Nigerian players have become great exports to Europe, with some of them lighting up the continent with goals. The UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of club football in Europe, and some Nigerians have laid a marker with how often they found the net. In this article, we look at the top 10 Nigerian players with the most goals in UCL history, including the qualifying stage.

Victor Osimhen became the highest-scoring Nigerian player in UCL main phase after netting a penalty in Galatasaray’s 1-0 triumph over Premier League champions Liverpool.

The former Napoli man is making a strong case for himself as the greatest Nigerian striker in history, and this latest achievement draws him closer to being that. 

However, there were several others before him that lit up Europe’s elite competition, and in this article we will be looking at the top 10, including their goals during the qualifying stage.

10 = Anthony Nwakaeme (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) – 4 goals 

While he has just one cap with the Super Eagles, Nwaekeme has journeyed well around Europe, playing for seven clubs till date. 

Currently in his second spell with Turkish side Trabzonspor, the forward registered his name in the Champions League scorers chart during his time at Isreali side Hapoel Beer-Sheva.

He represented between 2015 and 2019, and all his four goals came during the qualifying stage in 14 appearances.

10 = Michael Obiku (Feyenoord, Anorthosis Famagusta) – 4 goals

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While his name might not resonate with modern Super Eagles fans, Obiku can be regarded as one of the pioneers of Nigerian representation in the UCL. 

The striker started his journey from the rugged pictches of Nigeria with the Flash Flamingoes, and balled his way to Europe where he played for six different clubs.

He made his mark in the UCL with Cypriot football club Anorthosis Famagusta, scoring three goals during the qualifying stages, while he scored one in the main phase of the competition for Dutch side Feyenoord. 

However, the competition in the Super Eagles during his 1988 to 1992 era was top, and Obiku only had five caps for the senior team, scoring one goal.

He is currently a coach at Feyenoord Rotterdam's Soccer Schools.

9 = Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure (Club Brugge) – 5 goals 

Currently a free agent after his release from Nottingham Forest, the forward had a period where he was regarded as one of the hotetst Nigerian players in Europe.

Dennis enjoyed his best period at Belgian side Club Brugge, and that was where he scored his goals in the UCL, netting two during qualifying and three in the main phase of the competition.

The forward has eight caps for Nigeria with one goal to his name, though he was last invited to the team in 2022.

9 = Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos) – 5 goals

Ideye retired from active football in 2025, but that was after a fulfilling career across Europe and for Nigeria. 

Best known for his partnership with Emmanuel Emenike during Nigeria’s 2013 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, Ideye won 27 caps for the Super Eagles and scored six goals.

For his contributions in the UCL, he scored four goals for Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv – three in qualifying and one in the main phase, while his fifth came for Greek side Olympiacos, also in the main phase.

9 = Nwankwo Kanu (Ajax, Arsenal) – 5 goals 

Arguably the greatest Nigerian in UCL history when all things are considered, including goals, appearnaces and winning the trophy.

‘Papilo’ has the most apperances by a Nigerian in this competition, playing 60 times across his time at Ajax and Arsenal. In that period, he scored five goals, all in the main phase, netting four for the Gunners and one for Ajax.

Kanu won the UCL with Ajax in 1995, playing seven games that season and scoring his only UCL goal for the club.  

A legend of the Super Eagles, Kanu became a fan favourite and some of the goals in his catalog speaks for itself.

6. Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Leicester) – 6 goals

Musa appeared 29 times in the UCL across qualifying (four times) and the main phase (25 times), scoring six times.

The speedster, now plying his trade back in the Nigerian Professional League with Kano Pillars, scored three goals in quaifying and the other three in the main phase of the Champions League.

All of his goals in the competition were during his time with Russian side, CSKA Moscow.

Musa won the 2013 AFCON with the Super Eagles and he is the highest-scoring Nigerian at the FIFA World Cup with four goals.

5 = Julius Aghahowa (Shakhtar Donetsk) – 7 goals 

Aghahowa was known for his backflip celebration after scoring goals, and he scored seven of them in Europe’s elite competition.

The striker netted five times during qualifying and two in the main phase, all for Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk in 26 apperances.

Aghahowa scored 14 goals in 32 caps for the Super Eagles, including that famous header in the 2002 FIFA World Cup against Sweden.

5 = Emmanuel Emenike (Spartak Moscow, Fenerbahce, Olympiacos) – 7 goals

Emenike led Nigeria to its third AFCON title in 2023, but the bulky striker also delivered for clubs in Europe.

Out of his seven UCL goals, five came during the qualifying stages – one for Spartak Moscow, two for three Fenerbahce, and one for Olympiacos – while he scored twice in the main phase for Spartak.

He scored all of this in 13 appearances – seven in the qualifying stage and six in the main phase – highlighting how lethal he was.

He won 37 caps for the Super Eagles, scoring nine goals, four of which came in the 2013 AFCON.

5 = Viktor Ikpeba (Monaco, Borussia Dortmund) – 7 goals

The Prince of Monaco delivered in the UCL main phase, scoring seven goals in 19 appearances during his time at French side Monaco. 

Although he also represented German side Borussia Dortmund in the competition, all of his goals were scored at Monaco.

Ikpeba was part of the 1994 AFCON-winning Super Eagles team, and he won 31 caps for the team, scoring seven goals.

5 = Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Maccabi Haifa) – 7 goals

The interesting thing about Yak’s goals in the UCL was that they all came during his time at Isreali side Maccabi Haifa, when he was quite young and had just moved from Nigerian side Julius Berger.

He scored all his seven goals in eight appearances in the 2002-03 season, including a hat-trick against Olympiakos and a penalty in the 3-0 win over Manchester United.

Yakubu was lethal, and this was evident in his time with the Super Eagles, scoring 21 goals in 58 caps.

1 = Obafemi Martins (Inter Milan, Wolfsburg, Rubin) – 10 goals

The ‘weapon of mass destruction’ as he popularly called – Martins was trouble for oppostion due to his sheer speed and agility.

The striker was Nigeria’s top scorer in the UCL for a long time with nine goals scored in the main phase and one in the qualifying stage.

All his 10 goals in the competition came during his time at Inter, though he also represnted German side Wolfsburg and Russian side Rubin Kazan in the UCL, all amassing to 36 apperances.

Martins’ goalscoring exploits did not end in Europe, as he also scored 18 goals in 42 caps for the Super Eagles.

1 = Victor Osimhen (Lille, Napoli, Galatasaray) – 10 goals 

Osimhen is the Nigerian with most goals in the UCL main phase with 10 goals. The striker scored twice for Lille, seven times for Napoli and he has one for Galatasaray.

The most impressive part is that he has done this in only 18 UCL appearances, and he is going to net more goals in the competition.

Osimhen is also edging close to the top of the Super Eagles all-time scorer chart, having notched 26 goals in 42 caps. He is only 11 goals shy of Rasheedi Yekini, who currently holds the record.