The 10 players with the most Goals & Assists in a Champions League campaign
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi predictably feature in the all-time top 10 Champions League campaigns for combined goals and assists – but one of them dominates the list a lot more than the other.
Alongside Barcelona and Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer, all-time greats from Bayern Munich and Liverpool feature – while a certain Brazilian is closing in on the outright record in 2024-25.
Here are the top 10 players for total goal contributions in a single Champions League campaign.
=10. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 2021-22 – 16
13 goals, 3 assists
The striker scored 50 goals in all competitions in his last season at Bayern Munich, but his final Champions League appearances for the Bavarian giants were in a disappointing, shock quarter-final elimination to Unai Emery’s Villarreal.
More on Lewy again later…
=10. Raul (Real Madrid) – 2002-03 – 16
9 goals, 7 assists
All of the names that feature here are from the last 15 years or so, apart from Raul.
Ronaldo Nazario fired Real Madrid to the La Liga title in 2002-03 and scored 30 goals in all competitions, all the while stealing the show with an iconic hat-trick against Manchester United in the quarters. But it was their homegrown Galactico that had the better overall numbers in the Champions League that year.
After winning three of the last five, Madrid didn’t actually get their hands on the trophy that year, having been on the wrong end of Juventus’ very own second-leg remontada in the semi-finals.
=7. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 2021-22 – 17
15 goals, 2 assists
King Karim was well worthy of his 2022 Ballon d’Or after stepping out of Ronaldo’s shadow to become Real Madrid’s undisputed main man.
The Frenchman was absolutely ridiculous that season, particularly in the knockout stages.
=7. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – 2017-18 – 17
10 goals, 7 assists
Surprisingly enough, Liverpool’s entry into the top 10 is not Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah, but rather the most often overlooked member of Jurgen Klopp’s era-defining front three.
Firmino also holds the record for a Premier League player for goals and assists in a Champions League campaign. Not Thierry Henry, nor Ronaldo at Manchester United, nor Steven Gerrard, Erling Haaland or Didier Drogba.
Bobby Firmino. Put some respect on his name.
=7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 2016-17 – 17
12 goals, 5 assists
Los Blancos were arguably at their very best in 2016-17, securing a rare Champions League and La Liga double.
Ronaldo’s 42 goals and 12 assists in all competitions were actually relatively meagre in the context of his peak years in the Spanish capital, but he was used sparingly to great effect as Zinedine Zidane navigated two fronts superbly by regularly resting and rotating Real Madrid’s stacked squad.
Fresh and hungry, Ronaldo capped off that year by scoring twice in Madrid’s emphatic 4-1 victory over Juventus in the final.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 2017-18 – 18
15 goals, 3 assists
It’s testament to Ronaldo’s hunger for goals that he cast a sullen, sulky figure in the wake of Real Madrid’s threepeat-clinching 2018 Champions League final victory over Liverpool.
A rare final he didn’t score in, his thunder was stolen somewhat that night after Gareth Bale’s spectacular overhead kick in Kyiv.
“Maybe the Champions League should change its name to the CR7 Champions League,” he boasted, having been asked if he was disappointed not to score.
Outrageously arrogant words, but you can’t question his numbers.
=4. Raphinha (Barcelona) – 2024-25 – 19*
12 goals, 7 assists *And counting!
Raphinha has benefitted from the expanded tournament, with two extra games to fill his boots in the group stage, but you don’t see anyone else from 2024-25 in these upper echelons.
He did notch two goals and two assists against Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade, but generally his goal contributions have come against decent, credible opposition – a hat-trick against Bayern Munich, two assists against Atalanta, five goals in three matches against Benfica (who you imagine were sick of the sight of him), a goal and two assists in the first leg of the Borussia Dortmund quarter-final.
The Brazilian has the second leg against Dortmund and almost certainly a two-legged semi-final, at least, to get three more goals and assists to break the record. Ballon d’Or numbers.
READ: Comparing Raphinha’s 2024-25 Champions League record with Lionel Messi’s best-ever season
=4. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 2011-12 – 19
14 goals, 5 assists
Somehow this is Messi’s only entry in the top 10.
The little genius was arguably at his very best in a season in which Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona juggernaut didn’t get their hands on the trophy.
Alongside his 50 goals(!) and 16 assists in La Liga that year, the Argentinian notched a further 14 goals and five assists in Barca’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.
Incredibly, Messi missed out on lifting either trophy that year. Barcelona were pipped to the Spanish title by Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, while his missed penalty against Chelsea in the semis proved costly.
Had the Argentinian stuck the ball past Petr Cech from 12 yards that night, there’s every chance he goes on to hold the record.
=2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 2019-20– 20
15 goals, 5 assists
The only one other than Ronaldo to feature in this list twice, Lewandowski emulated the Portuguese icon by taking his game to new heights after turning 30.
It was somewhere around this time that the veteran’s goalscoring numbers went truly stratospheric.
He notched a career-best 55 goals in all competitions in Bayern’s historic treble-winning 2019-20 campaign, and the following year broke Gerd Muller’s long-standing record with 41 goals in the Bundesliga.
=2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 2015-16– 20
16 goals, 4 assists
Ronaldo scored three hat-tricks – a record – en route to lifting the trophy for a second time with Real Madrid, and third overall, in 2015-16.
We’ve seen him more potent in the knockout stages in other seasons, with 11 of his total goals that season coming in the group stage (including four against minnows Malmo).
His three hat-tricks and 11 group stage goals remain records intact to this day.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 2013-14 – 21
17 goals, 4 assists
Him again.
The fourth time that Ronaldo features in the top 10, neatly rounding off the four times he lifted the trophy during his legendary nine-year stint with Los Blancos.
Ronaldo’s record has stood for over a decade, with his best numbers in Madrid’s iconic, long-awaited La Decima back in 2014.
He rounded off the campaign with a relatively meaningless penalty – celebrated by taking his shirt off, of course – to make it 4-1 against Atletico in the last minute of extra time, but he was unstoppable in the run to that Lisbon final.
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