Real Madrid lifted their 12th European Cup on Saturday thanks to a stunning 4-1 victory over Juventus at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a sweeping shot that deflected past Gianluigi Buffon and into the net, bringing up the 500th goal for the Bernabeu club since the competition was rebranded.
Zinedine Zidane’s men have become the first side to reach that historic mark, with Clasico rivals Barcelona next best, despite being nearly 50 goals behind.
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There have been 74 scorers who have contributed to their tally over the 25 years it has taken them to reach this mark, and here are the men who have weighed in most heavily.
#7 Roberto Carlos (16 goals)
Although Roberto Carlos made more than 100 Champions League appearances, his place on this list is remarkable as he played as a left-back for his 11 years in the Spanish capital, during which time he was certainly considered a Galactico.
His peak years in terms of European scoring arrived 1999 and 2000, when there were two group stages in the competition, meaning that he played 31 times in just two seasons. Nevertheless, his contribution of eight goals was highly commendable.
It would not be until 2003 that he scored his first knockout goal, against Juventus, and of his tally of 16, only two would come in the post-Christmas stages.
Still, for a defender he was utterly formidable and is remembered to this day for his outrageous free kicks.
#6 Guti (16 goals)
Guti might not be the most famous of Real Madrid’s players, but he was a cult hero at the Bernabeu after coming through the club’s youth academy. Indeed, after signing for the club as a 10-year-old in 1986, he left 24 years later to play just a single season away from the Spanish capital.
Like Roberto Carlos, he benefitted from the two-group experiment tested by UEFA around the turn of the millennium, which coincided with a period in which he played in a more advanced role. Consequently, he scored 12 times in a three-year period in Europe, accounting for the vast majority of his tally in 15 years.
He was naturally a playmaker, but Zinedine Zidane’s presence in the team saw him play a deeper role in midfield, with his versatility counting against him in that regard.
#5 Luis Figo (16 goals)
Luis Figo played five years with Real Madrid and contributed 16 Champions League goals to their cause. He arrived as a world-record signing from Barcelona and lived up to his Galactico tag during half a decade at the Bernabeu and was named as one of the greatest foreign players in the club’s history by Marca in 2013.
He was a consistent rather than spectacular scorer, with his first campaign proving his best as he netted five times and created six more. Among his most vital goals for Los Blancos was an effort against Manchester United in the quarter-finals of 2003-04, the opening goal of a tie that was eventually decided 6-5 in the Spanish side’s favour.
#4 Fernando Morientes (19 goals)
A brilliant striker signed from Zaragoza in 1997, Morientes was always destined to remain in the shadow of Raul at the Bernabeu and was ultimately forced out by the signing of Ronaldo from Inter.
Before then, though, he had proven himself as a deadly marksman. During his debut campaign he scored four times in just 10 European outings, and though he did not net in the season that followed, he got 13 more goals in the next two years.
Among his strikes was a goal again Valencia in the Champions League final of 2000.
He proved his value during a loan spell at Monaco, who reached the final at Madrid’s expense – with Moreintes getting a goal as the Ligue 1 side knocked out his parent club on away goals thanks to a thrilling comeback from three down.
Although he later returned to the Bernabeu, he was never quite the same player and swiftly moved on to Liverpool.
#3 Karim Benzema (39 goals)
Since signing from Lyon in 2009, Karim Benzema has rarely won universal acclaim at the Bernabeu, despite a scoring record that has seen him net once in roughly every two matches he has played. In actual fact, his record in the Champions League is even better than that, as the Frenchman has scored 39 times in only 76 outings.
His first goal for Los Blancos in Europe was away in a 1-1 draw against AC Milan, but it was the following campaign he made his breakthrough as he grabbed six goals, including a hat-trick against Auxerre, in only eight appearances. Still, that was not enough to merit even a minute of the semi-final defeat to Barcelona, which he watched from the bench.
Indeed, he has managed at least five Champions League strikes in six of the last seven campaigns – a show of astounding consistency – and in the other he got four.
#2 Raul (66 goals)
Cristiano Ronaldo may be arguably Real Madrid’s greatest ever player, but he still has some way to go to become the darling of the Bernabeu that Raul is. To Madridistas, he represents the beating heart of the club, having ironically arrived in 1992 from city rivals Atleti. He would stay 18 years, spending seven as captain, and enjoyed stunning success.
Raul scored 66 Champions League goals overall for Real Madrid and became the first player to net in two different finals. It was his goal quarter of an hour from time that capped their stunning 3-0 win over Valencia in 2000, and a couple of years later he latched onto a long throw from Roberto Carlos to open the scoring in a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen that is remembered for Zinedine Zidane’s stunning volley.
With 71 goals overall in European play, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo stand above him.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (90 goals)
Ronaldo’s place as a legend of the game is emphasised by just how much he dominates this ranking. He has scored nearly 50 per cent more goals than Raul – a striker who is a legend in his own right at the Bernabeu.
There is simply nothing that the 32-year-old Portuguese has failed to achieve at the Bernabeu and he now has his fourth Champions League crown since moving to Spain and his fifth in total. Perhaps most impressive, however, has been his ability to find the net on the big stage.
He has scored in three different finals, though admittedly one of these was for Manchester United, and was utterly pivotal to victory on Saturday. Sure, there will be games he will be more heavily involved in, but his two goals were telling.
One of the all-time greats.
