Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer: Who are Germany's top UEFA Champions League performers?

Bundesliga sides are a major presence in Europe's top club competitions, with Bayern notably winning the top prize in continental club football six times, most recently in 2019/20. Eintracht Frankfurt were losing finalists in 1960, but it was not until the 1970s that German clubs became a major force in the European Cup, Bayern winning three finals in a row from 1974-76. Hamburg (1983) and Dortmund (1997) have also taken the top prize since.

Most appearances by German players in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League (including qualifying)

144: Thomas Müller (Bayern)
139: Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
133: Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)
114: Philipp Lahm (Bayern, Stuttgart)
107: Oliver Kahn (Bayern)
99: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern, Manchester United)
96: Michael Ballack (Kaiserslautern, Leverkusen, Bayern, Chelsea)
87: Jérôme Boateng (Bayern)
84: İlkay Gündoğan (Dortmund, Manchester City)
79: Sami Khedira (Stuttgart, Real Madrid, Juventus)

Top-scoring German players in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League (including qualifying)

53: Thomas Müller (Bayern)
34: Gerd Müller (Bayern)
27: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart, Bayern)
22: Marco Reus (Dortmund)
20: Leroy Sané (Schalke, Man City, Bayern)
17: Michael Ballack (Kaiserslautern, Leverkusen, Bayern, Chelsea)
17: Timo Werner (Leipzig, Chelsea)
16: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern)
16: Dieter Hoeness (Bayern)
15: Mario Götze (Dortmund, Bayern, PSV Eindhoven, Eintracht Frankfurt)
15: Miroslav Klose (Bremen, Bayern, Lazio)

Most appearances by German players in UEFA club competition*

150: Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
146: Thomas Müller (Bayern)
142: Oliver Kahn (Karlsruhe, Bayern)
140: Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)
131: Philipp Lahm (Bayern, Stuttgart)
126: Jérôme Boateng (Hamburg, Manchester City, Bayern, Lyon)
125: Frank Rost (Bremen, Schalke, Hamburg)
116: Jens Lehmann (Schalke, Dortmund, Arsenal, Stuttgart)
116: Mesut Özil (Schalke, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Fenerbahçe, Başakşehir)
114: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern, Manchester United)

Top-scoring German players in UEFA club competition*

62: Gerd Müller (Bayern)
53: Thomas Müller (Bayern)
45: Jupp Heynckes (Mönchengladbach)
43: Ulf Kirsten (Dynamo Dresden, Leverkusen)
42: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart, Bayern, Fiorentina, Beşiktaş)
39: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern, Inter Milan, Servette
38: Dieter Müller (Köln, Stuttgart, Bordeaux)
31: Miroslav Klose (Kaiserslautern, Bremen, Bayern, Lazio)
31: Marco Reus (Dortmund)
29: Klaus Allofs (Fortuna Düsseldorf, Köln, Marseille, Bremen)

Key facts

Most successful European club: Bayern (6 European Cup wins)
Most European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League games: Bayern (382)
Most European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League goals: Bayern (804)
First team to compete in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League: Rot-Weiss Essen (first round, 1955/56)
First team to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League: Bayern (1973/74)

More like this?

Argentina's top Champions League performers
Belgium's top Champions League performers
Brazil's top Champions League performers
Croatia's top Champions League performers
Denmark's top Champions League performers
England's top Champions League performers
France's top Champions League performers
Netherlands' biggest European success stories
Poland's top Champions League performers
Portugal's top Champions League performers
Serbia's top Champions League performers
Spain's top Champions League performers
Switzerland's top Champions League performers
Wales's top Champions League performers

*UEFA club competitions means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, Europa Conference League, European/South American Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup