Who is the top American scorer in Champions League history? The elite list is shorter than you think

It’s easy to see why the Champions League is considered Europe’s best soccer tournament - it attracts the top teams, the greatest players and showcases the very best that the Beautiful Game has to offer.

Over the years, many South American players have lit up the Champions League - Brazilians, Argentineans, Uruguayans... but when it comes to soccer players from North America, it’s a different story, and a relatively recent one.

Steve Trittschuh was the first American to play in the Champions League (then known as the European Cup), suiting up for Sparta Prague for both legs of their First Round tie against Spartak Moscow in September 1990.

And only two US-born players, have ever won it. Jovan Kirovski was handed a winners’ medal when Borrussia Dortmund lifted the trophy in 1997 even though he didn’t feature in any of the knockout rounds games or the final.

Christian Pulisic became the second, with a more prominent role in his team. He missed just two of Chelsea’s games on the way to the final in 2021.

Pulisic, the top-scoring US national

Pulisic, who made his Champions League debut with Dortmund in 2016, is the most experienced US player in UEFA’s top club competition, and the most prolific when it comes to scoring goals.

The AC Milan forward has made 63 appearances in the Champions League - more than any other US-born player, and he is also tops the list as the North American with the most goals. Pulisic’s tally stands at 12, but as Milan did not qualify for the 2025/26 edition, four players are now closing in on his record.

Weston McKennie is just one behind Pulisic on 11 goals after adding another four to his tally last season with Juventus. Pulisic and McKennie are the only North American players to have scored 10+ goals in the Champions League. McKennie was quicker to reach double figures - he did it in 40 games while Pulisic got there in his 57th appearance.

In third is PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi who is already on six goals having only played in three editions. The El Pasoean got off the mark with a dramatic, stoppage-time header against Sevilla in November 2023. Last season was his best to date - he celebrated goals against Napoli, Olympiacos and Atlético Madrid.

Balogun enters the ranking

Another player who stormed the ranking in 2025/26 was Folarin Balogun, who has the best goals-per-game ratio of all the North Americans who have starred in the tournament. Balogun has only played the last two editions and has five goals in 13 appearances with Monaco. His debut goal came against Bodø/Glimt last November. He went on to score in the next two matches but his high point was undoubtedly bagging two against the holders PSG in the playoffs.

Tied with Balogun on five goals is Malik Tillman. Born in Germany, Tillman has dual nationality as his father is American. He has starred for four different clubs in the Champions League: Bayern Munich, Rangers, PSV Eindhoven and Bayer Leverkusen. His goals came in the two most recent editions - last season he netted a brace against Villarreal in the group stage.

Beasley: the former number one

Wrapping up the elite US Champions League scorers is the player who once topped the list: DaMarcus Beasley. The left-back made a total of 22 appearances during his time at PSV Eindhoven and Rangers. His fourth and last goal in the competition came against Olympique Lyon in October 2007.

Overall, 16 North American soccer players have scored at least one goal in European soccer’s premier club competition. With Pulisic’s Milan and McKennie’s Juventus both failing to qualify for next season’s edition, Ricardo Pepi will have to gain some ground on the leaders.

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