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5 players with the most goals in Champions League history as Robert Lewandowski joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski etched his name into the annals of the Champions League on Tuesday night by becoming the third player after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to score 100 goals. The Polish striker reached the landmark as he converted his penalty in the 10th minute of the match against Brest, which Barcelona went on to win 3-0.

Messi and Ronaldo are undoubtedly two of the greatest players in football history. Both have scored over a century of goals in Europe’s premier football club competition. While the pair are no longer plying their trade in Europe, they lead the all-time goalscoring charts in the competition. Ronaldo leads the all-time goal scorer rankings, while his eternal rival Messi is just behind him.

Robert Lewandowski, 36, who bagged a brace yesterday in his side’s victory against Brest, looks poised to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s record before eventually hanging up his boots. The Polish striker is currently the only active player in European football with 100 goals in the tournament.

Following Lewandowski’s new feat, let's take a look at the top 5 players with the most goals in the Champions League history.


#5 Raúl (Real Madrid, Schalke) - 71 goals in 142 games

Real Madrid icon Raul is fifth on the list of all-time goal-scorers in the Champions League history, scoring 71 goals in 142 appearances. The former Spanish forward achieved this feat during his time at Real Madrid and Schalke 04 and was the competition’s top scorer for several years owing to a hugely successful spell at Los Blancos.

Raul scored 66 goals in 130 appearances for Real Madrid and five in 12 appearances for Schalke 04. His legacy in the UCL is a memorable one, as he was the first player to score 50 goals and was also the first to make 100 appearances in the competition.

He was the first player to score in the two Champions League finals since the competition was renamed. Also, he is the youngest player to score a Champions League hat trick (18 days, 113 days). He did so in Real Madrid’s 6-1 victory against Ferencváros in a group-stage clash in 1995. He had a goal ratio of 0.50 in the competition.


#4 Karim Benzema - (Lyon, Real Madrid) - 90 goals in 152 games

Karim Benzema is another Real Madrid icon who finds himself in the coveted list of UCL all-time top scorers. Benzema, who currently plies his trade at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, scored 90 goals in 152 appearances in the Champions League. He scored 12 goals for Lyon in 19 appearances and netted 78 for Real Madrid in 133 appearances.

The Frenchman was largely overshadowed by Ronaldo during his early years at Real Madrid. Following Ronaldo’s departure, Benzema took his numbers to a whole new level. The 2021-22 season saw him score 15 goals in the competition, arguably the best knockout run by a player, as most of his goals came in the knockout stages.

Like Raul, Benzema also had his record of being the player who has scored in the most UCL seasons. The Frenchman scored in all 18 seasons of the competition since first appearing in 2005-06 at Lyon. He has a goal ratio of 0.59 in the competition.


#3 Robert Lewandowski - (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona) - 101 goals in 125 games

Before the match against Brest yesterday, Robert Lewandowski was in the third position in the all-time standings. However, his brace against the Ligue 1 side saw him join an elite company of players who have scored 100 goals or more in the Champions League's history.

The Polish legend only needed 10 minutes in the match to reach a century of goals, finding the back of the net from the spot. He doubled the lead in the second half to move his total tally to 101. Lewandowski achieved this feat with Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona.

The Pole is also the only player to have scored a Champions League hat trick at three different clubs. The 36-year-old took 125 matches to reach the century mark, two more than Messi (123) and 12 fewer than Ronaldo (137). He also has the best scoring ratio of all the players on this list (0.81).


#2 Lionel Messi - (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain) - 129 goals in 163 games

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is second on the all-time goal scorer list in the Champions League. The Argentine icon scored a whopping 129 goals in 163 games at Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain.

Messi holds the record for the most UCL goals for one club, with 120 of his 129 goals coming with Barcelona. He is also the joint-top player alongside Erling Haaland and Luiz Adriano with the most goals in a Champions League match (5). He has a goal-scoring ratio of 0.79 in the competition.


#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus) 140 goals in 183 games

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the top spot for the most goals in the competition’s history, scoring 140 goals in 183 games during his stint with Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.

Ronaldo, known as 'Mr. Champions League' by many, is the player with the most goals in a Champions League campaign. He scored 17 times in the 2013-14 season, which is the most by a player. Also, he has scored the most hat tricks (8) ever seen in the tournament.

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