The Champions League is where new stars emerge and legends leave. The world's most recognizable club competition is a dramatic event every season, and it can make or break a player's career in a matter of minutes.
It's often a dream for most players, but for the best of the best, all their hard work, commitment and determination will culminate in their Champions League campaign. The main prize is undoubtedly the championship trophy, but the Champions League Golden Boot is definitely also one of the most important, given to the player (or players) who have scored the most goals throughout the season. Theoretically, a player would have scored enough goals in qualifying to win the Golden Boot, but it is usually the best player in the world who wins it at the end of the final.
Below is a list of all the players who have won the Golden Boot since it was renamed the UEFA Champions League in 1992.
19. Rivaldo
Rivaldo scored 10 goals in the 2000 Champions League, tied for first place with Mario Jadel and Raul. The Brazilian attacker, who was playing for Barcelona at the time, showcased unrivalled skill and goalscoring ability, and his brilliant performances and crucial goals took Barcelona to the semi-finals. It was his best season in the Champions League, although he went on to win with AC Milan in 2003.
18. Mario Jardel
Mario Jadel is the least known of all the Champions League Golden Boot winners. However, during his time at Porto, he scored 130 goals in 125 games. In the 1999/2000 Champions League season, he scored 10 goals, joint first with Rivaldo and Raul. Mario Jardel's goal that season helped Porto reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but were eventually eliminated by Bayern Munich. He scored in both legs against the German giants, but it was Thomas Link's 93rd-minute goal that sealed the victory for Bayern.
17. Del Piero
In 1998, Juventus reached the Champions League final, but lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in this final. However, Del Piero's performance in the final was incredible. The Italian slickered around the game and beat several defenders to score his 10th goal, three more than second-placed Thierry Henry. His performances made him one of the best players in the world at the time, even though he had only won the Champions League once in his career.
16. Milinko Pantic
In addition to Mario Jadel, Milinko Pantici is also an unfamiliar name to most people. However, in 1997, he topped the scoring charts despite scoring only five goals in the Champions League. He scored four goals in the Champions League group stage to help Atletico top the group, surpassing eventual champions Borussia Dortmund. However, in the quarter-finals, Atletico lost 4-3 on aggregate to Ajax despite Milinko Pantic's equaliser in the 105th minute of extra time. Although Pantic did not show exceptional goalscoring talent, he was the top scorer by one goal, which was the best moment of the Yugoslav star's career.
15. Yari Litmanen
Ari Litmanen burst into the mainstream media for his elegance and creativity in his first season at Ajax. During his seven-year spell at Ajax, he scored 91 goals in 159 games, while he scored nine goals in the 1996 Champions League, three more than second-placed Del Piero. He helped Ajax beat Borussia Dortmund and Panathinaikos in the knockout stages before facing Juventus in the final, where Ari Litmanen equalised in the 41st minute to make it 1-1, but they eventually lost on penalties and a brilliant performance by Ari Litmanen ended in brutal fashion.
14. George Weah
George Weah was one of the best strikers of the 90s of the 20th century and even won the Ballon d'Or in 1995. During his Champions League appearance with Paris Saint-Germain in the 1994/1995 season, he scored six goals in the group stage, including two in the final game against Spartak Moscow, thus confirming top spot in the group. In the knockout stages, Weah scored a goal in the first leg of the quarter-finals against Barcelona to help the team progress. In the semi-finals, Paris were knocked out by AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate, and although George Weah failed to score, it was still enough for him to win the Golden Boot.
13. Romario
Romario is often forgotten when it comes to the greatest striker of the 90s of the 20th century, but his talent is unquestionable. In the 1992/1993 Champions League, he was the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, including a hat-trick against AEK Athens in the second round. Although PSV Eindhoven were eliminated from the group stage at the bottom of the group, Romario's talent gave PSV hope for them.
12. Winton Rufehr
In the year following Romario's Champions League Golden Boot award, Winton Rufeel won the Golden Boot with Ronald Koeman with eight goals, and the New Zealand striker was the only New Zealand winner to win the Champions League Golden Boot. In the first and second rounds of the Champions League group stage, he scored four goals to help the team beat Dynamo Minsk and Sofia Levski. He scored another four goals in the closing stages of the group stage, but it wasn't enough to qualify for Werder Bremen. They are third in the group with five points, two points behind second-placed Porto. Despite this, he is still tied for first place with Koeman.
11. Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman has played as a defender and midfielder throughout his career. However he is also a goalscoring machine, especially from set-pieces. This was on full display in the 1993/1994 Champions League, when he was tied with Wynton Rufeel for eight goals. Barcelona reached the Champions League final that season, but ultimately lost 4-0 to AC Milan.
