Key Takeaways
The fastest players to reach 50 Champions League goals have been revealed courtesy of UEFA.
Thomas Muller made the most appearances before reaching 50 UCL goals: 130 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo achieved 50 CL goals in just 91 matches, almost 30 more than the former Manchester United record-holder.
The Champions League is the stage where legends are born, and scoring 50 goals in Europe’s premier club competition is a remarkable feat. It represents consistency, brilliance, and the ability to excel on football's grandest stage. While some players take years to reach this milestone, others have achieved it in record time.
In this article, we take a deeper look into the nine quickest players to reach 50 Champions League goals, with Kylian Mbappe recently becoming the latest to hit the milestone. He reached half a century after scoring his second goal in the competition for new club Real Madrid following his bombshell move from PSG over the summer.
As the most successful club in the competition with 15 European titles, the Frenchman is accompanied by four other former Los Blancos stars, while Barcelona has three and Bayern Munich has two.
Although Mohamed Salah and Filippo Inzaghi have scored 50 Champions League goals, some of them were in the qualification stages and therefore are not included in UEFA's official rankings.
Fewest appearances to reach 50 Champions League goals
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Thierry Henry & Cristiano Ronaldo feature
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Champions League
Thomas Muller made the most appearances before reaching 50 Champions League goals, achieving the milestone in 130 games. However, as his primary role at Bayern Munich has not been focused on scoring, his remarkable longevity has earned him a rightful place among the ranks of esteemed marksmen. He is one of just two players to have scored all their goals in the competition for one club.
Reaching the milestone in 27 fewer games was Thierry Henry. The Frenchman's blend of speed, skill, and clinical finishing made him a massive problem for any defender. Although he couldn't lift the trophy with Arsenal, Henry played a key role in Barcelona's 2009 triumph. His performances for both clubs, including a standout campaign with Arsenal in 2005-06 where the Gunners reached the final, underline his Champions League pedigree, who interestingly finished his career on the half-a-century milestone.
Raul Gonzalez follows on the list, reaching 50 goals in his 97th Champions League appearance. With three winners’ medals to his name, he remains the most decorated player among the first three mentioned. Additionally, as Real Madrid’s third all-time top scorer, Raul’s legacy is undeniable. However, he is overshadowed by the club’s top scorer, who also surpasses him here.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the competition's all-time leading scorer with an astounding 140 goals in 183 games, reached the 50-goal threshold in just 91 appearances. Though five players achieved the milestone faster, Ronaldo’s nickname, 'Mr. Champions League', reflects his unparalleled dominance. By the time he concluded his European career in early 2022, the 39-year-old had claimed five titles and was widely regarded as the greatest player in the competition’s history before moving to Saudi Arabia.
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Kylian Mbappe breaks into top five alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy and Lionel Messi leading the pack
Ruud van Nistelrooy in the Champions League
Karim Benzema is the fourth-highest goalscorer in Champions League history (90 goals) and also fourth on the all-time appearances list (152). The French striker unquestionably played his part in Real Madrid’s Champions League victories of 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. But while he lurked in the shadows of Ronaldo, he joined the 50-goal club sooner than his partner in crime, doing it in 88 appearances.
There's a new man on the scene in Madrid nowadays, and Kylian Mbappe pips both of the former Los Blancos forwards he is trying to replicate. Scoring his 50th Champions League goal in a 3-2 victory over 2023/24 Europa League champions Atalanta in a repeat of the 2024 Super Cup showdown. The former Monaco and PSG jet-footed frontman has achieved the feat in 79 matches, just two fewer than third-placed Robert Lewandowski.
At 36, the world-class Polish striker remains a constant presence in the ever-evolving landscape of Europe’s elite club competition. Despite his advancing age, he continues to thrive when given opportunities in the final third. This season alone, he has netted seven goals in five European games for Barcelona, bringing his impressive career total to 101 goals in 125 appearances.
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Just missing out on a place at the top of the fastest players to reach 50 goals is none other than Lionel Messi. This will surprise a few readers, but when you consider he played deeper in the early stages of his career - acting as more of a playmaker - then the fact he still achieved 50 goals in just 66 games is yet another feather in the cap of the greatest footballer of all time.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, a forward renowned for his goal-scoring prowess at the peak of his career, holds the record as the fastest player in Champions League history to reach 50 goals. In his prime, Van Nistelrooy perfected the art of a penalty-box predator, consistently finding the net on Europe’s grandest stage while representing PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, and Real Madrid. Famously, however, he never won a title, nor did he ever reach a final.