The Top 10 highest goalscorers of all time

Although several players still active feature in this ranking, meaning the numbers are liable to shift almost weekly, here is a snapshot of the 10 highest goalscorers in football history. To make this Top 10, a player needs to have surpassed 616 career goals.

Despite a significant rise in the number of matches played over the decades, players from the 21st century do not make up the majority of this Top 10 of all-time leading scorers. That trend can be explained by a much higher overall standard and level of competitiveness than in the past.

Conversely, four of the players on this list ended their careers before the 1970s.

10. Joe Bambrick — 616 goals (1926-1943)

Born in Belfast in 1905, Joe Bambrick began his career in 1926 with Glentoran in the Northern Irish league.

A club well known to Olympique de Marseille fans, since their victorious 1993 Champions League campaign began with a two-legged tie against the Belfast side (8-0 on aggregate to the French club). In a single season, he scored 22 goals in 28 matches.

After a brief spell there, he joined rivals Linfield, located slightly further south in the city. There, the forward's numbers exploded. Between 1927 and 1935, he netted no fewer than 286 goals in 183 matches, a ratio of 1.56 goals per game.

Bambrick then made the move to England and Chelsea, where he spent three years, before signing for Walsall in 1938-39. In total, he added 49 more goals to his tally before returning to Linfield to end his career in 1943.

Overall, the numbers place Joe Bambrick 10th on the list of the greatest goalscorers in history, with 616 goals. Playing against Wales for Ireland, he scored six goals at Celtic Park in 1930, a mark that has never been matched since in an international match.

9. Eusebio — 619 goals (1957-1978)

We move forward slightly in time to discover the ninth name on this list: the Portuguese legend Eusebio, who lit up Benfica between 1961 and 1975, winning, among other honours, the Ballon d'Or in 1965.

Born in Mozambique, a Portuguese colony until 1975, he arrived at Benfica in December 1960 at the age of 18. In his very first match for the Eagles, in May 1961, he scored a hat-trick. He never lost his scoring touch during his 14 years in the Portuguese capital, netting no fewer than 473 goals in 440 matches.

Following spells in the United States, Mexico and Canada at the end of his career, he hung up his boots with 619 goals and an impressive honours list that included 11 Portuguese league titles and one European Cup (1962). Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, to give him his full name, is considered one of the greatest players of all time.

8. Gerd Muller — 634 goals (1964-1981)

Gerd Muller is known as a one-club man: Bayern Munich. Developed in his hometown of Nordlingen, he joined the Bavarian giants in 1964 and, for 15 years, terrorised German and European defences.

Nicknamed "Der Bomber", the striker scored no fewer than 570 goals in 613 matches and, beyond his ability to score from any position, it is also his knack for delivering on the biggest occasions that remains etched in memory, particularly for the national team.

He scored, for example, in the finals of Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup, both won by West Germany.

"Everything Bayern Munich has achieved is thanks to Gerd Muller and his goals," the great Franz Beckenbauer once said of him.

The 1970 Ballon d'Or winner won no fewer than 14 titles with Bayern, including four league titles and three European Cups. Late in his career, he added 40 goals for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the United States, taking his total to 634.

7. Jimmy Jones — 647 goals (1947-1964)

After Joe Bambrick, another Northern Irishman makes his way into this ranking of the greatest goalscorers in history. Unlike his compatriot, Jimmy Jones spent his entire career at home, representing five clubs in the Northern Irish league.

Notably, he scored 553 goals in 417 appearances for Glenavon between 1949 and 1962, winning three league titles with the club. There is nonetheless some debate over his total goal tally, with some claiming he surpassed 840 goals.

6. Josef Bican — 720 goals (1931-1957)

Considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, Josef Bican played between 1931 and 1955, first in Austria (Rapid Vienna, Admira), then in what is now the Czech Republic, most notably during eleven seasons with Slavia Prague, during which he averaged more than two goals per match.

On three occasions, Bican managed to score seven goals in a single match.

His career was also shaped by the various political situations across Europe at the time. Courted by some of the biggest clubs on the continent, he notably turned down Juventus over concerns about a potential communist takeover in Italy.

Various governments in Czechoslovakia and Austria attempted to use him for propaganda purposes, without success.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics credits "Pepik" with 720 career goals.

