The 4 players with a better goal average in UEFA than Messi and Ronaldo.

In the realm of European football, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are undeniably the untouchable kings of the goal, dominating the history of the European Cup and the modern Champions League with goals and titles. However, when we look at pure efficiency — the goals per game average — there are four names that surpass these two giants of world football. Get ready to discover who the true net assassins are, leaving Messi and Ronaldo behind in the scoring records.

Messi, with 129 goals in 163 matches, maintains an impressive average of 0.79 goals per game. Ronaldo closely follows, with 140 goals in 183 matches, yielding a similar average of 0.77. Interestingly, this same statistic is shared by the legendary Ruud van Nistelrooy and the current phenomenon Robert Lewandowski. But can any of them dethrone the two colossi? The answer is yes, and here is the proof.

Erling Haaland, the Norwegian predator who is revolutionizing contemporary football, is the only active player who achieves a higher average than Messi and Ronaldo in the Champions League. His European impact began at the age of 19 at Red Bull Salzburg, where he shone with a hat-trick in his debut match against Genk. That season, he scored eight goals in six group stage matches — dream numbers for any forward.

His transfer to Borussia Dortmund maintained the trend: 15 goals in 13 matches, surpassing an average of one goal per game. Although at Manchester City his average dipped slightly, 34 goals in 39 matches still represent an impressive tally. In his debut season with City, he was crucial in securing the long-coveted Champions League and the treble, with 12 goals in 11 matches. At 25 years old, Haaland is already the seventh highest scorer in the competition’s history and, if he maintains this pace, he could surpass the current leaders before he even realizes it.

Another name that haunts the history of European football is Gerd Müller, the iconic “Der Bomber” of Bayern Munich. Between 1969 and 1977, Müller nearly achieved an average of one goal per game, a feat that even Ronaldo could not match in his prime years. Between 1972 and 1975, Müller amassed unforgettable victories: he won the World Cup and the European Championship with West Germany and secured three consecutive European Cups with Bayern, cementing his legacy in an unrelenting manner.

Müller’s supremacy was crowned with his sole Ballon d’Or in 1970, and his numbers throughout the 1970s remain among the most impressive ever. His lethal efficiency in attack is a standard that few forwards have managed to replicate, showing that, despite advances in modern football, the classics never die.

In the current landscape, these four players — led by Haaland — represent the true goal-scoring threat in Europe, surpassing the efficiency of the two greatest scorers in the history of the competition. While Messi and Ronaldo continue to shine, the new generation and the legends of the past prove that football is a game of numbers, but above all, of talent and effectiveness at the decisive moment. Get ready to see these stars redefine what it means to be a killer in the Champions League.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.