who is the most successful goal scorer in the history of the eufa champions league
Cristiano Ronaldo
title: Gareth Bale text: 16 goals but Real Madrid were unable to reclaim the title, finishing in third. The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League competition saw Bale scoring once prior to the final. This goal came from the match against Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, when he opened the scoring in a 3–1 victory in Germany. In the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final, Bale scored two goals, first an overhead kick and then a long distance strike, resulting in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool, to help Real Madrid win their thirteenth Champions League trophy. He became the first substitute to score twice in a title: European Cup and UEFA Champions League records and statistics text: Bayern Munich. A total of 12 clubs have won the tournament multiple times: the three forementioned clubs, along with Liverpool, Ajax, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Benfica, Nottingham Forest, Juventus, and Porto. A total of 17 clubs have reached the final without ever managing to win the tournament. Clubs from ten countries have provided tournament winners. Spanish clubs have been the most successful, winning a total of 17. Italy and England are joint-second with 12, while the other multiple-time winners are Germany with seven, Netherlands with six, and Portugal with four. The only other countries to provide a tournament winner title: UEFA Champions League text: the most goals scored, with Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in Hampden Park, courtesy of four goals by Ferenc Puskás and a hat-trick by Alfredo Di Stéfano. This was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, a record that still stands today. Real Madrid’s reign ended in the 1960–61 season when bitter rivals Barcelona dethroned them in the first round. Barcelona themselves, however, would be defeated in the final by Portuguese side Benfica 3–2 at Wankdorf Stadium. Reinforced by Eusébio, Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5–3 at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam and kept the title for a second, consecutive season. Benfica title: European Cup and UEFA Champions League records and statistics text: are taken both over time and between nations. Regardless, the following clubs all won competitions further to "the" treble mentioned above: Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United are also the only teams to have won the three major UEFA official Cups, namely UEFA Champions League/European Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and UEFA Cup/Europa League. Juventus was the first club in association football history—and remain the only one at present—to have won all official continental tournaments and the world champions title. Chelsea became the first club to hold the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League trophies simultaneously title: Ruud van Nistelrooy text: Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona as the tournament "referee". During the 2014 World Cup, Van Nistelrooy worked as a studio analyst for ESPN. "(Source)" PSV Manchester United Real Madrid Individual Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy (; ; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of the PSV Eindhoven under-19s team. A former striker, he is the fifth-highest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history with 56 goals. He is a three-time UEFA Champions League top scorer, as well