The UEFA Champs Champions League was started in 1992 it was not known, but one day this league will make people crazy with the best strikers in the football world history. Some of the top strikers like Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robert Lewandowski are the top mediums why football is getting so much popularity worldwide. Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the first two players who have scored 100 goals in the Champions League. Robert Lewandowski is the third one to complete his century and register his name as one of the best players of the Champions League.
The competition was first launched in 1955/56, the first game was contested by Real Madrid which they have won the Inaugural session, Real Madrid made their 13th victory in the Champions League in 2023-24. The first launched match, which was held in 1995-96 was a knockout tie. Alfredo Di Stéfano, who is known as the top scorer of the European Cup, scored 49 goals in 58 appearances in the game, a score that today’s modern games can never match.
Christiano Ronaldo didn’t need any introduction, even a young toddler also knew about the goal machine. The Champions League and UEFA Club champ competition have come across the magic of Cristiano Ronaldo, he is the top scorer as well as the most prolific in the history of international football and is loved worldwide. However, Ronaldo was not a very good striker from the very beginning he even did not score well till his 27th Champions League, the game in Manchester United where he was switched from wing to a Central striking role, that was the first time the Portuguese team saw the real Ronaldo magic. On 18th April 2017, Ronaldo completed his 100 goals in the Champions League with his hat trick in his 137th match against Bayern. Christiano Ronaldo has won one competition with United and four competitions with Real Madrid.
Also read : UEFA Champions League 2024-25: Schedule, Teams, Matches, & History
Who is the Champion most of the time?
In the Paris Saint-Germain games which were held in 2021, Messi scored 120 goals in the UEFA Champions League for the Spanish club. This was the ultimate record that Messi has made that even Ronaldo with his 1054 Madrid could not give a challenge. On match day 2 in Maccabi Haifa in 2022/23, Messi was the first player to score 18 successive editions, Lionel Messi is the only player in the champion’s history who has scored 16 champions in Europe’s top competitions. In 2001 Lionel Messi joined the Barcelona football club when he was just 13 years old, and the rest is history. He is still on the team for the last 20 years and has made the team want various titles including three UEFA Super Cups, ten La Liga Titles, and 7 editions of the Copa del Rey. Messi is the top scorer in the 6 seasons of the Champions League and the second one to make 100 Champions League goals. Here is the list of top scorer of the Champion League history along with their scores:
- Lionel Messi from Barcelona scored 120 goals
- Christiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid scored 105 goals
- Karim Benzema from Real Madrid scored 78 goals
- Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munchen scored 69 goals
- Raul Gonzalez from Real Madrid scored 66 goals
- Thomas Muller from Bayern Munchen scored 55 goals
- Kylian Mbappe from Paris scored 43 goals
- Mohammed Salah from Liverpool scored 43 goals
- Alessandro Del Piero from Juventus scored 42 goals
- Sergio Aguero from Manchester City scored 36 goals
- Didier Drogba from Chelsea scores 36 goals
- Antoine Griezmann from Atletico de Madrid scored 36 goals
- Thierry Henry from Arsenal scored 35 goals
- Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United score 35 goals
Who are the Top European Cup scorers?
The UEFA first major club competition began in 1955. The five Opening editions were won by Real Madrid, the Argentinian Alfredo Di Stéfano made 49 goals. Eusébio was the second player from Portuguese, who initially came close to Alfredo Di Stéfano. Eusébio scored 47 goals in the football World Cup. Despite these high scores, he could not match the record of Gerd Muller, the 1970’s star of Bayern. He has made 34 goals in the European Cup in just 35 games. His goal rate was 0.97 per match, which no other player before or during the Champions League era can even think of. Here’s the list of some of the top scorers of the European Cup:
- Alfredo Di Stephen from Real Madrid scored 49 goals.
- Eusébio from Benfica scored 47 goals
- Ferenc Puskas from Real Madrid scored 36 goals
- Gerd Muller from Bayern Munchen scored 34 goals
- Francisco Gento from Real Madrid scored 30 goals
Champions League Top Scorers Season-Wise
Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are joint top scorers of the Champions League. Halland, who is from Dortmund made 10 goals in 2020-21. Here’s the list of top scorers of Champions League season-wise:
- 2023/24–Mbappé
- 2022/23–Haaland
- 2021/22–Benzema
- 2020/21–Haaland
- 2019/20–Lewandowski
- 2018/19–Messi
- 2017/18–Ronaldo
- 2016/17–Ronaldo
- 2015/16–Ronaldo
- 2014/15–Messi
- 2013/14–Ronaldo
- 2012/13–Ronaldo
- 2011/12–Messi
- 2010/11–Messi
- 2009/10–Messi
- 2008/09–Messi
- 2007/08–Ronaldo
- 2006/07–Kaká
- 2005/06–Shevchenko
- 2004/05–Adriano
- 2003/04–Morientes
- 2002/03–Van Nistelrooy
- 2001/02–Van Nistelrooy
- 2000/01–Jardel
- 1999/00–Rivaldo
- 1998/99–Shevchenko
- 1997/98–Del Piero
- 1996/97–McCoist
- 1995/96–Ajax
- 1994/95–Weah
- 1993/94–Bremen
- 1992/93–Romário
Also read : Top 10 Black Female Tennis Players of All Time: Women Tennis Champions
Conclusion
The UEFA Champions League worked as a turning point for many players. Various players along with Cristiano Ronaldo got their career kick from the European Champions League. From 1992 till now we have seen many ups and downs in the European championship club cup, as there was a pause of 5 months in the game because of the COVID-19 epidemic, but after that, the game is continuously entertaining football fans from all over the world.