10. Fernando Morientes
In the 2003/2004 Champions League, Monaco faced Porto in one of the most unexpected finals in football history. Jose Mourinho's Porto won 3-0 and Monaco's journey was full of drama, thanks mainly to the contribution of Fernando Morientes. He scored twice against Chelsea in the semi-finals and also scored twice against Real Madrid in the previous round. In the end, he scored nine goals in the Champions League that season and won the Champions League Golden Boot.
9. Kaka
Kaka's grace and skill set him to be one of the greatest players of his generation, and his time at AC Milan embodied the word 'world-class'. In 2007, AC Milan won the Champions League by beating Liverpool 2-1 in the Champions League final. Kaka played a crucial role in the team's progress to the final, scoring 10 goals. He scored three goals in the semi-finals against Manchester United and a crucial penalty in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.
8. Lewandowski
Lewandowski's performance in the 2019/2020 Champions League season was overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic. From March 2020 to August 2020, there was a big truce in the season. As the Polish striker has always done, he helped Bayern Munich through the Champions League group stage and beat Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, with Robert Lewandowski netting three goals in that game. He scored a goal in Bayern's 8-2 win over Barcelona and another in the semi-finals against Lyon as the Champions League heading into a single leg, ending with 15 goals in the Champions League that season.
7. Benzema
Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the 2021/2022 Champions League final for a record 14th time, and Karim Benzema was the key to their victory. Karim Benzema got Real Madrid off to a good start by scoring four goals in the Champions League group stage that season, before they faced Paris in the round of 16, where Real Madrid secured qualification thanks to Benzema's hat-trick. In the quarter-final against Chelsea, Karim Benzema added four more goals, including a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge. In the end, he scored a total of 15 goals and won the Champions League Golden Boot for the first time.
6. Erling Haaland
Haaland is often described as a "goal machine". He won the Champions League Golden Boot with Borussia Dortmund in 2020/21, scoring 10 goals in the Champions League for the German giants, who were eventually eliminated by his future club Manchester City in the quarter-finals. When he joined Manchester City in 2022/23, he won the Champions League in his first season, winning the Champions League Golden Boot with 12 goals.
5. Andrei Shevchenko
In 1999, Manchester United dramatically won the Champions League, but Shevchenko dominated the headlines with his natural goalscoring ability. Shevchenko was still playing for Dynamo Kyiv at the time, scoring eight goals in the Champions League season, tied top with Dwight Yorke and helping the team reach the semi-finals. In the end, they narrowly lost to Bayern Munich and ended their dream journey. In 2006, in his final season with AC Milan, he scored nine goals in the Champions League to help them reach the semi-finals, before they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Barcelona, but the Ukrainian striker still has two goals ahead of second-placed Ronaldinho in the Golden Boot table.
4. Raul
In the 1999/2000 Champions League, Real Madrid were aiming to win the Champions League again, and they did. They won 3-0 against Spanish rivals Valencia in the final. Raul secured the win with the final goal of the game, taking his tally to 10 goals and tied for first place with Mario Jardel and Rivaldo. Meanwhile, the following season, Raul once again topped the Champions League scorer charts with seven goals. Two of those goals came in the quarter-finals, where he helped Real Madrid to a 3-2 victory over Galatasaray. However, in the end, Real Madrid were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
3. Van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy was one of the most underrated strikers of his generation. Despite his great success, few see him as one of the great strikers. Ruud van Nistelrooy's three Champions League Golden Boot awards came during his time at Manchester United (2002, 2003 and 2005). For the first time, he scored 10 goals, including one against Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals, but United eventually lost. The following year, in 2003, United were knocked out of the quarter-finals by Real Madrid 6-5 on aggregate, having scored 12 goals in that Champions League season. In 2005, Manchester United lost to AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16, but he still scored eight goals.
2. Messi
Messi's six Golden Boot awards in the Champions League have showcased his talent. In 2009, Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the final, and Messi won the Champions League Golden Boot for the first time. In the following three years, he won the Champions League Golden Boot with 8, 12 and 14 goals respectively. In 2011, Messi beat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium to win the Champions League Golden Boot again. In 2015, the core MSN combination (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) with Messi as the core played a key role in enabling Barcelona to defeat Juventus again in the Champions League final to win the championship, and Messi also won the Champions League Golden Boot again. Finally, despite losing in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, Messi won his sixth Champions League Golden Boot with 12 goals, showcasing his longevity at the top level.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Champions League Golden Boot seven times, one more than Messi. His speed, power, and natural instincts made him unstoppable at his peak. His first Champions League Golden Boot was in 2008 when United beat Chelsea on penalties in the final. However, the other six were at Real Madrid, including in 2016, 2017 and 2018, when Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo won the Champions League three times in a row. Cristiano Ronaldo scores 16, 12 and 15 goals a year, almost carrying Real Madrid's attack.