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The Champions League continues to be a tough nut to crack for Portuguese club sides. Porto and Benfica are the only two teams from the European nation to have won the continent's premier club competition. Porto's famous triumph in 2004 under Jose Mourinho remains the most recent instance of a Portuguese club winning the Champions League crown.
At the individual level, however, Portuguese superstars have achieved tremendous success in the tournament. Some of the greatest Champions League performers of all time have represented the A Selecao during their careers.
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Portugal has produced the greatest Champions League performer of all time
Benfica and Porto have combined for four UCL titles. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently just one triumph away from tying Francisco Gento (six-time winner) for the most titles in the tournament's history.
The Manchester United superstar is also UCL's record goalscorer (140) and assist-provider (42). On that note, we take a look at the Champions League's top five Portuguese goalscorers:
#5 Jose Aguas (18 goals in 22 appearances)
Benfica's legendary centre-forward scored 18 goals in just 22 European Cup appearances. Jose Aguas was part of the Benfica squad that won back-to-back continental titles in 1961 and 1962.
He was unplayable in the 1960-61 edition of the tournament, scoring 11 times in nine games as Benfica won the tournament for the first time ever. He passed away in 2000 at the age of 70. Aguas also made 25 appearances for the national team, scoring 11 times.
#4 Jose Torres (19 goals in 33 appearances)
Another Benfica legend, Jose Torres, won nine league titles with the Portuguese giants between 1960 and 1971. He also won four Portuguese Cups and was the top scorer of the Premiera Liga in 1962-63, scoring 26 league goals.
Although he never managed to win the European Cup with Benfica, Torres still netted 19 times in the tournament. His best showing came in the 1964-65 edition when he scored nine times in nine games. The forward also earned 33 caps for Portugal, finding the net 14 times. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 71.
#3 Luis Figo and Jose Augusto (24 goals)
Benfica legend Jose Augusto and 2000 Ballon d'Or winner Luis Figo both scored 24 goals apiece in the Champions League. Augusto, though, took 56 appearances to hit his tally, while Figo made 103 appearances in the competition.
Augusto won two European Cups with Benfica. Meanwhile Figo, who also registered 36 assists in Europe, clinched his lone UCL triumph with Real Madrid in 2002.
The Benfica winger's best showing came in the Portuguese giants' successful campaign in 1961, as he scored seven times in nine games. Figo, on the other hand, registered five goals and nine assists in back-to-back UCL editions (1999-00 and 2000-01) with Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Augusto netted nine times in 37 games for Portugal. Meanwhile, Figo is acknowledged as one of the greatest captains in the national team's history. He is third on all their all-time appearances list (127 games, 32 goals).
#2 Eusebio (46 goals in 65 appearances)
If not for a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, the late Eusebio would have a convincing argument for the greatest Portuguese player of all time. The 1965 Ballon d'Or winner enjoyed a stellar career with Benfica and the Portuguese national team. At club level with Benfica, he won 11 league titles, five Portuguese Cups and the 1962 European Cup.
Eusebio finished as the Portuguese League's top scorer in seven different seasons. He was also the leading goalscorer in three different editions of the European Cup, as well as the 1966 FIFA World Cup with Portugal. With 41 goals in 64 games for A Selecao, he is third on the national team's all-time scoring charts.
Eusebio's best showing at club level in Europe came during the 1964-65 tournament. He scored nine times in nine games and finished as the leading scorer. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 71.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (140 goals in 182 games)
Ronaldo is the most devastating player to have graced the Champions League and holds nearly all the major individual records in the competition. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has five European Cup triumphs to his name.
The Manchester United forward is also the top-scorer and assist-provider in the competition. He has scored 140 goals for the Red Devils, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Ronaldo also holds the record for the most goals scored in a single edition of the Champions League. He made 17 strikes in Los Blancos' triumphant 2013-14 campaign.
In fact, the Portuguese star enjoyed a ridiculously dominant run in the competition between 2011 and 2018. He scored in double figures in seven consecutive editions of the tournament as Real Madrid won the Champions League four times during that spell. Ronaldo has finished as the competition's top scorer in seven different editions.
Ronaldo has over 650 goals at club level and 115 strikes in 184 games for Portugal. He is the greatest goalscorer football has seen so far.
