Inter Milan Top Scorers In the UEFA Champions League

The Nerazzurri are one of Europe’s most storied clubs. Inter Milan reached the UEFA Champions League Final last year, famously beating cross-city rivals AC Milan in the semifinals before being pipped to the prize by Manchester City in the Istanbul showpiece, despite being the better team.

Their most recent triumph in the tournament came back in 2010 when the maverick Jose Mourinho led an ageing Nerazzurri squad to a 2-0 victory against Bayern Munich in Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.

Fast forward 14 years and Inter’s 2024/25 Champions League campaign is finally underway. The competition has a new look this season, with the number of teams expanded from 32 to 36 and featuring a massive initial league stage rather than eight groups of four.

The revamped tournament seemingly hasn’t upset the usual suspects, however! Websites are still allowing people to make a soccer bet online with Manchester City a +250 favourite, and reigning champions Real Madrid just behind them at +325. Inter, meanwhile, are considered a +2000 contender, just behind French champions Paris Saint-Germain (+1800), and ahead of German champions Bayer Leverkusen (+2500).

But unlike their fellow champions from neighboring countries, the Nerazzurri have plenty of pedigree on the continental stage, and here are the men responsible for it.

Adriano

Iconic Brazilian striker Adriano is a player that the streets won’t forget, and he is Inter Milan’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 14 goals.

The powerhouse frontman shone brightly during his stint at the San Siro, becoming a central figure for the club between 2004 and 2009. He helped the Nerazzurri to four straight Scudettos during his time with the club, as well as a pair of Coppa Italia crowns.

Unfortunately, however, continental success eluded Adriano and his side’s success domestically struggled to translate onto the European stage.

Inter failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals throughout the Brazilian’s time with the club, falling at that stage in back-to-back seasons in 2005 and 2006, firstly to rivals AC Milan and then to tournament debutants Villareal.

That was as good as it would get, with three straight Round of 16 exits in the following years.

Typically, as soon as Adriano left the club, Inter climbed to the summit, winning the tournament in 2010 with the former Parma man’s replacement, Diego Milito, netting twice in the final.

Julio Cruz

Argentinian striker Julio Cruz is often forgotten when it comes to the illustrious list of former Inter strikers. Much more emphasis is placed on the likes of the aforementioned Milito and Brazilian legend Ronaldo.

However, Cruz was a reliable hitman for Roberto Mancini, despite the spotlight being on Adriano and Swedish sensation Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Throughout the latter part of the 2010s, the “The Gardener” bagged 13 times in the Champions League for Inter Milan, good enough for second all-time.

His knack for scoring in critical matches made him a valuable asset during Inter’s European campaigns, with his late equalizer against Ajax in Amsterdam in 2006 being particularly memorable.

But like his teammate Adriano, he too never made it past the quarterfinals of the tournament, and Inter would lift the Big-Eared trophy as soon as Cruz left the club.

Lautaro Martinez

Current club captain Lautaro Martinez has quickly made a name for himself in the Champions League.

Since joining the club in 2018, he has already scored 12 goals in the competition, the third most of all time, and surely more will follow. Throughout his first three years with the club,

Inter suffered three straight group stage exits after not qualifying for the tournament in the six years prior.

However, thanks to Lautaro’s agility, technical skill, and instinctive finishing, the reigning Italian champions finally made it out of the group stage in 2022. The Argentine striker did his best to help his side progress further, netting a famous late winner against eventual finalists Liverpool at Anfield, but he would have to wait another year for that to happen.

In 2023, Martinez helped Inter out of the group stage once more, and this time, he was front and centre. He struck up a lethal partnership with Romelu Lukaku to mastermind victories against Porto, Benfica, and AC Milan en route to the final, bagging against the latter of that trio in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, however, he couldn’t find the net in the Istanbul final, allowing Manchester City to nick a 1-0 victory. He will be hoping to go one better this season.

Hernan Crespo

Argentinian poacher Hernan Crespo had a knack for finding the back of the net like no one else.

He spent three years with Inter across two different stints with the club, netting 11 times in the Champions League in the process. In his first full season with the club, he helped Inter to the semifinals, netting a mighty nine goals in just 11 games.

His lethal strike partnership with Christian Vieri helped the club to emerge as genuine contenders, but unfortunately, once again, the Rossoneri from across the city would eliminate their greatest rivals.

Crespo moved to Milan via a stint with Chelsea, helping them to a Champions League final in 2005. He returned to Inter in the two years after that, netting two more goals but unfortunately never making it past the quarterfinals.