Champions League all-time top goalscorer: What Mbappe needs to do to break Ronaldo record amid Haaland threat

By Ben Sully | 10 Sep 2026 02:21, Last updated: 10 Sep 2026 02:23

Kylian Mbappe moved to join the fifth-place in the Champions League and European Cup all-time top scorers list with his effort in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Inter Milan.

Complacency in the Inter backline left Mbappe with a simple finish for Real Madrid's opener at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The strike took his tally to 71 goals in 99 Champions League matches, equalling the return of Real Madrid legend Raul. 

Mbappe is now behind Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the competition's all-time top scorers list.

Here, Sports Mole looks at what Mbappe needs to do to become the Champions League's leading scorer, and whether the feat is feasible for the 28-year-old forward.

Mbappe is 19 goals away from Karim Benzema's Champions League tally and 38 goals adrift of Lewandowski's UCL haul.

If and when he beats those tallies, Mbappe will turn his focus to eclipsing Messi and Ronaldo, who sit in second and top spot with 129 goals and 140 goals respectively.

Ronaldo averaged 0.77 goals a game to reach his staggering tally in 183 Champions League appearances, including 105 in 101 UCL games for Real Madrid.

Mbappe, who averages 0.72 goals a match in the Champions League, will need to effectively double his current tally if he is to surpass Ronaldo's record before the end of his career at the pinnacle of European football.

The Frenchman will need to have a long UCL career if he needs a similar number of games to score 69 goals than has taken him to reach the 71-mark. 

However, there is every chance that he scores at a much faster rate if his 2025-26 European campaign is anything to go by.

The Real Madrid star netted 15 times in 11 outings to finish as the competition's top scorer despite the fact that his side were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

If he can continue to hit the 15-goal mark, Mbappe will beat Ronaldo's tally within the next five seasons. 

Realistically, he will not achieve such incredible consistency, considering his 2025-26 season represents the only time he has hit double figures in his Champions League career.

His previous best tally in a single season was the eight goals he scored in 2020-21 and 2023-24 during his time with Paris Saint-Germain. 

If he were to consistently net eight goals per season, he would need to compete in another nine Champions League campaigns, by which time he would be 36. 

With players playing longer than ever, there is every chance that Mbappe does take the record for himself by the time he hangs up his boots.

That said, there are a number of factors that could dent his chances, including the threat of injuries that every footballer has to deal with.

Age will be a factor, and any loss of pace could harm his attacking threat, although his natural goalscoring ability puts him in a strong position to adapt his game in the latter stages of his career, similar to how Ronaldo transformed himself into a focal-point striker who predominantly operates in the box. 

The club Mbappe plays for will obviously have an impact on his chances, with the forward currently under contract with Real Madrid until the summer of 2029.

Mbappe is unlikely to leave Los Blancos anytime soon, but if he were to move to the Premier League in a hypothetical scenario, the battle to secure Champions League football would be tougher than it is at Real Madrid.

A great example is the fact that a club the size of Chelsea are currently without European football, and Man United are just set to make their return to the Champions League after two seasons away.

The looming presence of Erling Haaland could also spoil Mbappe's bid to be the Champions League's greatest goalscorer, with the Norwegian currently sitting in seventh spot in the competition's all-time top scorers list.

The Manchester City star averages a goal every match in the Champions League and is 12 goals away from Mbappe despite playing 40 games less. 

Haaland could catch up and overtake Mbappe if he continues to score at the otherworldly rate he has in his first 59 UCL appearances. 

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