Champions League all-time appearances: Cristiano Ronaldo, Casillas, Messi, Xavi, Benzema

Cristiano Ronaldo sits at the top of the list for all-time appearances in the UEFA Champions League, the world's most prestigious club competition.

Ronaldo made more than half of his all-time appearances (101) for Real Madrid, as well as 23 for Juventus and 59 for Manchester United across two spells at Old Trafford. The evergreen Portuguese international is also the competition's all-time leading goalscorer. So who else makes the list of players with most Champions League games?

Who has the most Champions League appearances?

Since the Champions League's inception in 1992, a select group of 48 players have amassed 100 or more appearances, with Real Madrid favourite Raúl González the first in February 2006. An even more elite selection of seven stars have since passed the 150-mark: Xavi Hernández, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Iker Casillas, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos, and front-runner Ronaldo.

Ronaldo's first game in the Champions League proper took place on 1 October 2003, the then 18-year-old earning a penalty in a 2-1 defeat at Stuttgart. He was a Real Madrid player when he reached his century 11 years later on the same night as Frank Lampard. In all, the Portuguese's 183 appearances have come across 19 seasons in the Champions League.

Real Madrid and Barcelona alumni dominate the list of the competition's leading appearance-makers. Only five of the top 20 did not represent one of the great rivals at some point: one-club men Ryan Giggs, Thomas Müller and Paul Scholes, plus goalkeeping greats Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon.

Who has made most Champions League appearances for one club?

Thomas Müller's Matchday 1 appearance in 2024/25 was his 152nd for Bayern, surpassing the longstanding record of Xavi Hernández, who played 151 games in the competition for Barcelona between 1998 and 2015. The Bayern forward heads a list of 26 players who have made 100 or more Champions League appearances for one side.

That list is dominated by the Spanish giants, including eight Real Madrid players and Xavi among seven from Barcelona. Bayern have three in addition to Müller –Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Oliver Kahn – while Manchester United trio Giggs, Scholes and Gary Neville also feature. John Terry and Lampard brought up centuries for Chelsea and the list is completed by Juventus (Gianluigi Buffon) and Milan (Paolo Maldini).

Only half of the list played all their Champions League games at one club, though, with the rest supplementing their tallies with spells elsewhere. The one-club men are Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol and Víctor Valdés (all Barcelona), Giggs, Scholes, Neville (all Manchester United), Kahn and Müller (both Bayern), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Maldini (Milan) and Terry (Chelsea).

153 Thomas Müller (Bayern)
151 Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)
150 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
149 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
141 Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
133 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
130 Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
130 Raúl González (Real Madrid)
129 Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)
129 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
124 Gerard Piqué (Barcelona)
124 Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
123 Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
121 Manuel Neuer (Bayern)
115 Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
113 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
110 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
109 Paolo Maldini (Milan)
109 Gary Neville (Manchester United)
109 John Terry (Chelsea)
107 Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid)
106 Víctor Valdés (Barcelona)
105 Philipp Lahm (Bayern)
103 Oliver Kahn (Bayern)
102 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
102 Marcelo (Real Madrid)
101 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Who has played the most Champions League finals?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić hold the record for most final appearances in the Champions League era, making six apiece during their stellar careers.

One-club man Maldini had already lifted the European twice with Milan in 1989 and 1990 before the competition was rebranded in 1992/93. The defender was in the side that lost the inaugural final, and suffered further shock defeats in 1995 and 2005, but he also won in 1994 and captained the Rossoneri to titles in 2003 and 2007.

The following season, Ronaldo triumphed in his first final, with Manchester United in Moscow, and though he lost with the English side three years later, a run of four titles in five seasons for Real Madrid made him the first player to lift the trophy five times. The Portugal forward has scored a record four final goals in the process.

Karim Benzema, Carvajal and Modrić all played with Ronaldo during those four Real Madrid triumphs, and added another without him in 2022. In 2024, Carvajal and Modrić equalled the mark of six as Madrid claimed their 15th title, Kroos marking his final club appearance with his fifth final victory.

6 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid)
6 Paolo Maldini (Milan)
6 Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
6 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
6 Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
5 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
5 Patrice Evra (Monaco, Manchester United, Juventus)
5 Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, Milan)
5 Edwin van der Sar (Ajax, Manchester United)

Who has played the most Champions League semi-finals?

21 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid)
20 Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
18 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
18 Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
17 Xabi Alonso (Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern)
17 Thomas Müller (Bayern)
16 Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)
16 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
15 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
15 Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)

Who has played the most Champions League quarter-finals?

23 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
23 Thomas Müller (Bayern)
23 Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)
22 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
22 Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
22 Gerard Piqué (Manchester United, Barcelona)
21 Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)
21 Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
21 Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
21 Luka Modrić (Tottenham, Real Madrid)
21 Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)

Who has made most appearances in Champions League round of 16?

36 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
36 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
28 Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
27 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Porto)
27 Thomas Müller (Bayern)
27 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Paris)
26 Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
26 Pepe (Real Madrid, Beşiktaş, Porto)
25 Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)

Who has made most appearances in Champions League group stage/league phase?

98 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
95 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Porto)
86 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Paris)
83 Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
82 Thomas Müller (Bayern)
81 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla)
80 Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)
78 Zlatan Ibrahimović (Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Paris, Manchester United, Milan)
78 Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
78 Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)

In all cases, clubs listed are only those for whom the player has appeared in the UEFA Champions League.