Goals per game: Europe’s most efficient scorers

Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in UEFA Champions League and European Cup history, but when it comes to his goals-per-game strike-rate, he is tenth in the all-time rankings, with his eternal rival Lionel Messi only seventh.

Bayern great Gerd Müller’s 0.97 goals per game ratio in Europe’s top club competition continues to look an unbreakable record, with Spurs’ striker Harry Kane the closet to matching that mark among the current crop. If he scores hat-tricks in his next two UEFA Champions League games, the England international would be (momentarily) top of the pile.

Top goals per game averages in UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs’ Cup

0.97: Gerd Müller (Bayern München) – 34 goals in 35 games
0.86: José Altafini (Milan, Juventus) – 24 goals in 28 games
0.85: Ferenc Puskás (Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid) – 35 goals in 41 games
0.84: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) – 49 goals in 58 games
0.83: Harry Kane (Tottenham) – 20 goals in 24 games
0.82: José Águas (Benfica, Austria Wien) – 18 goals in 22 games
0.81: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 114 goals in 141 games
0.76: Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille, AC Milan, Bayern München) – 28 goals in 37 games
0.75: Eusébio (Benfica) – 47 goals in 63 games
0.75: Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid) – 129 goals in 173 games
0.74: Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund, Bayern München) – 64 in 86 games
0.74: Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid) – 60 goals in 81 games

0.83: Harry Kane (Tottenham) – 20 goals in 24 games
0.81: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 114 goals in 141 games
0.77: Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid) – 56 goals in 73 games
0.76: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid) – 128 in 169 games
0.74: Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund, Bayern München) – 64 goals in 86 games
0.70: Roberto Soldado (Real Madrid, Valencia) – 16 goals in 23 games
0.62: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) – 13 goals in 21 games
0.61: Neymar (Barcelona, Paris) – 35 goals in 57 games
0.61: Vincent Aboubakar (Porto, Beşiktaş) – 14 goals in 23 games
0.59: Kylian Mbappé (Paris) – 19 goals in 32 games
0.59: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart, Bayern München) – 26 goals in 44 games

Top goals per game averages in UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup

1.10: Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – 23 goals in 21 games
1.00: Darko Kovačević (Crvena zvezda, Real Sociedad, Juventus, Olympiacos) – 20 goals in 20 games
0.94: Radamel Falcao (Porto, Atlético) – 31 goals in 33 games
0.81: Dieter Müller (Köln, Stuttgart, Bordeaux) – 29 goals in 36 games
0.76: Ruud Geels (Club Brugge, Ajax, PSV) – 16 goals in 21 games
0.75: Alan (Salzburg) – 18 goals in 24 games
0.75: Torbjörn Nilsson (IFK Göteborg, Kaiserslautern) – 18 goals in 24 games
0.73: Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) – 24 goals in 33 games
0.73: Allan Simonsen (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Barcelona) – 19 goals in 26 games
0.72: Ulf Kirsten (Dynamo Dresden, Leverkusen) – 21 goals in 29 games

Top goals per game averages in all UEFA club competitions*

0.87: Gerd Müller (Bayern München) – 62 goals in 71 games
0.86: Stéphane Guivarc’h (Auxerre, Rennes, Newcastle) – 24 goals in 28 games
0.86: Ferenc Puskás (Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid) – 37 goals in 43 games
0.83: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) – 50 goals in 60 games
0.81: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 117 goals in 145 games
0.82: Ivan Mráz (Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Praha, Dukla Praha) – 18 goals in 22 games
0.82: Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – 45 goals in 55 games
0.80: Kees Kist (AZ Alkmaar, Paris Saint-Germain) – 20 goals in 25 games
0.80: Denis Law (Manchester United) – 20 goals in 25 games
0.80: Kevin Hector (Derby County) – 16 goals in 20 games

Top goals per game averages in EURO games

0.91: Davor Šuker (Croatia) – 20 goals in 22 games
0.81: Artem Dzyuba (Russia) – 17 goals in 21 games
0.79: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands) – 19 goals in 24 games
0.78: David Villa (Spain) – 18 goals in 23 games
0.75: Toni Polster (Austria) – 15 goals in 20 games
0.71: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 40 goals in 56 games
0.71: Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark) – 22 goals in 31 games
0.70: Raúl González (Spain) – 19 goals in 27 games
0.67: Thierry Henry (France) – 18 goals in 27 games
0.67: Marco van Basten (Netherlands) – 16 goals in 24 games

UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs’ Cup
1.25: Just Fontaine (Reims) – 10 goals in 8 games
1.10: Claudio Sulser (Grasshoppers) – 11 goals in 10 games
1.08: Denis Viollet (Manchester United) – 13 goals in 12 games

All UEFA club competitions
0.94: Georgi Asparuhov (Botev Plovdiv, Levski Sofia) – 17 goals in 18 games
0.94: Kiril Milanov (Levski Sofia) – 17 goals in 18 games
0.89: Borivoje Kostić (Crvena zvezda) – 17 goals in 19 games

EURO games
1.33: Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 16 goals in 12 games
1.00: Michel Platini (France) – 10 goals in 10 games
0.92: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) – 12 goals in 13 games
0.88: Harry Kane (England) – 15 goals in 17 games