Discover the top 10 footballers with the highest goals in history, featuring legendary players and their incredible scoring records. Football has given us some of the best athletes in history, but the players people love the most are usually the ones who can score lots of goals in big games. Whether it’s in the World Cup, the Champions League, the Premier League, or other major tournaments, the glory often goes to those who score important goals when it matters most.
The greatest goal scorers in football have included sharp finishers, amazing headers, and skilled players. These players come from different eras over the past 100 years but share one thing in common: their ability to put the ball in the net.
Football fans have enjoyed watching many incredible goal scorers over the years. Without focusing on style or achievements, here is a list of the top scorers based only on how many goals they’ve scored for their clubs and countries.
10. Joe Bambrick( 626 career goals between 1926-1943)
Joe Bambrick is the first name on this list. He scored an impressive 626 goals in official matches during his career. The Northern Irishman once scored 50 goals in one league season for Linfield in 1930/31. He also played for Glentoran, Chelsea, and Walsall.
In October 1935, Bambrick scored Chelsea’s only goal in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal. This match had the highest attendance ever at Stamford Bridge, with 82,905 fans watching. For the Ireland national football team (which included players from all of Ireland until 1950), Bambrick played only 11 matches but scored 12 goals, including six in one game against Wales.
9. Gerd Muller( 634 career goals between 1964-1981)
Gerd Muller may not have been the most skillful or stylish striker, but he mastered the skill of being in the right place at the right time. This is proven by his incredible 634 career goals. Known as ‘Der Bomber,’ he is Bayern Munich’s top scorer with 523 goals and holds the record for the most goals in Bundesliga history, with 365 goals.
For Germany, only Miroslav Klose has scored more goals, and Muller ranks third on the all-time World Cup scorers list. He finished his career with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, scoring 38 goals in 71 games in the NASL. Muller retired with an impressive collection of trophies, including four Bundesliga titles, four German Cups, three European Cups, a World Cup, a European Championship, and the 1970 Ballon d’Or.
8. Jimmy Jones( 639 career goals between 1947-1964)
Jones is the second player from Northern Ireland on this list, with 639 goals. He played most of his career in his home country and was almost impossible to stop. His best time was at Glenavon, where he was the top scorer in the Irish League for six seasons over 11 years. Jones is still the highest scorer in Irish League history.
He won 17 trophies during his time with Belfast Celtic and Glenavon. Jones also scored a lot in Wales and other parts of his homeland. At Belfast Celtic, he scored 27 goals in 19 matches but had his leg broken by a Linfield supporter during a game. This injury sidelined him for 15 months after a surgery that saved his leg, making his achievements even more impressive.
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7. Robert Lewandowski( 653 career goals from 2008 to modern day)
Robert Lewandowski’s father had big dreams for his son. He named him “Robert” so it would be easy for people around the world to say and remember. Many commentators are probably thankful for this, given how often they’ve shouted his name after another goal.
At Bayern Munich, Lewandowski’s teammate Thomas Muller gave him the nickname “LewanGOALski,” which perfectly suits him. However, one of the best strikers in Champions League history didn’t start strong in the Bundesliga. He found his form in 2011 after joining Borussia Dortmund.
Lewandowski stayed at the top of his game for over a decade by focusing on proper nutrition and training, always looking for small ways to improve. The Barcelona star is so careful about his body that he even sleeps on his left side to protect his stronger right leg.
6. Josef Bican( 722 career goals between 1931-1955)
Josef Bican was a constant threat to defenders, whether in Austria, his birthplace, or in Czechoslovakia, his adopted country. He kept scoring goals even during World War II, when many of his rivals were fighting.
Bican once claimed to have scored over 5,000 goals, which is probably an exaggeration. However, he did achieve remarkable feats, including scoring seven goals in three matches, scoring in 19 consecutive top-tier games, and being the world’s top scorer for five years in a row, a record that still stands. He is also the all-time top scorer for Slavia Prague.
5. Ferenc Puskas( 725 career goals between 1943-1966)
Ferenc Puskás was an amazing footballer. In 1954, he led Hungary to a 7-1 victory over England, scoring two of his 725 career goals in a memorable match. Known as ‘The Galloping Major,’ Puskás became famous at Budapest Honved, where he was the top scorer in Hungary’s first division four times.
In 1956, he joined Real Madrid’s star team, playing alongside Francisco Gento, Alfredo Di Stefano, and Raymond Kopa. He helped the team win five straight La Liga titles and three European Cups. Puskás is still Hungary’s all-time top scorer, and in 2009, FIFA created the Puskás Award, given to the player who scores the best goal each year.
4. Romario( 756 career goals between 1985-2007)
Ronaldo eventually became the most famous Brazilian footballer in Europe, but Romario helped make that possible. Romario played for 10 clubs, including PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, and Valencia, and scored an incredible 756 goals in his career. However, he is mostly remembered for his time at his first two clubs.
His strong performances for Vasco da Gama caught the attention of Dutch club PSV, who signed him. Romario showed he was worth it by scoring nearly a goal per game over five seasons. He helped PSV win three league titles and KNVB Cups.
Later, he helped Barcelona win the 1994 La Liga title and kept scoring goals throughout his career, both in Brazil and around the world. Only Neymar, Pele, and Ronaldo have scored more goals for Brazil than Romario, also known as ‘Baixinho’ (The Little One).
3. Pele( 762 career goals between 1957-1977)
Pele, known as the king of football, is still considered by some to be the greatest player ever. He scored 762 official goals during his amazing career. He played in the 1950s and 1960s, a time when records weren’t kept as carefully, so it’s hard to know exactly how many goals he scored. Many people believe he scored over 1,000 goals in total. He is also the top goal-scorer for Santos.
Out of his 77 goals for Brazil, 12 were scored in the World Cup, which he won three times. This is a record that may never be broken. Apart from a brief time playing for the New York Cosmos in the NASL, Pele spent most of his career in Brazil, where he won six Brazilian Serie A titles and two Copa Libertadores trophies. He held the world record for most goals scored for about 30 years until others started breaking his records.
2. Lionel Messi( 850 goals from 2004 to modern day)
Two men have been the top goal scorers for most of the 21st century. The first is Lionel Messi from Argentina. Known as ‘El Pulga’ (The Flea), Messi has won a record six European Golden Shoes. He is the all-time top scorer for both Barcelona and La Liga. No one else has scored more than his 91 goals in a single year, which he achieved in 2012, bringing his total to 850 goals.
He is also the top scorer for his country and has won the Ballon d’Or eight times. His success is even more impressive considering that as a child, his short height almost stopped him from becoming a professional footballer. In 2022, Messi’s dream came true when he won his first World Cup, scoring seven goals in Qatar and winning the Best Player award.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo( 915 goals from 2002 to modern day)
Messi may have more Ballon d’Or awards, but Cristiano Ronaldo is still the greatest goal scorer ever. No player has scored more goals for Real Madrid than him (450 goals in 438 games), and he also holds the record for Portugal. In fact, his international goal total is higher than any other male player.
Ronaldo has scored more than 900 goals in his career, with a total of 913. He has won three Premier League titles, five Champions League trophies, and Euro 2016, among other achievements. Even though he’s in the final year of his 30s in 2024, the former Juventus and Manchester United player has proven he still has plenty to offer. In 2023, he scored 52 goals for Portugal and Al-Nassr, more than any other player that year. He’s already scored over 40 goals again this season and shows no signs of slowing down.
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