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With the Champions League hosting some of the biggest clubs and names in football since 1992, records are being broken every year. We take a look at the competition’s all-time leading goalscorers to see which star has shone the brightest
5. Raul (71 goals)
Real Madrid and Spain legend Raul sat comfortably at the top of the scorers’ table with 71 goals when he retired.
But in recent years the Spaniard has been knocked down to fifth on the list, most recently by Frenchman and fellow Los Blancos star Karim Benzema.
Raul had a highly-decorated career, winning the Champions League three times with his hometown club and being named the illustrious competition’s top scorer twice.
4. Karim Benzema (86 goals)
Benzema has taken his Champions League goals tally to 86 to become the fourth-highest scorer in Europe’s top club football competition.
Now 35, the Frenchman scored for Lyon on his tournament debut when he was just 17 years old.
His goals have helped Real be crowned European champions five times but, with three prolific marksmen ahead of him, Benzema may not retire in the top three.
3. Robert Lewandowski (91 goals)
Bayern Munich great Robert Lewandowski reached the 80-goal mark in record time after taking just 100 games — two fewer than the next man on this list.
The Pole’s 15 goals in the 2019-2020 edition saw him take the Golden Boot and lead his side to the title.
But he will not have a chance to close in on his century with Barcelona failing to reach the knockout stage this season.
Read more: Five sensational underdog triumphs in the Champions League
2. Lionel Messi (129 goals)
Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has continued his goalscoring exploits at Paris Saint-Germain
Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has graced the Champions League plenty of times since 2005 and is third in the all-time appearances list.
Spending the majority of his career playing for his childhood team Barcelona, he has racked up a century of goals and lifted the famous trophy four times.
And he has kept up his exploits at Paris Saint-Germain where he is looking to break the French outfit’s duck.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (141 goals)
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored numerous important Champions League goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is an undisputed goalscoring machine.
The Portuguese international has netted 141 times for three clubs, with the majority coming during his time at Real.
Ronaldo has appeared in 187 games in the competition since debuting for Manchester United in 2003.
With four Champions League titles under his belt from his time Madrid and another from the Red Devils, the striker is one of the most decorated players ever.
Ex-Juventus star Ronaldo, 38, also became the first-ever player to score in two finals for two different winning teams — bagging the opener for United in 2008 and a 120th-minute penalty for Real in 2014.
