15 players with the most UEFA Champions League group stage goals (ranked) | OneFootball

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The 2023/24 Champions League Group Stage will be the last of its kind, with the format changing for next season's competition into a 'Swiss-style' league setup, putting to an end the eight groups of four seen for so long. During that time, there have been dozens of great goalscorers gracing the group stage, ensuring their teams progress smoothly to the knockout rounds when the tension starts to ramp up.

Even in the early stages though, there are always plenty of exciting matchups, with so-called 'minnows' looking to spring a surprise on European heavyweights when they get the chance to face them. However, given the level of opposition can sometimes be said to be a little lower than usual, many of the top players can use the group stage as an opportunity to find their shooting boots early on in the campaign.

So here, we're going to run through the 15 highest-scoring players in the Champions League group stage, since it was rebranded from the 'European Cup' back in 1992, including the 'second group stage' which was also played for a short time between 1999 and 2003. Where players are level, the one who played fewer minutes during the group stage is ranked higher, with all statistics coming directly from UEFA.

15 Andriy Shevchenko - 30 goals

It was in the Champions League group stage that Andriy Shevchenko first made his mark on European football, as he scored a hat trick at the Camp Nou against Barcelona, winning 4-0 with Dynamo Kyiv.

That feat would not be matched by any other visiting player until 2021, with the Ukrainian also netting four goals against Fenerbahce whilst playing for AC Milan in 2005 to boost his exemplary group-stage goalscoring record.

14 Neymar - 30 goals

Also with 30 goals to his name is the Brazilian winger Neymar, though he has played considerably fewer minutes, putting him slightly higher on this list.

Perhaps best remembered for his heroics in the knockout stages against PSG back in 2017 when Barcelona completed a comeback for the ages, the now 31-year-old also excelled early in the season, including multiple hat tricks for both the Catalonian side and Paris Saint-Germain later in his career too.

13 Didier Drogba - 30 goals

Like Neymar, Didier Drogba is most remembered in the Champions League for his heroics deeper into the competition, with Munich 2012 living long in the memory of every single Chelsea fan, as he scored the winning spot kick to win the club their first-ever European Cup.

His success was predominantly with the Blues, but he also managed five group stage goals for his previous club, Marseille, including a hat trick against Partizan - a feat he repeated in west London, with Levski Sofia the opponents instead.

12 Filippo Inzaghi - 30 goals

Rounding out the 30 goals club is one half of a famous set of footballing siblings, the Inzaghi brothers, with Filippo the older brother of current Inter manager, Simone, though it is the former who found more success as a player whilst at AC Milan.

Filippo Inzaghi won two Champions League titles during his career and played a big role in both of them, scoring a remarkable nine group stage goals in 2002/03, followed by both goals in the 2007 final against Liverpool. The former striker also sits at 12th for all-time goals in the competition overall, firmly marking his status as a legend of European football.

11 Mohamed Salah - 32 goals

Moving slightly further higher with the tally now, and it's current Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah who has found the back of the net on 32 occasions during his time at Basel, AS Roma, and on Merseyside. His first came back in 2013, when he scored against Chelsea, who would go on to sign him a year later.

Whilst his success there was limited, it was under Jurgen Klopp that the Egyptian began to shine, constantly getting his side out of trouble, and playing a major part in the fact he has reached three Champions League finals with the Reds, winning once in 2019 against Tottenham Hotspur.

10 Sergio Aguero - 32 goals

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Tied with his former Premier League opponent but with slightly fewer minutes played is one of Manchester City's greatest ever players in the form of Sergio Aguero, whose rise himself was synonymous with that of the 'Blue Moon' in Manchester, as he was part of the team that got City to their first-ever final in the competition, albeit ending with a loss to Chelsea.

It is perhaps a shame that the Argentinian never did lift the elusive trophy with the club, as they went on to win it two years following his departure, but the striker can take solace in the fact he is the side's highest-ever scorer in the tournament - that is, for now, with Erling Haaland chasing him down at an alarming pace.

9 Alessandro Del Piero - 33 goals

Prolific at Juventus for almost the entirety of his career, Alessandro Del Piero was one of the most talented forwards of his time, able both to score plenty and help set up teammates with his classy creativity. He only won the Champions League once in his career, but had plenty of impact individually, being prolific in the group stages for over a decade.

It was in the late nineties and early 2000s that he was at his very best, scoring several types of goals, including multiple free kicks which he would become renowned for. Arguably one of his best came in 2008 when he scored a wonderful set piece against Real Madrid, whose fans applauded him off the pitch owing to the performance they had seen from the Italian.

