized and praised, goals get the headlines more often than not. Harry Kane, who finished joint-top of last season’s standings alongside Kylian Mbappe, got off to a flying start in the new format as he scored an incredible four goals in Bayern Munich’s resounding 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb, including a hat-trick of penalties. Kane was also on target in Barcelona, only for Raphinha to storm up the charts with a hat-trick for the hosts.
Kylian Mbappe was off the mark with Real Madrid in a win over Stuttgart, although Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior was the star turn with a hat-trick in the holders’ stunning 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund on matchday three.
Erling Haaland’s brace against Sparta Prague got the Manchester City superstar in the mix with three in three overall.
The Sporting News brings you the updated top goal scorers for the current season’s UEFA tournament as players across Europe hope to put themselves in rare company.
WATCH: UEFA Champions League with a FREE trial of Paramount+ in USA | A new era of UEFA Champions League in Australia, only on Stan Sport
Updated after all matches on Tuesday, October 22
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 5 (3) | 0 | 3 | 270 |
| 2. | Raphinha | Barcelona | 4 (0) | 1 | 3 | 256 |
| 3. | Benjamin Sesko | RB Leipzig | 3 (1) | 0 | 2 | 160 |
| = | Serhou Guirassy | Borussia Dortmund | 3 (2) | 1 | 3 | 191 |
| = | Karim Adeyemi | Borussia Dortmund | 3 (0) | 0 | 2 | 135 |
| = | Jamie Gittens | Borussia Dortmund | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 167 |
| = | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 270 |
| = | Abdallah Sima | Brest | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 225 |
| = | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 231 |
| = | Florian Wirtz | Leverkusen | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 251 |
| = | Robert Lewandowski | Barcelona | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 240 |
| = | Kerem Akturkoglu | Benfica | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 251 |
| = | Antoni Milambo | Feyenoord | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 247 |
| = | Jonathan David | Lille | 3 (2) | 0 | 3 | 179 |
MORE: Premier League top goal scorers | La Liga top goal scorers
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the majority of Golden Boot races with Ronaldo’s 17-goal haul in 2013/14 still the single-season Champions League record.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 8 |
| Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | 8 | |
| 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 |
Erling 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.
(Data correct as of June 2, 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 | 120 |
| 4. | Karim Benzema | Lyon, Real Madrid | 90 | 152 |
| 5. | Raul | Real Madrid, Schalke | 71 | 142 |
| 6. | Ruud van Nistelrooy | PSV, 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 |
| = | Kylian Mbappe | Monaco, PSG | 48 | 73 |
