Ball IQChampions League Top Scorer Every Season (1955-56 to 2024-25)
71 entries · verified 2026-07-20 · free · from the Ball IQ football team
Since the European Cup kicked off in 1955, one player has finished ahead of the rest in front of goal almost every season. This complete list runs from Miloš Milutinović's eight goals in that debut 1955-56 campaign, through the 1992 rebrand to the UEFA Champions League, all the way to the 2024-25 final. In the early decades the leading tallies were modest — often five, six or seven goals — and ties at the top were common, reflecting a straight knockout format with far fewer matches than today's expanded league phase.
The modern era belongs to two names above all others. Cristiano Ronaldo topped the scoring charts a record seven times and set the single-season benchmark of 17 goals in 2013-14, while Lionel Messi led or shared the lead five times, peaking at 14 in 2011-12. Between them they dominated a remarkable twelve-year stretch until Robert Lewandowski broke the streak with 15 goals for Bayern Munich in 2019-20.
More recently the crown has spread around. Erling Haaland announced himself in 2020-21 and again in 2022-23, Karim Benzema drove Real Madrid's 2021-22 triumph, and the last two seasons ended in ties — Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé sharing 2023-24, then Raphinha and Serhou Guirassy each hitting 13 in 2024-25. Where a season ended level, every joint-top scorer is listed together in the same row.
| Season | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-56 | Miloš Milutinović | Partizan | 8 |
| 1956-57 | Dennis Viollet | Manchester United | 9 |
| 1957-58 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid | 10 |
| 1958-59 | Just Fontaine | Reims | 10 |
| 1959-60 | Ferenc Puskás | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 1960-61 | José Águas | Benfica | 11 |
| 1961-62 | Heinz Strehl | 1. FC Nürnberg | 8 |
| 1962-63 | José Altafini | AC Milan | 14 |
| 1963-64 | Vladica Kovačević / Sandro Mazzola / Ferenc Puskás | Partizan / Inter Milan / Real Madrid | 7 |
| 1964-65 | José Torres | Benfica | 11 |
| 1965-66 | Flórián Albert / Eusébio | Ferencváros / Benfica | 7 |
| 1966-67 | Jürgen Piepenburg / Paul Van Himst | Vorwärts Berlin / Anderlecht | 6 |
| 1967-68 | Eusébio | Benfica | 6 |
| 1968-69 | Denis Law | Manchester United | 9 |
| 1969-70 | Mick Jones | Leeds United | 8 |
| 1970-71 | Antonis Antoniadis | Panathinaikos | 10 |
| 1971-72 | Johan Cruyff / Antal Dunai / Lou Macari / Silvester Takač | Ajax / Újpest / Celtic / Standard Liège | 5 |
| 1972-73 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 11 |
| 1973-74 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | 8 |
| 1974-75 | Gerd Müller / Eduard Markarov | Bayern Munich / Ararat Yerevan | 5 |
| 1975-76 | Jupp Heynckes | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 6 |
| 1976-77 | Gerd Müller / Franco Cucinotta | Bayern Munich / FC Zürich | 5 |
| 1977-78 | Allan Simonsen | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 5 |
| 1978-79 | Claudio Sulser | Grasshopper | 11 |
| 1979-80 | Søren Lerby | Ajax | 10 |
| 1980-81 | Terry McDermott / Graeme Souness / Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Liverpool / Liverpool / Bayern Munich | 6 |
| 1981-82 | Dieter Hoeneß | Bayern Munich | 7 |
| 1982-83 | Paolo Rossi | Juventus | 6 |
| 1983-84 | Viktor Sokol | Dinamo Minsk | 6 |
| 1984-85 | Torbjörn Nilsson / Michel Platini | IFK Göteborg / Juventus | 7 |
| 1985-86 | Torbjörn Nilsson | IFK Göteborg | 6 |
| 1986-87 | Borislav Cvetković | Red Star Belgrade | 7 |
| 1987-88 | Gheorghe Hagi / Rabah Madjer / Ally McCoist / Míchel / Rui Águas / Petar Novák / René van der Gijp | Multiple clubs | 4 |
| 1988-89 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan | 10 |
| 1989-90 | Romário / Jean-Pierre Papin | PSV Eindhoven / Marseille | 6 |
| 1990-91 | Peter Pacult / Jean-Pierre Papin | Tirol Innsbruck / Marseille | 6 |
| 1991-92 | Sergei Yuran / Jean-Pierre Papin | Benfica / Marseille | 7 |
| 1992-93 | Romário | PSV Eindhoven | 7 |
| 1993-94 | Ronald Koeman / Wynton Rufer | Barcelona / Werder Bremen | 8 |
| 1994-95 | George Weah | Paris Saint-Germain | 7 |
| 1995-96 | Jari Litmanen | Ajax | 9 |
| 1996-97 | Milinko Pantić | Atlético Madrid | 5 |
| 1997-98 | Alessandro Del Piero | Juventus | 10 |
| 1998-99 | Andriy Shevchenko / Dwight Yorke | Dynamo Kyiv / Manchester United | 8 |
| 1999-2000 | Mário Jardel / Rivaldo / Raúl | Porto / Barcelona / Real Madrid | 10 |
| 2000-01 | Raúl | Real Madrid | 7 |
| 2001-02 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 10 |
| 2002-03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 12 |
| 2003-04 | Fernando Morientes | Monaco | 9 |
| 2004-05 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2005-06 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | 9 |
| 2006-07 | Kaká | AC Milan | 10 |
| 2007-08 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 8 |
| 2008-09 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 9 |
| 2009-10 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 8 |
| 2010-11 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2011-12 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 14 |
| 2012-13 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2013-14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2014-15 | Neymar / Cristiano Ronaldo / Lionel Messi | Barcelona / Real Madrid / Barcelona | 10 |
| 2015-16 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 16 |
| 2016-17 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 12 |
| 2017-18 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 12 |
| 2019-20 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| 2020-21 | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | 10 |
| 2021-22 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 2022-23 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 12 |
| 2023-24 | Harry Kane / Kylian Mbappé | Bayern Munich / Paris Saint-Germain | 8 |
| 2024-25 | Raphinha / Serhou Guirassy | Barcelona / Borussia Dortmund | 13 |
| 2025-26 | Kylian Mbappé | Real Madrid | 15 |
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