8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 38 goals

One of the most divisive figures in the history of the game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic certainly got round his fair share of clubs during a career which spanned over four separate decades. Whether it was his early days at Ajax, his time in Milan - for both teams in the city, no less - or the place where he had the most success, PSG, the Swedish forward was never far away from the Champions League.

He is the only player ever to have scored in the competition for six different clubs, which makes it all the more remarkable that he never actually managed to lift the trophy, only ever going as far as the semi-finals - though his goalscoring exploits do at least give him a place among the greats of his era.

7 Thierry Henry - 38 goals

With marginally fewer minutes played in the group stage, Thierry Henry sneaks in ahead of Ibrahimovic with his 38 goals for Monaco, Arsenal and Barcelona, the vast majority of those coming for the North London club, including a memorable hat trick against AS Roma that was capped off with an exquisite free kick.

The French striker would fall at the final hurdle with Arsenal in the 2006 showpiece at the end of the season, but after his move to their opponents that day, Barcelona, Henry did lift the famous trophy once in his career, when he was part of the team that beat Manchester United in 2009.

6 Ruud van Nistelrooy - 50 goals

In a huge jump from the previous tally of goals, Ruud van Nistelrooy's 50 in the group stages represents a hugely impressive return for three separate clubs: namely, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Madrid, though like others on this list, he never did get the chance to lift the trophy at the end of a season.

Several standout moments could be selected from van Nistelrooy's career, but arguably his best moment in the Champions League group stages came in 2004 when the Dutchman hit all four goals in a 4-1 win for Man United against Sparta Prague at Old Trafford.

5 Raúl - 53 goals

A truly great goalscorer in every sense of the word, Raúl was a constant presence in Real Madrid sides of the 2000s, barely letting a game go by without finding the back of the net. Having come through the club's academy, he broke into the senior team in the mid-1990s, and his progress was exponential from then on.

A notably disciplined player - he never got sent off throughout the 17 years he played professionally - the Spaniard was most prolific in the 1999/00 campaign, when he scored seven group stage goals, before going on to net in the final as Real Madrid beat Spanish opponents Valencia.

4 Karim Benzema - 56 goals

Another Real Madrid striker on this list, Karim Benzema is undoubtedly one of the greatest forwards of all time, and had it not been for the presence of a certain Portuguese attacker, his reputation in the Spanish capital may be even greater than it already is.

The Frenchman had an incredible record both at Lyon and at Real Madrid, scoring for 18 consecutive seasons across his time at the two clubs, in a run stretching back to 2005, when he was just 17 years old. There are too many iconic goals to pick out from Benzema, but the numbers speak for themselves: 56 goals in 83 group stage games, with five Champions League titles to his name too.

3 Robert Lewandowski - 61 goals

Even despite his dozens of incredible moments on the biggest stage, there is still a feeling among many that Robert Lewandowski remains underrated for the sheer quantity of goals that the Polish striker has scored. Often seen in the debates surrounding the 'third best' player of his generation, the striker has performed at multiple clubs, including both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Whilst not counting towards this total, it was at the former where he netted an unbelievable four goals against Real Madrid in the 2013 Champions League semi-finals, whilst he was no stranger to four-goal hauls at Munich either, doing so in 2019 vs Red Star Belgrade. Now at Barcelona, there is still a chance he may add to this record, and perhaps even climb higher in the ranking too.

2 Cristiano Ronaldo - 73 goals

Moving into the top two now, and it won't be much of a surprise to anybody that it consists of the two players that have been battling against one another for the better part of a decade, but in this list, it is Cristiano Ronaldo that comes up second. It is still an enormous amount of goals - only three others have scored more in the history of the competition at all stages - but it is a little way short of the Argentinian at the top.

Still, Ronaldo's group stage record for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus could have a book written in its own right, with countless famous goals. From the free kick against Sporting Lisbon in 2007, to the hat trick away at Ajax in 2012, and even the four goals that he put past Malmö in 2015, Ronaldo is without doubt a legend not only of the competition, but of the game itself, and is deserving of his position in this list.

1 Lionel Messi - 80 goals

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Finally, finishing off this illustrious list of some of the greatest players that the Champions League has ever seen, it's Lionel Messi, whose 80 group stage goals are more than any other player in the competition's history. He may not have quite the most overall - that accolade belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo - but in this realm, it is the tricky winger who reigns supreme, with an absurdly high tally in the period of six games at the start of every season alone.

It is almost impossible to select one moment in particular, but the 2011/12 season was particularly special for Messi, with six goals in the group stage followed up by an astonishing five goals in one game at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16. So many other special moments have come since then, with hat tricks galore for the World Cup winner, but with him now plying his trade over in the USA, it seems his time in European football has come to an end - but what a stint it was.