Have you ever thought: ‘Who has scored the most goals in football history?’. Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Our team of experts has scoured the web to find the top 10 male goal scorers in the history of football! Will your favorite football player make our list or are they just narrowly missing out on the goal?
This list takes into account goals from any match in the player’s career - whether that be from a league team or when they are wearing an international football shirt. A goal’s a goal at the end of the day, right?!
Any avid MysteryFootball fan knows we love a mystery jersey, but when the shirts are famous for the number of goals scored - even better.
So, let’s kick off!
Who Has Scored the Most Goals in Football History?
This is a quick snapshot of the top 10 most goal scorers in football history!
Rank |
Player |
Number of Goals |
|
1 |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
915 |
|
2 |
Lionel Messi |
850 |
|
3 |
Pelé |
762 |
|
4 |
Romário |
756 |
|
5 |
Ferenc Puskás |
725 |
|
6 |
Josef Bican |
722 |
|
7 |
Robert Lewandowski |
653 |
|
8 |
Jimmy Jones |
639 |
|
9 |
Gerd Müller |
634 |
|
10 |
Joe Bambrick |
626 |
10) Joe Bambrick - 626 goals
Starting our list of who has scored the most goals in history is Northern Irish player, Joe Bambrick.
The former Chelsea player is best known for his catchphrase ‘Head, heel, or toe, slip it to Joe’, as he was sure to score. And boy did he!
Bambrick also holds the record for the most goals scored for a British Isles player in an international fixture as he scored six of seven goals when Ireland played Wales in 1930!
9) Gerd Müller - 634 Goals
Next up on our list is ‘der Bomber’ also known as Gerd Müller. The footballer is best known for wearing German football shirts and is widely thought of as one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of football!
He averaged a goal a game when he was playing for West Germany and in his 15 years with Bayern Munich, he scored 365 goals in 427 matches. Impressive, right? So much so, that is a record holder of that league!
He's just so gerd!
8) Jimmy Jones - 639 Goals
We’ve got yet another Northern Irish footballer on this list! Jimmy Jones is the leading goalscorer in all of Irish League football history - he scored more than 809 goals in official matches.
He played for a number of clubs including Fulham and Belfast Celtic, but he made the most impact at Glenavon where he was one of the few that helped the team have its most successful period in history.
7) Robert Lewandowski - 653 Goals
Next up for who has scored the most goals in football history is Polish footballer Robert Lewandowski.
Not only is he a striker and the captain of the Polish national team but he also is a striker for the La Liga football team, Barcelona. He is thought of as one of the world’s greatest strikers and has scored over 600 senior career goals for club and country.
Image Source: Robert Lewandowski
6) Josef Bican - 722 Goals
Josef Bican - also known as Pepi - is one of the top goalscorers in football history. The Austrian-Czechoslovakian footballer scored 591 goals across his 11-year career at Slavia Prague and became the club’s all-time highest goalscorer.
He was part of Austria’s 1930’s Wunderteam and was part of the squad that represented the country at the 1934 World Cup where they reached the semi-finals.
5) Ferenc Puskás - 725 Goals
Number five on our list of the top goalscorers ever is Ferenc Puskás. The Hungarian footballer is considered to be the first-ever international football superstar (move over, Becks).
He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for his country and got to the 1954 World Cup final! He also won three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966) and ten national championships - five in Hungary and five in Spain.
Sometimes referred to as the Galloping Major, he is thought to be one of the best goalscorers in the world - clearly!
4) Romário - 756 Goals
Did you know that the Brazilian footballer Romário is now a politician? The striker is best known to be one of the few players in history to score at least 100 goals for three different clubs, which are:
- PSV
- Flamengo
- Vasco da Gama
He represented his country at the 1994 World Cup and was the player of the tournament so received the Golden Ball. The same year, he was named FIFA’s World Player of the Year.
When he was wearing his PSV football shirt, he became the Eredivisie champion three times and scored 165 goals in 167 games. He also played for Barcelona and was part of the ‘Dream Team’ with teammate Hristo Stoichkov who became a striking partnership - in both senses of the word!
3) Pelé - 762 Goals
Starting our top three of who has scored the most goals in the history of football is the icon that is Pelé. Considered to be the King of Football, he is the one we have to thank for calling football ‘the beautiful game’!
His 762 goals came from his years at Santos and New York Cosmos. He may not be number one on this list, but he holds a Guinness World Record for the 1,279 goals he scored in 1,363 games (including friendlies).
In 2000, he was named World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics and is joint winner of the FIFA Player of the Century with Maradonna.
2) Lionel Messi - 850 Goals
Just narrowly missing out on the goal is Lionel Messi with 850 goals. The Argentine football player is both forward and captain for Inter Miami as well as the Argentina national team.
He is considered one of the greatest players in history, having won eight Ballon d’Or awards and FIFA’s World’s Best Player. He is also the most decorated player in football history, as he has won:
- 45 team trophies
- 4 Champions Leagues
- 2 Copa Américas
- 1 World Cup
With over 850 goals scored for both club and country, Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time.
Image Source: Lionel Messi
1) Cristiano Ronaldo - 915 Goals
At the top of our who has scored the most goals list is none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. Often referred to as the GOAT, for this accolade, he sure is!
The Portuguese footballer is both forward and captain of the Saudi Pro League team Al Nassr and the Portuguese national team. Naturally, Ronaldo has won several accolades throughout his career. This includes:
- 5 Ballon d’Or awards
- 3 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards
- 4 Golden Boot awards
- 5 World’s Best Player by FIFA
Of course, he has also won numerous Champions Leagues, European Championships, and Nations Leagues. So much so, that he holds the Champions League record for the most:
- Appearances
- Goals
- Assists
Overall, he has made over 1,200 professional career appearances and scored 915 goals in his senior career. Ronaldo is the player who has scored the most goals in football history!
Image Source: Cristiano
Score a Great Deal With a Football Shirt from Mysteryfootball!
Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo was at the top of the list - was there any doubt from the GOAT?!
If you want to be just like the most goal-scorers, why not get a new football shirt from MysteryFootball? We have a wide selection of retro, current, and Mystery Football Shirt boxes for you to choose from.
We’ve helped over 100,000 happy customers, will you be next?
There really is nowhere better to build out your random football top collection. Shop with MysteryFootball today.
