The Champions League is, without doubt, the biggest competition in European football. It is a competition that has exploded since its rebranding in 1992 from the old European Cup.
The biggest teams from the biggest leagues in Europe participate in the Champions League. That means a glittering array of top stars taking to the field to battle. Some players have shone brighter than others in Europe’s elite competition.
The players that have arguably had the biggest effect on the competition are the forward players, who had scored the crucial goals that have brought their team’s success.
Here at SuperBettingSites.com, we thought you would be interested in the players who have been the most prolific in the competition, including those from the European Cup era: The Portuguese forward will be looking to adding to his goal tally in Champions League this season after a summer move to Manchester United from Juventus. At 36 years of age, he is still going strong. Ronaldo has won the competition on five occasions. The Barcelona legend has embarked on a new adventure this summer after joining PSG as a free agent. The Argentinian’s presence should aid PSG’s chances of winning the competition for the first time. Messi already has four winners’ medals from his Barcelona days. The Polish goal machine has been prolific in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League in the last decade. Lewandowski won the competition’s golden boot in 2019/20, as the Bavarians lifted the trophy. The French international has become the focal point of Real Madrid’s attack in recent years. With Los Blancos in the competition once again this season, the goals of Benzema could play a crucial part in his team’s hopes of success. The Real Madrid legend is regarded as one of the top predatory strikers in the history of the beautiful game. Once he had finished a prolific career with Los Blancos, he moved to Germany and scored goals for Bundesliga outfit Schalke. The former Netherlands international was an ace goal-getter, whose goalscoring instincts saw him notch up over 300 goals in his club career. However, surprisingly he never won the Champions League. The French forward is seen as one of the best forward’s to ever grace the Premier League during his time with Arsenal. However, the only time he won the Champions League was with Barcelona in season 2008/09. The "Saeta Rubia" is still regarded as one of the best footballers that the beautiful game has ever seen. The legendary forward’s goals inspired Real Madrid to five European Cup triumphs in the 1950s. While he started his Champions League journey with Dynamo Kiev, it was with Italian giants Milan that Shevchenko really made his mark in the competition. The Ukrainian star helped the Rossoneri to win the competition in season 2002/03. The Peter Pan of football has become a Champions League stalwart. Despite his long career with some of the biggest clubs in Europe, Ibrahimovic has never won the big prize in his career. He will be back in the competition with Milan this season, in a season in which he turns 40 years of age. The energetic Raumdeuter has been a constant in the Champions League for Bayern Munich for over a decade. Muller played a part in the Bavarians winning the competition in 2012-13 and then again in 2019/20. He will be back this season with Julian Nagelsmann’s team. The Italian forward was known for his ability to sniff out a goal. He was a regular in the Champions League with both Juventus and Milan during his career. However, it was with the latter that ‘Superpippo’ won the Champions League in season’s 2002-2003 and 2006/07. The former Benfica forward has almost a mythical status in football. The Portuguese international was prolific for both club and country. He was a part of the great Benfica team that lifted the trophy in season 1961/62. The former Ivory Coast international made his Champions League debut at Marseille. It was at Chelsea were his career really flourished, as his goals helped the Blues lift the trophy in season 2011/12. The forward was a familiar face in the Champions League with Juventus for a decade and a half. However, the only time he enjoyed the sweet taste of success in the competition was in season 1995-96. The flamboyant forward played a big part in Barcelona winning the competition in season 2014-15, as part of the famous ‘MSN’ strike force alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. He has been reunited with his old friend Messi in Paris and will hope to enjoy similar success this season. The diminutive Argentinian striker was a legend at Manchester City before his move to Barcelona as a free agent. Although he won every domestic competition with the Citizens in recent years, the Champions League trophy has always eluded him. The veteran star faces a major uphill struggle to win the competition with a new look Barcelona team this season. The legendary Hungary star lit up the game back in the 1950s and ’60s. His stint at Real Madrid has become a thing of legend. During his time in the Spanish capital, he won the trophy on three occasions, including alongside the aforementioned Di Stefano. The