A number of players in world football have distinguished themselves by their incredible ability to score goals. This exclusive ranking presents the top 10 goalscorers of all time, each of whom has scored more than 500 goals in his or her career. Discover these legends, from Cristiano Ronaldo (837 goals) to Lionel Messi (806 goals), Pele (637 goals) and Robert Lewandowski (757 goals), and explore the number of spectacular goals they scored for their clubs and national teams. Each of them has left an indelible mark on the history of football.
The objective of football is clear: to score a goal. These footballers have solidified their place in history by scoring a large number of goals in all sorts of circumstances and from all sorts of angles.
Here are the top 10 goalscorers of all time.
10. Ferenc Deák – 576 Goals
Ferenc Deák’s prowess may have been overshadowed by that of his compatriot Ferenc Puskás, but the Hungarian footballer was nonetheless an exceptional striker.
With 576 goals scored for club and country, the legendary Hungarian footballer ranks 9th on this list of top scorers. Deák was a genuine goalscorer, with an incredible ratio of 1.15 goals per game throughout his career.
He played for several teams during his active career, including Szentlrinci SE, Ferencváros and Budapesti Dózsa. He also represented the Hungarian national team on 20 occasions, scoring 29 goals.
Ferenc Deák was voted Hungarian Footballer of the Year in 1946. The Second World War prevented Deák from playing more often for Hungary, otherwise this legendary player could have been placed higher in this ranking of top scorers.
9. Eusébio – 631 Goals
Statistical figures in football are often exaggerated, but 631 goals in 650 matches make Eusébio, the Portuguese legend of the Black Panther, one of the greatest goalscorers of all time. For many, including the great Pele, Eusébio was the undisputed king of football, with an exceptional talent. He is regarded as an icon in his homeland and is one of the greatest Portuguese footballers of all time.
Blessed with athleticism and an incredible instinct for goal, Eusébio is best known for his time at Benfica, where he won a European Cup and 11 championships. In 440 appearances for the Portuguese giants, he found the net 473 times.
Eusébio won several individual awards during his career. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1965 and came second the following year, losing out to Bobby Charlton by a single vote. In 1968, he was awarded the Golden Boot for scoring the most goals in Europe. A feat he repeated five years later.
The Black Panther is without doubt one of the greatest strikers in the history of football.
8. Robert Lewandowski – 637 Goals
Poland’s Lewandowski, an internationally renowned player and Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich legend, is regarded as one of the best number 9 strikers of recent years. Quite simply, he is one of the best scorers in the history of football. Exceptionally effective in front of goal, the Polish striker has put in one good performance after another during his career.
After making his Polish debut with Pruszków, Lewandowski joined Lech Poznań, where he won his first titles. But it was at Dortmund that he would showcase the full extent of his talent to the whole of Europe. In all, he scored 103 goals in 187 games for the club, including a four-goal haul against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final. After 2 German league titles and a Champions League final, he joined Bayern Munich.
With the Munich club, he won an impressive number of titles, including the Champions League in 2020 and 8 Bundesliga titles. Having scored 344 goals in 375 games, he is the second-highest scorer in Bayern’s history behind the legend Gerd Müller. On his arrival at Barcelona, he had already scored 33 goals in 45 games. With the national team, Lewandowski has also scored 78 goals in 140 games.
7. Gerd Müller – 735 Goals
Gerd Müller is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of football. The German footballer was not the type of player to make beautiful feints or waste his time making spectacular dribbles. What he did was score goals, and he scored goals every time he played. Müller is also one of the top scorers in the history of the World Cup.
Gerd Müller’s figures are truly impressive. He has scored 735 goals for club and country. He even held the record for the most goals in a calendar year before being overtaken by Lionel Messi. Müller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich, almost 100 more than the second-highest scorer in the Bundesliga, Klaus Fischer.
Renowned football writer David Winner described Müller’s style of play as follows:
“He never had the conventional profile of a great footballer, but he had lightning acceleration speed over short distances, excellent aerial skills and an exceptional goalscoring instinct. His short legs gave him a surprisingly low centre of gravity, allowing him to turn quickly and with perfect balance in space and at speeds that surpassed those of other players. He also had a knack for scoring in the most unlikely situations”. But he had lightning acceleration over short distances, excellent aerial skills and an exceptional goalscoring instinct.
His short legs gave him a surprisingly low centre of gravity, allowing him to turn quickly and with perfect balance in space and at speeds that surpassed those of other players. He also had a knack for scoring in the most unlikely situations”. But he had lightning acceleration over short distances, excellent aerial skills and an exceptional goalscoring instinct. His short legs gave him a surprisingly low centre of gravity, allowing him to turn quickly and with perfect balance in space and at speeds that surpassed those of other players. He also had a knack for scoring in the most unlikely situations.
