Mbappe VS Haaland efficiency PK! Can they surpass Ronaldo s Champions League scoring record?

Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are widely regarded as two of the best players in the world today after taking over the mantles of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. These two incredibly talented players are among the most valuable players in the world, while Messi and Ronaldo are nearing the end of their careers.

Messi and Ronaldo have won a combined 13 Ballon d'Ors during their illustrious careers and have been competing for individual and collective honors for nearly two decades. Messi and Ronaldo are not yet retired, chasing lucrative opportunities at Inter Miami and Riyadh Victory respectively, but they are no longer playing in club football's top competition, the Champions League. Messi and Ronaldo are undoubtedly the top two goalscorers in Champions League history, but can Mbappe or Haaland surpass their records?

The top five scorers in the history of the Champions League (excluding qualifying matches)

Ronaldo is the top scorer in the history of the Champions League, with 140 goals. The Portugal international has scored 106 goals for Real Madrid, 21 for Manchester United and 14 for Juventus in the Champions League. Ronaldo was the Champions League's top scorer for an impressive seven seasons, scoring 0.79 goals per 90 minutes in the Champions League throughout his career. Messi is second with 129 goals, but he scores more goals per 90 minutes (0.86) than Ronaldo. Messi has scored 120 goals for Barcelona in the Champions League and has scored in 18 consecutive seasons starting in 2005/06.

While it is highly unlikely that Ronaldo and Messi will add to their tallies, Robert Lewandowski could still add to his 105 goals. Barcelona are one of the favorites to win the Champions League this season and the Polish striker will have ambitions to build on his recent success as the Champions League's 100th goal scorer. Lewandowski is also Bayern Munich's all-time leading scorer in European competitions with 69 goals.

Karim Benzema ranks fourth on the all-time list. After leaving European football for Saudi Arabia in 2023, his career Champions League goals will be fixed at 90 goals. The French striker memorably scored 15 goals in the Champions League that season with Real Madrid as they beat Liverpool in the Champions League final in 2022.

Raul is the third former Real Madrid player in the top five, with the Spanish legend scoring 71 goals in the Champions League and the first player to reach 50 goals.

Mbappe has scored more goals in the Champions League (60) than Haaland (53), but the Manchester City striker has a much higher goalscoring rate - the Norwegian is averaging more than one goal per 90 in the Champions League at 1.04, compared to Mbappe's 0.75 goals per 90.

Before Haaland broke Mbappe's record by reaching the 40-goal milestone in 35 games, the former Paris Saint-Germain striker was the fastest player to reach 40 goals in the Champions League (59 games). However, given Haaland's higher goal-scoring rate, he is arguably the one with the best chance of breaking Ronaldo's record.