5. Ferenc Puskas — 729 goals (1943-1966)

We continue this ranking with a centre-forward who left his mark on world football, and who even has an award named after him, recognising the best goal of a season: Ferenc Puskas. The Hungarian spent his first 13 seasons with Budapest Honved between 1943 and 1956, winning four league titles.

With 434 goals in 405 matches to his name, he signed for Real Madrid after a year and a half without playing. Not through injury, but because of a political crisis, with the Hungarian national team deciding not to return home and going into exile instead.

Alongside Alfredo Di Stefano and Raymond Kopa, Ferenc Puskas, whom some had considered finished, shone brightly once again, adding a further 242 goals for the Merengues, including four league top-scorer titles. He also finished second in the 1960 Ballon d'Or, behind Barcelona's Luis Suarez.

4. Romario — 755 goals (1985-2007)

We now jump forward slightly to discover the fourth name on our list. It's Romario, who burst onto the European scene with PSV Eindhoven between 1988 and 1993, before joining Barcelona for two seasons.

The former Brazil international went through no fewer than 16 club changes over the course of his career, but that didn't stop him from scoring almost everywhere he played.

Following his success with Brazil at the 1994 World Cup, his career became somewhat more turbulent. Barcelona decided to terminate his contract due to disciplinary issues and disappointing performances, combined with the player's own desire to return home.

From 1995 onwards, he went on to have spells in Brazil (Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Fluminense), Qatar, the United States and even Australia, continuing to find the net wherever he went. His record for the Selecao is equally impressive, with 55 goals in 70 appearances, taking his overall tally to 755.

3. Pele — 762 goals (1957-1977)

The number of goals scored by Pele has been the subject of debate for many years. The Brazilian legend claimed to have surpassed the mythical 1,000 mark, and FIFA even credited him with 1,281 career goals.

However, a large portion of that total is believed to have come from Santos' world tours, sometimes against low-level opposition.

Regardless, "King Pele" remains an exceptional player, still very much part of the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) conversation. The only footballer to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970), he is credited with no fewer than 762 career goals, with Santos (1956-1974), New York Cosmos (1975-1977) and Brazil.

"Records are made to be broken, but mine will be difficult to beat. People always ask me when the next Pele will be born. Never! My father and mother have closed the factory," he once said himself.

2. Lionel Messi — 921 goals (2004-)

Developed at La Masia and given his professional debut on 16 October 2004 against Espanyol in the Barcelona derby, Leo Messi enchanted Barcelona fans for 17 years.

During that time, the Flea found the net 672 times in 778 matches. He reached his highest single-season total in 2011-12, scoring 73 goals in 60 matches across all competitions. In the 2012 calendar year alone, he scored an astonishing 91 times, an all-time record.

In 2021, he left Catalonia for Paris Saint-Germain with an extensive honours list, including 35 titles, among them 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions Leagues.

His spell with the Parisian club did not quite go as planned, with "only" 32 goals scored in 75 matches. Since joining Inter Miami in 2023, he has returned to elite standards, netting prolifically for the Florida franchise.

At international level, he currently has over 100 goals to his name for Argentina, a tally that grew further during a historic run to the 2026 World Cup final, in which he scored eight goals and became the tournament's all-time leading scorer.

As of August 2026, Lionel Messi's career total stands at 921 goals, a figure still climbing.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo — 976 goals (2002-)

This ranking of the greatest goalscorers in history currently remains dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo, who is closing in on the unprecedented 1,000-goal mark at a remarkable pace.

Having reached 976 official career goals following his penalty against Croatia at the 2026 World Cup, the Portuguese star is now just 24 goals away from becoming the first player in football history to hit four figures.

Ronaldo's scoring exploits began at Sporting Portugal in 2002, before taking on a new dimension at Manchester United (145 goals across two spells), and above all at Real Madrid, where he also shattered records in his long-distance duel with Lionel Messi (451 goals in 438 matches). He continued at the same rate with Juventus, scoring 101 goals in 134 matches.

He has also become the all-time leading scorer in men's international football history, overtaking Iran's Ali Daei with over 130 international goals, in addition to being the most-capped player in the men's game.

Could CR7 realistically reach the symbolic 1,000-goal mark? It is far from impossible — ESPN's own projections suggest he could reach the milestone before the end of 2026 if he continues scoring at his current rate for Al-Nassr.

The Top 10 highest goalscorers in history