Who will win the top scorer title in the Champions League 2024/2025?
Finally, it's time for by far the biggest tournament in club football in the world to kick off the 2024/2025 season, and of course, we are talking about the UEFA Champions League. The reigning champion is (as usual almost...) Real Madrid, who last season claimed their 15th title after defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final in London.
The favourites to win are the same as usual, of course - Real Madrid and Manchester City as the big favourites, and Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Barcelona as possible challengers. Sure, there are other teams that can surprise and go far, as Borussia Dortmund did last season, reaching the final, but in the end, one of the six mentioned teams is likely to be the winner.
Here, however, we will now focus on the top scorer title, as we are after all a site focused on the best goal scorers in football. It is noteworthy that since the format has changed and more teams are involved, there are several weaker teams than usual. This means that the big teams will get a few more matches against weak opposition, so it would hardly be surprising if the top scorer this season scores more goals than usual.
The three big favourites
Last season, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé shared the top scorer title with eight goals each. They are also two of the three big favourites for the title this season as well, along with a certain Norwegian guy.
Erling Braut Haaland, Manchester City
Erling Braut Haaland has won the Champions League top scorer title twice, in the 2020/2021 season when he played for Borussia Dortmund, and in the 2022/2023 season playing for Manchester City. Last season, the Norwegian scored "only" six goals in the tournament, but it is likely that he will score more goals now.Haaland has started this season brilliantly. After four rounds in the Premier League, he has scored in every match, scored two hat-tricks, and has scored nine goals in total. And expect Haaland to score quite a few goals in matches against opponents like Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Prague, and Club Brugge.
Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé, as everyone probably knows, has finally made the move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid. He has started a bit tentatively at his new club but has still scored three goals in the league so far, and the more comfortable he becomes in his new club, the more goals he is likely to score at a steadier pace.Real Madrid generally always goes far in the Champions League, and even though they initially might be missing their other big star player Jude Bellingham due to injury a match or two, they are likely to go far and score many goals, and a large part of those goals will be scored by Mbappé.
Harry Kane, Bayern Munich
Harry Kane didn't need long to adapt to his new team and the German league last season, and even though Bayern Munich didn't win any titles, Kane scored plenty of goals. As mentioned, he scored eight in the Champions League and shared the top scorer title, and he also became the top scorer in the Bundesliga with a whopping 36 goals.Only three matches have been played in the Bundesliga so far, but Kane has already scored four goals, and he scored a hat-trick over the weekend in Bayern's 6-1 away win against Holstein Kiel. Bayern begins with a relatively easy home match against Dinamo Zagreb tonight, and no one will be surprised if Kane scores multiple goals and sits at the top of the top scorer table after the first round.
The three big challengers
To be honest, we would be surprised if none of the above players becomes the top scorer, but that doesn't mean there aren't challengers. We have three candidates who could potentially win the top scorer title, at least if their teams manage to go far in the tournament.
Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona
36-year-old Robert Lewandowski hardly needs a lengthy introduction. The Pole has won the top scorer title in this tournament before, in the 2019/2020 season when he played for Bayern Munich. Although he is getting a bit older and hasn't shown the same goal-scoring rate at Barcelona as he did in his previous clubs, he should be counted as a strong contender.Lewandowski currently leads La Liga's top scorer chart with four goals in five matches, and it's not just him personally who has started the season strong. Barcelona are in the top of the league after five straight wins and a goal difference of 17-4, and they have looked very strong at the start of the season and could go far and score lots of goals.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Both Liverpool and Mohamed Salah started this season strongly under new coach Arne Slot, but they suffered a very surprising setback over the weekend after a 0-1 loss at home to Nottingham. Despite this, it feels like they could be a team to count on again this season.Salah has initially scored three goals in the Premier League, and he seems to enjoy playing under his new coach. Liverpool certainly has a plethora of attacking players who can score goals, but if they are to go far in the Champions League, Salah will need to maintain the fine form he has shown so far.
Lautaro Martinez, Inter
Our third and final challenger is Inter's Argentine Lautaro Martinez. Inter is currently Italy's strongest club by far and is probably the only Italian club that can go far. Last season, Martinez won the top scorer title in Serie A by a wide margin and scored 24 goals, and he is a striker who has had steady development over the past few seasons.Martinez, however, has started a bit shakily this season, at least in terms of goal-scoring, as he hasn't scored a single league goal so far. Instead, his strike partner Marcus Thuram has impressed and scored four league goals, but we believe that Martinez will eventually get going with his goal-scoring.
Five players who could surprise
We conclude by listing five players who may not go so far as to win the Champions League top scorer title, but they could very well end up very high in the top scorer table.
Kai Havertz, Arsenal
Arsenal is currently a very stable team and is one of the teams that could very well go all the way. They don't have a Thierry Henry or Ruud van Nistelrooy who consistently score lots of goals in today's team, and therefore it's harder to see them having a golden boot winner in their squad. However, many of the team's goals are likely to come from the German Kai Havertz, who became a more stable goal scorer as last season progressed. He has also started this season well with two league goals, and since he is now the first choice as the central striker in Arsenal, it could also result in quite a few Champions League goals from Havertz.Viktor Gyökeres, Sporting
The Swede Viktor Gyökeres scored loads of goals for Sporting last season, including 30 in the league, which led to a top scorer title in the Primeira Liga, and he has also started this season brilliantly with eight league goals in five matches. Sporting is hardly one of the favourites in the tournament, but they have shown great form with five straight wins in the league and should not be underestimated. They are a team that scores many goals, and Gyökeres is their number one goal scorer.Julián Álvarez, Atlético Madrid
Julián Álvarez is a prestigious signing for Atlético Madrid, and the intention is that he will become the club's new big striker star in the long run. Atlético has, however, chosen to ease him into the team carefully at the start, and he has only started two of five matches in the league, and it was only in the last match, a 3-0 win over Valencia, that he scored his first league goal for the club in stoppage time. It's a bit of a proving ground for the Argentine now after playing second fiddle behind Haaland at City for a couple of seasons, but if he adapts quickly to his new team, he will be an interesting player to watch.
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