Kylian Mbappé currently holds the record for the most goals scored by a season top scorer in the UEFA Champions League since 2000, after the Real Madrid forward finished the 2025/26 campaign with 15 goals. UEFA’s official records show the France international topped the scoring chart ahead of Harry Kane,……
Kylian Mbappé currently holds the record for the most goals scored by a season top scorer in the UEFA Champions League since 2000, after the Real Madrid forward finished the 2025/26 campaign with 15 goals. UEFA’s official records show the France international topped the scoring chart ahead of Harry Kane, who finished with 14 goals.
With a new Champions League season set to begin, Mbappé’s 15-goal haul puts him among an elite group of players who have dominated the competition’s scoring charts over the past 26 seasons.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains the player with the highest individual tally in a single Champions League season since 2000, having scored 17 goals for Real Madrid in the 2013/14 campaign. The Portuguese superstar also scored 16 goals in 2015/16 and 15 goals in 2017/18.
Mbappé matched the 15-goal mark in 2025/26, while Karim Benzema also reached the figure for Real Madrid in 2021/22 and Robert Lewandowski did so for Bayern Munich in 2019/20.
The list of season top scorers since 2000 features some of the biggest names in Champions League history.
In 2024/25, Serhou Guirassy and Raphinha shared the scoring crown after both finished with 13 goals. Guirassy led Borussia Dortmund’s campaign, while Raphinha was instrumental for Barcelona. UEFA officially recorded both players with 13 goals.
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Mbappé had previously finished as the competition’s leading scorer in 2023/24, when he scored eight goals for Paris Saint-Germain.
Erling Haaland claimed the scoring crown in 2022/23 with 12 goals for Manchester City, while Benzema’s 15 goals in 2021/22 helped Real Madrid lift the trophy.
Haaland also topped the scoring chart in 2020/21, scoring 10 goals for Borussia Dortmund, while Lewandowski produced one of the most prolific campaigns in the competition’s history with 15 goals for Bayern Munich in 2019/20.
Lionel Messi dominated the scoring charts during several seasons. The Barcelona legend scored 12 goals in 2018/19, 8 in 2009/10, 9 in 2008/09, 14 in 2011/12 and 12 in 2010/11.
Ronaldo’s dominance was particularly evident between 2013 and 2018. He scored 17 goals in 2013/14, 12 in 2012/13, 16 in 2015/16, 12 in 2016/17 and 15 in 2017/18.
Neymar also finished as the Champions League’s season top scorer in 2014/15, when he scored 10 goals for Barcelona.
Other notable names on the list include Kaka, who scored 10 goals for AC Milan in 2006/07, Andriy Shevchenko, who finished with nine goals for Milan in 2005/06, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who led the scoring charts with eight goals for Manchester United in 2004/05.
The Dutch striker also topped the charts with 12 goals in 2002/03 and 10 goals in 2001/02, both for Manchester United.
Fernando Morientes scored nine goals for Monaco in 2003/04, while Raúl finished as the leading scorer in 2000/01 with seven goals for Real Madrid.
The complete list of season top scorers since 2000, as reflected in UEFA Champions League records, is:
2025/26 – Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), 15 goals
2024/25 – Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund), 13 goals; Raphinha (Barcelona), 13 goals
2023/24 – Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain), 8 goals
2022/23 – Erling Haaland (Manchester City), 12 goals
2021/22 – Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), 15 goals
2020/21 – Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), 10 goals
2019/20 – Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), 15 goals
2018/19 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 12 goals
2017/18 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 15 goals
2016/17 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 12 goals
2015/16 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 16 goals
2014/15 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 10 goals; Neymar (Barcelona), 10 goals; Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 10 goals
2013/14 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 17 goals
2012/13 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 12 goals
2011/12 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 14 goals
2010/11 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 12 goals
2009/10 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 8 goals
2008/09 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 9 goals
2007/08 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), 8 goals
2006/07 – Kaká (AC Milan), 10 goals
2005/06 – Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan), 9 goals
2004/05 – Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), 8 goals
2003/04 – Fernando Morientes (Monaco), 9 goals
2002/03 – Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), 12 goals
2001/02 – Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), 10 goals
2000/01 – Raúl (Real Madrid), 7 goals
The figures underline the dominance of Ronaldo and Messi across the era, with both players repeatedly finishing at the top of the scoring charts before the emergence of a new generation led by Mbappé and Haaland.
Mbappé’s latest achievement is particularly significant as his 15 goals came in only 11 appearances, making him the outright Champions League top scorer for the 2025/26 season. UEFA also noted that he became the first player to finish as the competition’s top scorer for a season while scoring 15 goals since Benzema’s 2021/22 campaign.
As the new Champions League campaign approaches, Mbappé will now have another opportunity to extend his record and challenge Ronaldo’s 17-goal benchmark, the highest single-season tally recorded in the competition since 2000.