veteran Uruguayan forward has scored goals in every competition he played in so far in his career. However, his goals were not enough to help PSG claim that elusive first Champions League title, although he did get a runners-up medal in season 2019/20. He will be back in the competition this season with Manchester United. Nicknamed ‘Der Bomber’ the late great Muller was one of the most lethal forwards to step on a football pitch. Muller’s goals played a massive role in Bayern Munich’s three straight Champions League titles from season 1973-74-1975/76. Morientes enjoyed a long career, taking in two of the biggest clubs in the world in Real Madrid and Liverpool. It was with the former that the forward won the Champions League in season’s 1997-98, 1999-00 and 2001/2002. The Dutch wing wizard played for some of the biggest teams in the Champions League during a 16-year spell. He was always a threat from out wide and won the competition in season 2012/13. The Cameroon international had a long and illustrious career in the game. He won the Champions League with Barcelona in season’s 2005-06 and 2008-09 before also winning the competition with Inter under Jose Mourinho in season 2009-10. The Red Devils record-goalscorer moved to United in 2004 and made an immediate impact on his Champions League debut by scoring a hat-trick against Fenerbahce in a 6-2 win. The former England captain also helped United to win the competition in season 2007/08. The Brazilian attacking midfielder played a pivotal role for Milan in their 207 Champions League triumph. He also appeared in the Champions League for Real Madrid, but never achieved the same European success with the Spanish giants. Gento was another well-regarded member of the Real Madrid team that dominated the European Cup in the late 1950s. He helped Los Blancos to win the trophy on five occasions. Although not as internationally renowned as Di Stefano or Puskas, he was still a vital member of the team. The French forward nearly achieved every honour in the club and international football. However, the one trophy that eluded the French forward was the Champions League. The closest he got to winning the trophy was in season 2002-03 when he finished as a runner-up with Juventus. The forward from the Netherlands was highly prolific throughout his career. Although he won other trophies with Bayern, he never won the Champions League. However, a record close to a goal every other game in the competition was a respectable one. The forward originally made his name at Dutch giants Ajax before a big move to Barcelona. The majority of Kluivert’s European goals came at the latter. However, Kluivert recorded his only Champions League triumph with Ajax in season 1995/96 before his switch to the Catalan giants. The Egyptian king as he is known to some fans is synonymous with Liverpool. He helped the Reds win the competition in 2019. The 29-year-old will once again be hoping that his goals will help his team to glory in this season’s competition. Cristiano Ronaldo
Goals Scored: 134 Appearances: 176 Years Active: 2003- Lionel Messi
Goals Scored: 120 Appearances: 120 Years Active: 2005- Robert Lewandowski
Goals Scored: 73 Appearances: 96 Years Active: 2011- Karim Benzema
Goals Scored: 71 Appearances: 130 Years Active: 2006- Raul
Goals Scored: 71 Appearances: 142 Years Active: 1995-2011 Ruud van Nistelrooy
Goals Scored: 56 Appearances: 73 Years Active: 1998-2009 Thierry Henry
Goals Scored: 50 Appearances: 112 Years Active: 1997-2012 Alfredo Di Stefano
Goals Scored: 49 Appearances: 58 Years Active: 1955-1964 Andriy Shevchenko
Goals Scored: 48 Appearances: 100 Years Active: 1994-2012 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Goals Scored: 48 Appearances: 120 Years Active: 2001- Thomas Muller
Goals Scored: 48 Appearances: 124 Years Active: 2008- Filippo Inzaghi
Goals Scored: 46 Appearances: 81 Years Active: 1997-2012 Eusebio
Goals Scored: 46 Appearances: 128 Years Active: 1961-1974 Didier Drogba
Goals Scored: 44 Appearances: 92 Years Active: 2003-2015 Alessandro Del Piero
Goals Scored: 42 Appearances: 89 Years Active: 1995-2009 Neymar
Goals Scored: 41 Appearances: 69 Years Active: 2013- Sergio Aguero
Goals Scored: 41 Appearances: 78 Years Active: 2008- Ferenc Puskas
Goals Scored: 36 Appearances: 41 Years Active: 1956-1966 Edinson Cavani
Goals Scored: 35 Appearances: 65 Years Active: 2011- Gerd Muller
Goals Scored: 34 Appearances: 35 Years Active: 1969-1977 Fernando Morientes
Goals Scored: 33 Appearances: 93 Years Active: 1997-2009 Arjen Robben
Goals Scored: 31 Appearances: 110 Years Active: 2002-2018 Samuel Eto’o
Goals Scored: 30 Appearances: 78 Years Active: 1999-2014 Wayne Rooney
Goals Scored: 30 Appearances: 85 Years Active: 2004-2015 Kaka
Goals Scored: 30 Appearances: 86 Years Active: 2003-2014 Francisco Gento
Goals Scored: 30 Appearances: 89 Years Active: 1955-1969 David Trezeguet
Goals Scored: 29 Appearances: 58 Years Active: 1997-2009 Roy Makaay
Goals Scored: 29 Appearances: 61 Years Active: 2000-2007 Patrick Kluivert
Goals Scored: 29 Appearances: 71 Years Active: 1994-2006 Mohamed Salah
Goals Scored: 28 Appearances: 58 Years Active: 2013-