Champions League goal records: Most scored in a season, fastest in a match, and all-time in UCL history

Champions League goal records: Most scored in a season, fastest in a match, and all-time in UCL history originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The UEFA Champions League is considered the world's preeminent club tournament, and players can become legends with great performances in Europe's top competition.

Since scoring goals is considered the most glamorous skill in football, those who find the back of the net consistently can earn legendary status in the game.

Today, talents like Erling Haaland the Kylian Mbappe look like they have what it takes to match the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have left their indelible mark on Europe's elite tournament.

The Sporting News brings you the top names and numbers for the goalscoring legends of all-time in European play. The lists below combine goalscoring from both iterations of UEFA's top competition: the European Cup (beginning in 1955) and the Champions League (since 1992/93).

MORE: All the latest Champions League news | How does the 2024/25 Champions League work?

Record for most Champions League goals in a season

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the two greatest seasons in European club football history.

His record from the 2013/14 season still stands after nearly a decade, scoring 17 goals across 11 matches and 993 minutes as Real Madrid won the title during that campaign. Ronaldo scored in every single match he appeared in except one, going 73 goal-less minutes in the first leg of their semifinal match against Bayern. He started the Champions League with a hat-trick against Galatasaray to open group stage play, and added braces against FC Copenhagen, Juventus, Schalke (twice), and Bayern Munich.

He would nearly repeat that incredible feat just two seasons later, bagging 16 goals as Madrid yet again won the title in 2015/16. He scored hat-tricks against Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg, plus a four-goal stunner against Malmo in the group stage. That year, Ronaldo would manage 'just' five goals in the knockout stage, doing most of the work early on in a soft group stage. He was held off the scoresheet in the semifinals and final, but Madrid hoisted the trophy anyway.

Lionel Messi's best season ranks him sixth, bagging 14 goals in the 2011/12 season as Barcelona reached the semifinals before falling to Chelsea. Others on the list from football's earlier days include goal hawk Jose Altafini, German great Gerd 'Der Bomber' Muller, and Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas, for whom FIFA's Goal of the Season award is named.

Rank

Player

Club

Season

Goals

1.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

2013/14

17

2.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

2015/16

16

3.

Robert Lewandowski

Bayern Munich

2019/20

15

Karim Benzema

Real Madrid

2021/22

15

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

2017/18

15

6.

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

2011/12

14

Jose Altafini

AC Milan

1962/63

14

8.

Robert Lewandowski

Bayern Munich

2021/22

13

9.

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

2018/19

12

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

2016/17

12

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

2012/13

12

Mario Gomez

Bayern Munich

2011/12

12

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

2010/11

12

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Man United

2002/03

12

Gerd Muller

Bayern Munich

1972/73

12

Ferenc Puskas

Real Madrid

1959/60

12

Erling Haaland

Man City

2022/23

12

What is the record for most Champions League goals all-time?

With consistent goalscoring numbers in European play season after season, it's no surprise that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are atop the Champions League career goalscoring charts.

A wide gap exists below those two all-time greats and the duo chasing them: Robert Lewandowski (3rd) and Karim Benzema (4th).

The top non-active player is Raul with 71 goals, with Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy 15 goals behind him.

Champions League career goals as of November 25, 2025, only counts goals scored in group or knockout stages, excluding qualifying.

Rank

Player

Clubs

Goals

1.

Cristiano Ronaldo*

Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus

140

2.

Lionel Messi*

Barcelona, PSG

129

3.

Robert Lewandowski*

Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona

105

4.

Karim Benzema*

Olympique Lyon, Real Madrid

90

5.

Raul

Real Madrid, Schalke

71

6.

Kylian Mbappe*

AS Monaco, PSG, Real Madrid

60

=

Thomas Muller*

Bayern Munich

57

8.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

PSV Eindhoven, Man United, Real Madrid

56

9.

Erling Haaland*

Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Man City

54

=

Thierry Henry

AS Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona

50

11.

Alfredo Di Stefano

Real Madrid

49

* Active players

Fewest games to score 50 Champions League goals

On September 18, 2025, Erling Haaland set a new record for the fewest games needed to reach the 50-goal mark in the competition.

His opener against Napoli for Manchester City was the striker's 50th Champions League goal in just 49 games.

The previous record was held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who got to 50 in 62 appearances.

Who has the most Champions League hat-tricks?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both tied atop the Champions League hat-trick list, with twice as many as anyone else in the history of the competition save Robert Lewandowski, who's just two behind.

Only four players in history have more than three hat-tricks in UEFA's top competition, which makes the eight that Ronaldo and Messi each own that much more incredible.

Champions League hat-tricks as of September 2025

Rank

Player

Clubs

Hat-tricks

1.

Cristiano Ronaldo*

Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus

8

Lionel Messi*

Barcelona, PSG

8

3.

Robert Lewandowski*

Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona

6

4.

Karim Benzema*

Olympique Lyon, Real Madrid

4

5.

Mario Gomez

Stuttgart, Bayern Munich

3

Neymar*

Barcelona, PSG

3

Filippo Inzaghi

Juventus, AC Milan

3

Luiz Adriano*

Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan

3

Kylian Mbappe*

PSG, Real Madrid

3

* Active player

Most goals scored in a Champions League match

Nobody has ever scored more than five goals in a single Champions League or European Cup match, which has surprisingly been done 15 times in history, including five times in the Champions League era.

It's only happened four times since the turn of the millennium, with Erling Haaland the latest to achieve the feat in 2023.

The only club to concede five Champions League goals by a single player twice is Cypriot side Omonia, which saw it happen both times in the 1970s.

