How far is Haaland from Messi, Ronaldo's Champions League goals?

With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo no longer in Europe, Erling Haaland is taking all the limelight in Europe. The Manchester City star may face competition from other stars to become the greatest star in the continent, but his fantastic scoring stats seem to give him the edge.

On Tuesday, he once again found the net for the Citizens, increasing his Champions League tally to 39 goals. The Norwegian superstar hit twice against Young Boys, giving his side the lead from the penalty spot before sending home a powerful shot from outside the box.

His 39 goals may not look like a lot if we compare it to Ronaldo or Messi’s count, but we have to consider that Haaland did this in just 34 games. In fact, the Norwegian sensation is the only player among the 50 all-time Champions League top scorers who has more goals than appearances.

He’s still far from Ronaldo’s record of 140 Champions League goals, while Messi is also well above Haaland with 129 goals. But it’s safe to say the young striker is on pace to reduce that difference.

Cristiano Ronaldo against Lionel Messi in a Champions League game

Where does Haaland rank among the Champions League all-time top scorers?

With his double against Young Boys, Haaland has become the 20th top scorer in UEFA Champions League history. It only took him five seasons to get there, which is why we can expect the striker to continue climbing spots on this list.

Champions League all-time scorers

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 140 goals (183 games, 19 seasons, 3 clubs)
2. Lionel Messi – 129 goals (163 games, 19 seasons, 2 clubs)
3. Robert Lewandowski – 92 goals (114 games, 13 seasons, 3 clubs)
4. Karim Benzema – 90 goals (152 games, 19 seasons, 2 clubs)
5. Raul – 71 goals (142 games, 15 seasons, 2 clubs)
6. Ruud van Nistelrooy – 56 goals (73 games, 11 seasons, 3 clubs)
7. Thomas Muller – 53 goals (144 games, 16 seasons, one club)
8. Thierry Henry – 50 goals (112 games, 13 seasons, 3 clubs)
9. Alfredo Di Stefano – 49 goals (58 games, 9 seasons, one club)
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 48 goals (124 games, 16 seasons, 6 clubs)
11. Andriy Shevchenko – 48 goals (100 games, 12 seasons, 3 clubs)
12. Filippo Inzaghi – 46 goals (81 games, 11 seasons, 2 clubs)
13. Eusebio – 46 goals (55 games, 11 seasons, one club)
14. Didier Drogba – 44 goals (92 games, 12 seasons, 3 clubs)
15. Mohamed Salah – 44 goals (79 games, 9 seasons, 3 clubs)
16. Neymar – 43 goals (81 games, 10 seasons, 2 clubs)
17. Kylian Mbappe – 42 goals (64 games, 8 seasons, 2 clubs)
18. Alessandro Del Piero – 42 goals (89 games, 12 seasons, one club)
19. Sergio Aguero – 41 goals (79 games, 13 seasons, 2 clubs)
20. Erling Haaland – 39 goals (33 games, 5 seasons, 3 clubs)

Haaland also pursuing Messi, Ronaldo’s UCL Golden Boots

At 23, Haaland can already take pride in having two Champions League Golden Boots after being the tournament’s top scorer in the 2020-21 and the 2022-23 seasons.

But as impressive as that may sound, they are still not even close to the number of Golden Boots both Messi and Ronaldo have collected. The Portuguese star has been the lone highest goalscorer of the Champions League in six different editions, whereas the Argentine ace did it on five occasions. Besides, these stars have shared the honor in the 2014-15 campaign.