Who are the all-time Champions League group stage/league phase top scorers?

Lionel Messi holds the record for most goals in the group stage/league phase of the world's elite club competition, his tally of 80 leaving him seven clear at the top of the standings – no prizes for guessing his nearest competitor at the pinnacle of international club goalscoring. Remarkably, the Argentinian has done it in just 84 matches, a ratio of 0.93 goals per game. Even Cristiano Ronaldo does not get close to him on that front.

Robert Lewandowski does, though (0.92), and the Poland striker is clear in third spot in the all-time rankings. The rest of the top ten is a who's who of the best strikers from the past three decades, with Karim Benzema, Raúl González, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Alessandro Del Piero, Sergio Agüero and Mohamed Salah rounding off the list.

Also among current players, Kylian Mbappé has raced to 28 group stage goals, one more than Erling Haaland. Haaland has reached 27 in the space of just 22 matches, for a ludicrous goals per game ratio of 1.23 per outing. Three of those appearances were as a substitute.

All statistics are for group stage (six matchdays) games between 1992/93–2023/24 (not including second group stage in 1999/2000–2002/03 seasons), and league phase (eight matchdays) games from 2024/25 onwards. Clubs indicated for players are only those for which they have appeared/scored in the UEFA Champions League group stage/league phase.

Who has scored the most goals in the Champions League group stage/league phase?

80 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain)
73 Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
62 Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona)**
56 Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
53 Raúl González (Real Madrid, Schalke)
50 Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Man United, Real Madrid, Hamburg)
38 Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
38 Zlatan Ibrahimović (Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Man United)
33 Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
32 Sergio Agüero (Atlético, Man City)
32 Mohamed Salah (Basel, Roma, Liverpool)

Who has the best goals per game ratio in the Champions League group stage/league phase?*

1.23 Erling Haaland (Salzburg, Dortmund, Man City) – 27 goals / 22 games
0.93 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 80 / 86
0.87 Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona) – 62 / 71
0.83 Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Man United, Real Madrid, Hamburg) – 50 / 60
0.74 Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus) – 73 / 98
0.67 Kylian Mbappé (Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain) – 28 / 42
0.67 Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid) – 56 / 83
0.64 Didier Drogba (Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray) – 30 / 47
0.64 Mohamed Salah (Basel, Chelsea, Roma, Liverpool) – 30 / 47
0.60 Neymar (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain) – 29 / 48

* Minimum 20 scored