6. Ferenc Puskás – 746 Goals
With his powerful left foot and excellent positioning, Ferenc Puskás is undeniably one of the best players in history. He was the mainstay of the “Magical Magyars” and led the Hungarian team to unparalleled success.
During his career, Puskás teamed up with the great Alfredo Di Stefano during his time at Real Madrid, where he tore up defences and led Los Blancos to five consecutive titles and three European Cups.
The legendary Hungarian striker was La Liga’s top scorer for four seasons in a row. He scored 746 goals in 754 games, a testament to his finishing skills. In fact, Ferenc Puskás features in our Top 10 of all-time top strikers.
He is also the top scorer for the Hungarian national team, with 84 goals in 85 appearances. With 746 career goals, Puskás is fourth in the all-time top scorers list.
5. Pelé – 762 Goals
During the 1958 World Cup, a 17-year-old Brazilian striker emerged as perhaps the greatest prodigy of all time.
With his speed, natural elegance, ease, balance, impressive power and, above all, intelligence, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, affectionately known as Pelé, is one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Winner of three World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970, Pelé is the only player in the world to have achieved such a feat. He also scored a remarkable 762 goals throughout his career. He also features in our list of the greatest Brazilian players of all time.
Pelé never played in Europe and spent most of his career with Santos.
4. Romario – 772 Goals
In a long and successful career that spanned almost 24 years, Romario strengthened his legacy by becoming one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of football. The Brazilian is best known for his stints with PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, two of the greatest European clubs of all time.
With exceptional dribbling and finishing skills, Romario is one of the most feared strikers of all time, thanks to his expansive attitude and unshakeable self-confidence. He scored 165 goals in 167 games for PSV and also found the net 39 times in two seasons at Barcelona.
During a nomadic career in which he played for teams such as Flamengo, Vasco Da Gama, PSV, Barcelona and Valencia, Romario scored 772 goals in 994 games, including 55 goals for Brazil.
3. Josef Bican – 805 Goals
Josef Bican was Europe’s top scorer on five occasions this season, averaging 1.52 goals per game. Bican possessed the ability to play ambidextrously. He also had considerable speed and could run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, which was as fast as many sprinters of the time.
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) named Bican the ‘Golden Ball’ for the best goalscorer of the last century. Bican is best known for his stints with Rapid Vienna and Slavia Prague. He is the only person in the history of football to have scored 7 goals in a single match on three different occasions.
His goalscoring record with Vienna and Prague is nothing short of incredible. In 49 games for Vienna, he found the net 52 times, while with Prague, he contested 217 games and scored 395 goals. With 805 goals over the course of his career, the Austrian occupies second place in the list of the top scorers in the history of football.
2. Lionel Messi – 832 Goals
Lionel Messi, the talented Argentinian footballer who has won the Ballon d’Or five times, is an undeniable phenomenon. Since 2008, he has been a key figure at FC Barcelona, turning in outstanding performances for both his club and the Argentinian national team.
He is a fast, agile player with excellent dribbling skills, but above all, he is one of the best goalscorers of all time. The Argentinian genius, now 35, has scored 672 goals in 778 games for the Catalans. He now holds the record for the player who has scored the most goals for a single club, just ahead of Pele.
Messi is without doubt one of the greatest footballers in history. He also features in our Top 10 of the best dribblers of all time. Messi is also a true legend of the Argentinian national team. As well as winning the Copa America in 2021, he also won the World Cup in 2022, scoring twice in the final.
He is the national team’s top scorer with 102 goals in 174 games. As one of only three active players on this list, Messi still has the chance to climb the rankings for the rest of his glittering career.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 862 Goals
One of the two best players of this generation. Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly one of the most remarkable players of all time. He joined Real Madrid for a record fee of €94 million, before recently signing for Juventus. During his years at Real Madrid, his scoring prowess was astounding.
In 438 appearances, Ronaldo scored 450 goals and was at the forefront of Real Madrid’s three Champions League wins in the last four years. He has also been prolific with Manchester United, scoring 145 goals in 346 games.
Ronaldo has scored 715 goals for his club, making him the greatest goalscorer in the history of modern football. CR7 is also top scorer in the Champions League, with 141 goals. With 122 goals for Portugal, he is quite simply the all-time top scorer for his country.
He has scored a total of 862 goals in his career. Ronaldo now tops the list thanks to his scoring exploits. CR7 is also one of the 10 richest athletes in the world.
| Pos | Players | Numbers of goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 862 buts |
| 2. | Lionel Messi | 832 buts |
| 3. | Joseph Bican | 805 buts |
| 4. | Romário | 772 buts |
| 5. | Pelé | 762 buts |
| 6. | Ferenc Puskás | 746 buts |
| 7. | Gerd Müller | 735 buts |
| 8. | Robert Lewandowski | 637 buts |
| 9. | Eusébi | 631 buts |
| 10. | Ferenc Deák | 576 buts |
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