28-03-2025
The Best Champions League players of the 2024/25 Tournament
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) trophy is European club-side football's most coveted prize. It brings together the best teams from Europe's top soccer leagues to battle it out in group and knockout matches to determine which club will be considered the champions of Europe.
The competition is always fierce, and as well as winning the trophy itself, strikers compete for the Golden Boot, which is awarded at the end of each season's tournament to the player who has scored the most goals. The players who've won the most Golden Boot awards are: Cristiano Ronaldo (7) last won in 1028
Lionel Messi (6) last won in 2019
Ruud van Nistelrooy (3) last won in 2005
Erling Haaland (2) last won in 2003
Raul (2) last won in 2001
Andriy Shevchenko (2) last won in 2006
In the 2023/24 tournament, the Golden Boot was shared by Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, who both scored a total of 8 goals.
But it's not just the top goal scorers who get recognized; this season, UEFA also chooses a man of the match after every single game. The players with the most Man Of the Match (MOM) awards to date, according to the Football Critic website , are: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta) – 3 x MOM
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) – 3 x MOM
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) – 2 x MOM
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) – 2 x MON
Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – 2 x MOM
Sandro Kulenović (Dinamo Zagreb) – 2 x MOM
Of course, many factors must be considered when ranking the best players in the Champions League 2024/25, including who might be awarded the 2025 Ballon d'Or award. Last season, Manchester City's Rodri won. So far this year, the early favourites are Vinicius Junior and Erling Haaland.
When it comes to the world of football and football betting, something soccer enthusiasts enjoy by the millions, author Kate Richardson, the strategic betting analyst for the MightyTips website, explains that there are many different types of bets you can place: Match winners
Tournament winners
First player to score
Final scores
Many more
Sports fans, particularly those who follow football, love to speculate on the outcome of various sporting events and enjoy putting money where their mouth is to see if their knowledge can earn them some cash. If you're a sports gambling enthusiast, Kate Richardson recommends that if you want reliable odds , you should check out the MightyTips website. Reassessing the Best Players Left in the UCL 2024/25 Tournament
We've now reached the quarterfinal stage of the UCL, and we've ditched the players who were previously listed if their teams have left the competition. This includes players like Manchester City's Erling Halland and Rodri, as well as Liverpool's Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai. So, here's our pick of the top players still left in the competition. No.5 – Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
Rodrygo has already been named Man of the Match in the 2024-25 Champions League on two occasions, and rightly so. With 5 goals and 2 assists in the tournament this time round, the Brazilian has contributed significantly to Real Madrid's progress in the tournament.
At only 24 years of age, he has already won 3 La Liga titles and 2 UCL Trophies. In the current tournament, when he scored against Atletico Madrid, at 24 years and 54 days of age, he became the 5th youngest player to notch up 25 goals in the competition. And it wasn't the first time he scored against Atletico Madrid in the UCL. He scored a brilliant solo goal against them in 2022 on Real's journey to win the trophy for the 13th time.
With stars like Mbappe and Vinícius Júnior in the side, Rodrygo is often in their shadow, but make no mistake, he is a class act and could well end up being nominated the player of the 2024/25 tournament. No.4 – Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)
With 7 goals and 3 assists in the current tournament, 24-year-old Vinícius Júnior is flying high for Los Blancos. His audacious ball skills will be put to the test when his team plays Arsenal in their UCL quarterfinal tie on April 8.
It's not just his goal skills, however, that make Vinicius Júnior such a dangerous opponent. He also creates goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates. In fact, he's just overtaken Lionel Messi, who held the previous record for assists in the UCL.
When Real Madrid knocked Manchester City out of this year's tournament, with a lifted pass over Ederson's head into the path of Jude Bellingham, Vini set a new record for assists by one player at 13. Don't forget, too, that the Brazilian is also one of the favourites for the 2025 Ballon d'Or award. No.3 – Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Attacking midfielders are the creative heart of any football team, and Jude Bellingham is part of that heart at Real Madrid. His global recognition on football's world stage makes it hard to believe he is still only 21.
He's already become known for his versatility and vision. He also offers great support for his forward players, with excellent passing and running into space. He is also very good at tracking back and bolstering Real Madrid's defence. He's a real 'do-it-all' midfield player.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been quoted as saying : 'He's a fantastic player, very important for us because he's a complete midfielder, and he brings real pace and intensity to the game.'
Bellingham is the youngest English player to start a UCL game and the first English teenager to find the back of the net in three Champions League campaigns. He's scored three goals and made 2 assists in the current UCL campaign and could well be awarded best player of the competition. No.2 – Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
When it comes to scoring goals, Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in Europe. He was the top goal scorer in the Bundesliga 2023/24 and is currently leading the race again this season. In UCL 2023/24, he shared the Golden Boot award with Kylian Mbappe. In the 2024/25 UCL tournament, he is joint second top goal scorer with another Bundesliga player, Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy. Each has 10 goals at the time of writing, closely trailing FC Barcelona's Raphinha with his 11 goals.
But it's not just Kane's goal-scoring prowess and football awareness that makes him a contender for our UCL best player shortlist; it's also his superb passing ability . No.1 – Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappe is the most likely candidate for UCL 2024/25 Player of the Tournament. As it stands at the time of writing, he has scored 7 goals and notched up 2 assists in the current campaign, but with the quarterfinals fast approaching, he still has plenty of opportunity to improve on those stats, and he probably will.
When the former PSG striker joined Real Madrid, former manager Zinedine Zidane said , 'Mbappe is here now. He will make history at the club, and I think he'll surpass everyone.' So it has been proven.
With a top speed of 35.7 km/h, he is the second fastest player left in the tournament (PSG's Achraf Hakimi is fastest with 36.5 km/h), and most would acknowledge he's the most skilful and athletic. Tags: African Champions LeagueUEFA
