Top 5 highest goal scorers of all time

By Peter Ochieng

Portugal captain Christiano Ronaldo became the first footballer to score 900 official goals, when he netted in his side’s 2-1 win against Croatia in a group 1 UEFA Nations League encounter on Thursday last week.

He followed it up with his 901 goal, during Portugal’s 2-1 over Scotland three days later. Besides Ronaldo, there are other footballers who in their illustrious careers, scored over 750 goals. Here is the list:

5. Pele: 757 goals

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his nickname Pelé has been mentioned as one of the greatest ever players.

The three-time World Cup winner who died on December 29, 2022 aged 82 only played for Santos FC in Brazil and New York Cosmosin the US, while leading Brazil to glory throughout his career.

He scored nearly a goal-per-game during his 656 competitive games for Santos, though there are claims that he scored more than 1,000 times in his career. However, it is widely accepted that hundreds of the goals came during tour or friendly matches.

Pele made his debut for Brazil when he was just 16, winning his first World Cup at 17.

4. Romario: 772 goals

Romário de Souza Faria, simply known as Romario led Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, scoring five goals in the tournament.

The former footballer turned politician enjoyed a stellar career at a number of top clubs around the world, including Spanish giants Barcelona and Valencia.

The forward played for over 10 teams in total, playing over 700 games. However, his time at Dutch giants, PSV Eindhoven gave him the most success in front of goal as he scored 98 goals in just 110 matches.

Romario also netted 55 times in 70 caps for his country.

3. Josef Bican: 805 goals

The Austrian-Czechoslovakia legendary striker scored an incredible 395 in 217 games for Slavia Prague from 1937 to 1948.

He also starred for multiple clubs, racking up an unbelievable number of goals. Bican was football’s leading goal scorer of all time for over 60 years, but he has now finally been overtaken.

Although it is said he scored close to 1,500 goals in total during his playing days, only 805 of those were recognized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

2. Lionel Messi: 838 goals

One of the two players in this list who is still active as a footballer. A true legend, the Argentine has won countless trophies to go along with his goals, including a record eight Ballon d'Or awards. He has won 44 trophies – the most of any footballer, dead or alive.

Now with Inter Miami in the United States, the Argentine has a few years left to add to his remarkable tally. He netted over 650 times for Barcelona before moving on to PSG in 2021, where he scored 32 more.

A prolific goal scorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals (474), hat-tricks (36), and assists (192) in La Liga, most appearances (39) and assists (18) in the Copa América. He has the most international goals (109) and appearances (187) by a South American male. Besides individual accolades, the 37-year-ol forward has led Argentina to the World Cup and Copa America crowns, among other titles.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo: 901 goals

A modern day great for Portugal, Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. Ronaldo has won everything in the game, and is still going strong at 39. Only the World Cup is missing from his list of accolades.

He remains the only player to score at five separate World Cups, and he is not done yet with talk of retirement premature, according to the man himself. In fact, Ronaldo has broken more boundaries, securing the most expensive contract in sports' history by penning a £178 million-a-year deal with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr until 2025.

He has reached the incredible milestone of 900 career league goals while at the club. On the international stage, he has also moved to over 200 international caps, a world record - and he hasn't stopped scoring, netting 132 times for his country.

He is one of the few players to have made over 1,200 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League.

Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, most appearances (30), assists (8), goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (132) and international appearances (214).