Graphic shows the 20 players with best goals-per-game ratio in UCL knockout stage - Messi 4th

Karim Benzema has been on fire in the 2021/22 Champions League knockout stage.

To be honest, that’s a bit of an understatement, as the French striker has scored a ridiculous nine goals in just five appearances so far.

Benzema netted a hat-trick in the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain to book Real Madrid‘s place in the quarter-finals and he then repeated the feat in the first leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The 34-year-old also netted a dramatic extra-time winner against the Blues at the Bernabeu, before notching a tie-saving brace away at Manchester City on Tuesday evening.

It really has been all about Benzema in 2021/22 and he’s the big favourite to win the coveted Ballon d’Or award as a result.

So, after his heroics in this season’s Champions League knockout stage, how does the Frenchman’s overall record compare to the other greats?

Well, in terms of goals-per-game ratio, Benzema possesses only the eighth-best record at the time of writing.

A Reddit user has provided a graphic detailing the top 20 players in that regard and unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo sits comfortably top of the pile.

Lionel Messi doesn’t even make the top three, though…

Ronaldo is the greatest player in Champions League history – and it’s not even close.

Messi’s record certainly isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s been usurped by both Robert Lewandowski and Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe in recent years.

Sadio Mane is also ahead of Liverpool colleague Mohamed Salah, which is something of a surprise, while Kevin De Bruyne is impressively the only midfielder to feature in the top 20.

The Belgian maestro scored Manchester City’s only goal across the two hard-fought legs against Atletico Madrid and found