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The UEFA Champions League has produced plenty of eye-catching moments in its glorious history. Since the competition’s inception, a plethora of strikers have left their mark.
Although the Champions League is primarily a two-legged knockout tournament, it starts with a group stage round consisting of four teams in eight different groups. Since some of the teams in the group stage aren’t world-class, players can easily increase their goal tally in these games.
21st century strikers are breaking Champions League records for fun
The current crop of players are making a mockery of Champions League goalscoring records. Players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have already crossed the three-digit mark. But how many of those goals have come in the group stage? In this article, we look at the top 10 players with the most Champions League group stage goals.
#10 Sergio Aguero (32 goals)
Sergio Aguero has had an eventful 2021. The Manchester City legend fell out of favor at the Etihad Stadium, joined Barcelona, won the Copa America and may now reportedly retire due to a heart condition.
The Argentine has scored 32 goals in 56 Champions League group stage matches. Overall, he bagged 41 goals in 79 appearances in the Champions League, a majority of which came in the light blue shirt of Manchester City.
Aguero will go down as one of the best strikers in Premier League history. He broke several goalscoring records and won five league titles with the Cityzens. He could only manage to take home a runner-up medal in the Champions League though.
#9 Alessandro Del Piero (33 goals)
Alessandro Del Piero won the 1995-96 Champions League with Juventus and scored six goals during the campaign. He also won half a dozen Serie A titles with the Old Lady.
Del Piero scored 33 goals in the Champions League group stages. He scored a total of 42 goals in 89 Champions League games during his time at Juventus. The centre-forward is the only player here who has represented just one club in the Champions League.
He was a versatile attacking player with great technical ability. Despite mainly being used as a secondary striker, he remains one of the top scorers for Italy, Juventus, and in Serie A. He was also the Champions League's top scorer (10 goals) in the 1997-98 season.
#8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (38 goals)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is going strong in the Champions League at the age of 40. The Swedish international has represented many clubs in the Champions League and has participated in the tournament since the turn of the millennium. He has scored 38 goals in 83 group stage games.
The Milan striker has the worst goal-to-game ratio (0.45) among the players who made it to the top 10. Although he has played for six different teams in the Champions League, including Barcelona, PSG, and Juventus, the coveted trophy eludes him.
Ibrahimovic is one of the most decorated active footballers. He has scored in each of the last four decades. Sweden's top goalscorer has been a clinical striker wherever he has gone.
#7 Thierry Henry (38 goals)
Thierry Henry has also scored 38 goals in the Champions League group stages. However, he ranks higher as he has played fewer matches (76) than Ibrahimovic. Henry is widely regarded as one of the best forwards of the 21st century, and his goal record factually agrees with that statement.
The Frenchman represented Monaco, Arsenal and Barcelona in the Champions League and scored a half-century of goals. An integral part of Arsenal’s Invincibles squad, Henry could only fulfill his Champions League thirst when he won the trophy with Barcelona.
The Belgian assistant coach is France's all-time top scorer. Many believe Henry deserves to partner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the all-time Champions League XI. However, a certain Robert Lewandowski might have something to say about this.
#6 Ruud van Nistelrooy (50 goals)
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 50 Champions League group stage goals is a massive jump from the previous best of 38. The former Manchester United star’s goals to games ratio of 0.83 is highly commendable.
“The Ruud Devil” won three Champions League top scorer awards (fourth highest) in the early 2000s. His overall record of 56 goals in 73 matches is exemplary. He would be right up there with the leading Champions League goalscorers if he played as many games as Messi and Ronaldo have.
Despite having such a remarkable track record, he never managed to get his hands on the Champions League trophy. The footballer-turned-coach has won five league titles in total during stints with PSV, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
#5 Raul (53 goals)
Raul Gonzalez has a history with the UEFA Champions League. The Real Madrid legend was the top scorer in the competition before Cristiano Ronaldo arrived on the scene. Ronaldo took not only Raul’s number 7 jersey but also snatched some of his records.
Raul remains one of the most distinguished goal scorers in Champions League history, having scored 71 times in double the number of matches. 53 of those strikes were delivered in the group stage of the competition.
The Spaniard was the Champions League's top scorer for two consecutive seasons in 1999-00 (joint) and 2000-01. Overall, he is the fifth leading scorer in the Champions League. He played a pivotal role in three of Real Madrid’s 13 Champions League triumphs.
#4 Karim Benzema (56 goals)
Karim Benzema recently went past Raul in the all-time Champions League top scorer charts and narrowly beat him in this countdown as well. The Frenchman, who has looked rejuvenated in the last few seasons, has scored 56 goals in 79 group stage appearances.
The Real Madrid number 9 has a terrific record in Europe’s continental competition. He has won the Champions League four times, registering 76 goals and 28 assists in the process.
Benzema has had a few off-field issues, mainly with Valbuena and Giroud. However, that hasn’t affected his goal tally. At 33, the former Lyon striker retains his status as one of the best forwards in Europe.
#3 Robert Lewandowski (56 goals)
Like Benzema, Robert Lewandowski has also scored 56 Champions League group stage goals. However, his superior goal-to-game ratio ensured he pipped the Real Madrid talisman to 3rd spot on the list.
Lewandowski seems to be getting better with his age. The Polish marksman has made Ballon d’Or worthy contributions for Bayern Munich over the last couple of seasons. He has scored 0.918 goals per group stage match, which is the second-best ratio.
Lewandowski scored 15 goals in the 2019-20 Champions League campaign and led Bayern Munich to their sixth trophy. Having scored nine goals already, he is well on course to finish another season as the Champions League's top scorer.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (73 goals)
Cristiano Ronaldo is just two short of 100 Champions League group stage appearances and has netted 73 times. The all-time Champions League top scorer (140 goals) is renowned for his performances in the knockout rounds. However, he has a more-than-decent record in the group stage as well.
Ronaldo has a phenomenal record in the Champions League. He is a seven-time top scorer in the competition and has won the Champions League trophy on five occasions. He is the fourth player on this list to have represented Real Madrid, displaying their continental dominance.
The Portuguese international holds the record for most goals in football history, most Champions League goals, and most international goals, to name a few. His innate ability to beat the goalkeeper time and time again has earned him five Ballon d’Or awards.
#1 Lionel Messi (76 goals)
Lionel Messi is the top scorer in the Champions League group stage with 76 goals. It has taken “La Pulga” just 81 matches to reach that figure, averaging a spectacular 0.938 goals-to-game ratio. Last night's brace against Club Brugge created some breathing space between his and Ronaldo’s goal tallies in the group stages.
Messi recently joined PSG and has scored five goals for the Parisians in the group stages of this season’s Champions League. The remaining 71 goals came in a Barcelona shirt, earning him six top scorer crowns in the Champions League.
The four-time Champions League winner is 15 goals behind Ronaldo's overall record. However, he manages to trump the Portuguese when it comes to group stage goals, scoring nearly once every game. Messi is still going strong and looks eager to register more goals.
