Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2013/14 Champions League campaign for Real Madrid set a target that Europe’s finest scorers have spent years chasing. He scored 17 goals in 11 matches, added 2 assists and finished with a goal-per-match ratio of 1.55.
Real Madrid went on to win the competition that season, securing their record-extending 10th European crown. Ronaldo’s 17 goals established the record for the most scored by a player in a single Champions League season.
The scale of the feat rests in its pace as well as its total. Ronaldo scored more than once in every other match he played, according to the season record.
He came close to his own mark in later winning campaigns. Ronaldo scored 16 goals in the 2015/16 Champions League, the second-highest single-season total, and scored 15 in 2017/18 as Real Madrid won the competition again.
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Four different players have reached 15 or more goals in a Champions League edition, yet Ronaldo’s 17 remains unbeaten. Robert Lewandowski scored 15 for Bayern Munich in 2019/20, while Karim Benzema scored 15 for Real Madrid in 2021/22.
Kylian Mbappe reached 15 goals in 2025/26, becoming the first footballer to hit that total in a single season without winning the Champions League. In the 2025-26 season, Mbappé’s tally included a record 13 goals in the league phase. Harry Kane scored 14 goals for Bayern Munich in the 2025/26 Champions League season.
The pursuit now takes place in a competition expanded to include more teams and more games. Ronaldo’s record therefore remains the defining single-season mark even as players receive more opportunities to add to their totals.
Across the competition, excluding qualifying, Ronaldo has scored 140 Champions League goals and Lionel Messi has scored 129. They were the first two players to pass 100 goals in the tournament.
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