Players to score five goals in a Champions League match

Season

Player

Stage

Club

Opponent

2022/23

Erling Haaland

Round of 16

Manchester City

RB Leipzig

2014/15

Luiz Adriano

Group Stage

Shakhtar Donetsk

BATE Borisov

2014/15

David Lafata

2nd Qualifying Round

Sparta Prague

Levadia Tallinn

2011/12

Lionel Messi

Round of 16

Barcelona

Bayer Leverkusen

1999/00

Mihails Miholaps

1st Qualifying Round

Skonto Riga

Jeunesse Esch

1979/80

Soren Lerby

2nd Round

Ajax

Omonia

1978/79

Claudio Sulser

1st Round

Grasshoppers

Valletta

1972/73

Gerd Muller

2nd Round

Bayern Munich

Omonia

1966/67

Paul van Himst

1st Round

Anderlecht

Haka

1965/66

Florian Albert

Preliminary Round

Ferencvaros

Keflavik

1964/65

Nikola Kotov

Preliminary Round

Lokomotiv Sofia

Malmo FF

1962/63

Ray Crawford

Preliminary Round

Ipswich Town

Floriana

1962/63

Jose Altafini

Preliminary Round

AC Milan

Union Luxembourg

1961/62

Bent Lofqvist

Preliminary Round

Boldklubben 1993

Spora

1959/60

Ove Olsson

Preliminary Round

Gothenburg

Linfield

Fastest goal scored in a Champions League match

Conor Gallagher scored after only 27 seconds of the Round of 16 second leg between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in March 2025. It was the quickest goal ever scored in a Champions League game by an English player.

And yet, it wasn't even close to the earliest goal ever scored in a match in this competition. That record belongs to Roy Makaay, who netted just 10.12 seconds into Bayern's Munich's 2006/07 last-16 second leg game... also against Real Madrid

Fastest hat-trick in Champions League history

Hat-tricks have been a coveted milestone for any goalscorer across European competition, but records have been shattered in the past few seasons.

In the 2021/22 competition, Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick against RB Salzburg in the second leg of their Round of 16 matchup just 23 minutes from the opening whistle, which still sits as the fastest hat-trick in the competition's history.

However, the following year, Mohamed Salah carved out a piece of his own history. Coming off the bench in the 68th minute of Liverpool's group-stage match against Rangers at Ibrox, Salah scored a hat-trick in under seven minutes from the first goal to the third goal, marking the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history between goals scored.

MORE: Full review of fastest hat-tricks in Champions League history

Youngest goal scorer in Champions League history

Teenage superstars are becoming more and more prominent in Europe's top competition, as coaches embrace the idea that those who are good enough are old enough.

No top club has embraced that notion more than Barcelona, who have brought several young talents through the ranks of their world-famous La Masia academy to the senior team.

The youngest-ever Champions League goal scorer from the group stage on is Ansu Fati, who in 2019 bagged his first-ever goal in Europe against Inter at the San Siro while just 17 years 40 days old. That goal made Fati the first-ever 16-year-old goal scorer in the Champions League, breaking a record that had been held since before Fati was born. Peter Ofori-Quaye's goal for Olympiakos in the 1997 group stage gave him the record at the time, and stood for over 22 years.

However, one age-old record that remains intact is that of Wlodzimierz Lubanski who holds the mark for youngest-ever goal scorer in the history of the European Cup across any stage and any iteration of the competition. According to Transfermarkt, his goal in 1963 for Polish club Gornik Zabarze against Czech side FK Dukla Prague in the Round of 16 gave him a record that still stands today — 16 years, 263 days old at the time his goal was scored.

Barcelona also benefitted from the youngest-ever player to assist a Champions League goal, as Lamine Yamal assisted a Ferran Torres goal against Royal Antwerp in a group stage match, before his assist to Raphinha against PSG months later in the quarterfinal made him the youngest-ever assister in a knockout stage match. The teen would go on to score the second youngest goal in UCL history in the 2024-25 campaign, as Barcelona visited Monaco in the new 'Swiss Format' league stage.

The Catalan giants were also the beneficiaries when Bojan Krkic became the youngest-ever goal scorer in a Champions League knockout stage, putting Barca up 1-0 on Schalke in the first leg of their 2008 quarterfinal matchup. In fact, it was Krkic's assist record that Yamal broke with his assist against Royal Antwerp as well.

Youngest Champions League goal scorers

Only counting group stage onwards in modern iteration of UEFA Champions League (since 1993).

Player

Club

Date

Age

Ansu Fati

Barcelona

Dec. 10, 2019 at Inter

16 years, 283 days

Lamine Yamal

Barcelona

Sep. 19, 2024 at Monaco

17 years, 68 days

George Ilenikhena

Royal Antwerp

Dec. 13, 2023 vs. Barcelona

17 years, 119 days

Antonio Nusa

Club Brugge

Sep. 13, 2022 vs. Porto

17 years, 149 days

Peter Ofori-Quaye

Olympiakos

Oct. 1, 1997 vs. Rosenborg

17 years, 194 days

Mateo Kovacic

Dinamo Zagreb

Dec. 1, 2011 vs. Lyon

17 years, 215 days

Youngest to assist a Champions League goal

Only counting group stage onwards in modern iteration of UEFA Champions League (since 1993).

Player

Club

Date

Age

Lamine Yamal

Barcelona

Apr. 16, 2024 vs PSG

16 years, 283 days

Bojan Krkic

Barcelona

Nov. 27, 2007 at Lyon

17 years, 91 days