5 Spanish players with the most goals in Champions League history
The 2010s saw Spanish teams and players establish themselves a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League. Real Madrid and Barcelona combined to win six of ten finals between 2010 and 2020, while Atletico Madrid finished runners-up twice.
Although English and German teams have broken La Liga's reign in recent seasons, Spanish football continues to wield an enormous amount of influence. Last year's finalists featured Spaniards in key roles, with Pep Guardiola serving as Manchester City's head coach and Cesar Azpilicueta captaining Chelsea.
Spanish strikers have historically performed well in the Champions League
It wouldn't be unfair to say that Spanish football is currently suffering from a dearth of world-class goalscorers.
The national team's philosophy is based on retaining possession, moving the ball around to stretch opposition defences and maintaining patience. That, in turn, has limited opportunities for moments of individual brilliance that were the trademark of the likes of David Villa and Fernando Torres.
Nonetheless, the Champions League scoring charts do have a strong Spanish presence. On that note, here's a look at five of the most prolific goalscorers from the European powerhouse:
#5 Alvaro Morata (23 goals in 65 appearances)
Alvaro Morata's inconsistency and tendency to embark on lean patches and dry spells is frustrating. Although he probably doesn't score as much as he should, Morata is currently Spain's most high-profile striker.
The Spaniard has won the Champions League twice with Real Madrid. He has 65 appearances in the competition with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, along with Los Blancos.
Álvaro Morata has now scored 6 goals in 5 Champions League games this season 
⚪️⚫️ Álvaro Morata has now scored 6 goals in 5 Champions League games this season ⚽️
#UCL https://t.co/KAs2pFcEk4
Morata continues to attract interest from Europe's elite clubs, although his record of 55 goals and 36 assists in 170 games for Juventus is slightly underwhelming. His tally of six UCL goals in eight games in the 2020-21 season remains his best showing in the competition, and he could add to that this season.
#4 Francisco Gento (30 goals in 89 appearances)
RIP former Real Madrid and Spain legend Francisco 'Paco' Gento.
Gento spent 18 years with Los Blancos and is the only player to have won six European Cups. https://t.co/h2WMA1DCia
The late Francisco 'Paco' Gento was a Real Madrid legend who won the Champions League six times when it was known as the European Cup.
Operating on the left flank, the winger scored 159 goals in 523 appearances for the Spanish giants. He was part of some of the greatest Los Blancos squads of all time. Gento is the only player in the club's glittering history to have won six European Cups.
His most valuable trait was his consistency and work rate. Although he never scored more than five goals in a single European Cup campaign, the Spaniard failed to find the net in just two of the 15 editions he participated in.
He passed away in January 2022 at the age of 88.