Barcelona star only 3 goals away from joining elite UCL list headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is on the cusp of joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in an exclusive UEFA Champions League club. The 36-year-old is three goals away from scoring 100 goals in the elite European club competition.

Ronaldo (140) and Messi (129) - in that order - are the competition's two top scorers and the only ones to score 100 times in the Champions League. Both have also done so for a single club in the competition - Ronaldo for Real Madrid and Messi for Barcelona.

Both Ronaldo and Messi have been absent in the competition since last season after moving out of European football. The Portugal captain now plays for Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr, having joined them in December 2022, while Messi joined Inter Miami in MLS last summer.

Coming back to Lewandowski, the former Bayern Munich marksman has been in superb form this season, blasting 17 goals and two assists in 15 games across competitions. Three of those strikes have come in the UEFA Champions League, where Barca have won two of their opening three games.

Following a 2-1 loss at AS Monaco, the Blaugrana beat BSC Young Boys 5-0 and Bayern Munich 4-1, both at home. They next take on Red Star Belgrade away on Wednesday (November 6), where Lewandowski could join the aforementioned exclusive club.

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A deep dive into Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's UEFA Champions League numbers

Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most prolific Champions League scorers.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the best players in the game's history, with each man scoring over 800 goals for club and country. As mentioned above, that tally includes over 100 strikes in the UEFA Champions League.

Ronaldo, 39, has 140 goals and 48 assists in 183 games for three different clubs - Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Most of those strikes - 105 came with Los Blancos during a nine-season stint, winning four titles, five overall.

Among many records in the competition, Ronaldo is the first to win the Champions League five times (since 1992-93) and remains the only player to score for two different teams in the final.

Meanwhile, Messi has 129 goals and 45 assists in 163 games in the Champions League, with 120 of those strikes coming for Barcelona. All four of his titles in the competition have come with Barca, including two continental trebles (2009 and 2015).