admin The race to be crowned the Champions League’s top scorer in the 2023/24 season gets exciting again as Europe’s best strikers compete for the prestigious honour.
Erling Haaland is keen to help Manchester City to more European victories under Pep Guardiola after the Premier League champions lifted the trophy for the first time last season.
He is hoping to become a three-time UCL Golden Boot winner alongside Champions League greats Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eusébio, Ferenc Puskás and Jean-Pierre Papin. Kylian Mbappé, like Haaland, is fast climbing the Champions League top scorers list and looks set to pose a serious threat to the Man City striker.
Robert Lewandowski, who was a prolific Champions League goalscorer for over a decade with Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, cannot be left out.
Champions League top scorers 2023/24
This page shows the 2023/24 Champions League top scorers, updated after each matchday. The qualifiers are already underway, but the full group stage of the competition doesn’t start until Matchday 1 on 19-20 September.
Erling Haaland was the Champions League’s top scorer in the 2022/23 season.
He scored 12 goals for eventual winners Man City, although it was midfielder Rodri who scored the decisive goal in the final against Inter Milan.
Haaland also failed to score in any of the semi-finals against Real Madrid (5-1) but still secured his second UCL top scorer title thanks to his strong form before this stage.
The striker produced a fantastic five-goal performance in Manchester City’s 7-0 Round of 16 win over RB Leipzig in the second leg. Haaland also scored in both games of the UCL quarter-final win over Bayern.
Mohamed Salah finished second with eight goals in eight games and scored a hat-trick in the group stage against Rangers. But he and Liverpool will miss the 2023/24 season after losing the top four of the Premier League.
Goalscoring standings 2022/23
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Erling Haaland | Man City | 12 |
| 2. Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 8 |
| 3. Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 7 |
| =3. Vinicius Jr. | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 5. Joao Mario | Benfica | 6 |
Haaland also topped the UCL scoring charts for Borussia Dortmund in 2020/21, netting 10 times on that occasion.
Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski have also been recent winners of the award.
Prior to that, there was an astonishing era of dominance from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
One of those two players won the award from every year between 2007 and 2019. That run was only briefly disrupted by Neymar in 2014/15, and even then he was only able to share the honour with Ronaldo and Messi, with all three players striking 10 times that season.
UCL top scorers by season
| Season | Winner | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | Erling Haaland (Man City) | 12 |
| 2021/22 | Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) | 15 |
| 2020/21 | Erling Haaland (Dortmund) | 10 |
| 2019/20 | Robert Lewandowski (Bayern) | 15 |
| 2018/19 | Lionel Messi (Barcelona) | 12 |
| 2017/18 | Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | 15 |
| 2016/17 | Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | 12 |
| 2015/16 | Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | 16 |
The highest Champions League goalscorer has netted at least 10 times during each of the last 13 seasons.
Lionel Messi was the last player to win the award while only scoring in single figures, finishing as top scorer in the 2009/10 competition with eight goals.
Champions League all-time goal records
Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in the Champions League.
The Portuguese superstar has scored 140 goals in 183 appearances in competitions for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Lionel Messi is second with 129 goals, while Robert Lewandowski is the highest-scoring active UCL player. He is third and fast approaching the target age.
Ronaldo is the most goals scorer in a single Champions League season, scoring 17 goals for Real Madrid in the 2013/14 season.
Among them was a goal in the 2014 Champions League final when his side beat city rivals Atlético Madrid in extra time. Ronaldo was also the top scorer in the Champions League more than anyone else.
Ronaldo is UCL’s top scorer seven times, just ahead of arch-rival Lionel Messi, who led the competition’s top scorer six times.
Real Madrid and Barcelona traditionally dominate the scorers list. Real Madrid have won the Golden Boot 16 times since the start of the European Cup, while Barca have won it nine times.
Benfica, Man Utd and Bayern have been the UCL’s top scorers on seven occasions.
