In top-level association football competitions, 27 players have scored 500 or more goals in both club and international football, according to research by the , first published in 2007. Taking into account competitions of all levels, 82 players have reached the milestone, according to the . FIFA, the international governing body of football, has never released a list detailing the highest goalscorers and does not keep official records. It is challenging for statisticians and media to agree on which goals should be counted, with debate over whether to include those scored in friendlies, regional competitions, and even matches taking place during wartime. Hungarian Imre Schlosser is generally recognised as the first to reach the 500-goal mark, doing so in 1927 shortly before his retirement. Nine players have accomplished the feat at a single club: Josef Bican (Slavia Prague), Jimmy Jones (Glenavon), Jimmy McGrory (Celtic), Joe Bambrick (Linfield), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gerd Müller (Bayern Munich), Pelé (Santos), Fernando Peyroteo (Sporting Lisbon), and Uwe Seeler (Hamburg). Of these nine, Messi scored the most, with 672 goals between his debut in 2004 and his departure in 2021.
In 2020, FIFA recognised Josef Bican, an Austrian-Czech dual international who played between the and the , as the record scorer with an estimated 805 goals, although CNN, the BBC, France 24, and O Jogo all acknowledge that Bican's tally includes goals scored for reserve teams and in unofficial international matches. UEFA, the governing body for European football, ranks him as the leading all-time goalscorer in European top-flight leagues with 518 goals, narrowly ahead of Hungarian Ferenc Puskás. RSSSF credits Bican with 948 goals, a tally which includes goals scored in winter tournaments, as well as when selected to represent regional and city teams, and the Football Association of the Czech Republic claims a total of 821. Spanish newspapers Marca and Sport state that both Bican and Pelé scored 762 goals. Bican once walked out of a gala held in his honour by the IFFHS after the organisation had excluded war-time goals from his tally, although it later recognised the 229 goals he had scored during the period.
Media outlets like Sky Sports, ESPN, and Globo Esporte argue that for Pelé and his era, friendly matches were important and their goals should count, while journalist Hugh McIlvanney called them "profit-making excursions" with little "relevance to Pelé's reality", and Jonathan Liew said many friendlies were "against up-country teams or down-at-heel invitational sides". When Argentinian forward Lionel Messi was reported to have broken the record for most goals at a single club (644 for Barcelona), Pelé's former club Santos denied it, saying 448 of Pelé's friendly goals had been uncounted, arguing many were against "the best teams of all time", a point Pelé supported by updating his tally to 1,283 on Instagram. Barcelona responded that because Bican, Pelé, Erwin Helmchen, and Abe Lenstra scored mostly in leagues below national level, those goals should not count, and goals from wartime matches, lower tiers, and regional divisions by players like Bican, Ferenc Deák, Puskás, Seeler, Müller, Túlio Maravilha, and Robert Lewandowski are also disputed.
In 2021, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was reported to have broken the record by scoring his 760th goal, although it was widely accepted as impossible to confirm with certainty since stats from earlier eras are often disputed, as observed by journalist Jonathan Wilson and Corriere dello Sport editor Ivan Zazzaroni, who said German striker Helmchen may have scored 981 goals. Ronaldo said "the world has changed since then and football has changed as well, but this doesn't mean we can just erase history according to our interests." Other claims exist; Guinness World Records credits Pelé with the "most career goals" at 1,279, and Brazilian striker Romário claimed his 1,000th goal in 2007 but later admitted it included friendlies; they are reported to have scored 767 and 772 goals respectively, with Pelé's total including one goal for the military team and nine for the state team of São Paulo at the State Team Championship. The Encyclopædia Britannica observes that Brazilian Arthur Friedenreich is "officially recognised" by FIFA to have scored 1,329 goals, although there is little evidence. In March 2022, Ronaldo surpassed Bican's estimated 805 goals. In 2024, Ronaldo stated his intent to become the first player to reach 1,000 career goals before his retirement, a feat regularly questioned by media.
Footballers with 500 or more goals
According to the IFFHS and other media outlets, 27 male players are credited with scoring 500 or more goals in top-level professional football competitions:
Bold indicates players currently active. * indicates player has scored at least 500 goals for a single club.
+ RankPlayerClubTotalCareer span1 Cristiano Ronaldo603571731469792 Lionel Messi*574711611269322004–present3 Pelé*6044926837621957–19774 Romário5459354647561985–20075 Ferenc Puskás5166956847251943–19666 Josef Bican*51513738327221931–1955743362120927072008–present8 Jimmy Jones*3302861496391947–19649 Gerd Müller*4059269686341964–198110 Joe Bambrick*3472535216261926–194311 Abe Lenstra573180336241936–196312 Luis Suárez4324864696132005–present13 Eusébio3819759415781960–197814 Glenn Ferguson313241905631987–201115 Zlatan Ibrahimović3944857625611999–202316 Imre Schlosser4136813595531906–1928 Fernando Peyroteo*464723145531937–194918 Uwe Seeler*4474121435521954–197819 Jimmy McGrory*4071310125501923–193720 Alfredo Di Stéfano3785476295371945–196621 György Sárosi35035103425301931–194822 Karim Benzema32953105375242005–present23 Harry Kane3143682915232011–present24 Roberto Dinamite476105225131971–199225 Hugo Sánchez3904938295061976–199726 Franz Binder2979387265031930–194927 Zico4102716485011971–1994
RSSSF list
As the RSSSF uses different methodology from that of the IFFHS and other media outlets to determine which goals to include, 82 male players are credited with scoring 500 or more goals in matches taking into account competitions at all levels:
Bold indicates players currently active. + indicates player may have scored and played more.
RankPlayerGoalsMatchesRatioCareer span1 Cristiano Ronaldo9941,3662002–present2 Erwin Helmchen989+5821924–19513 Josef Bican950+6241930–19574 Lionel Messi9481,2202003–present5 Ronnie Rooke940+1,0351929–19616 Jimmy Jones840+7601943–19657 Ferenc Puskás8027921943–19678 Ferenc Deák795+5151939–19599 Abe Lenstra790+8501936–196410 Romário7851,0031984–200911 Pelé7788511956–197712 Robert Lewandowski7521,1122004–present13 Tommy Lawton749+8331935–195714 Gerd Müller7357931963–198115 Sammy Hughes722+7521942–196316 Joe Bambrick690+5781925–194317 Ernst Wilimowski683+4841932–195718 Tom Waring672+736+1924–194819 Boy Martin642+5471930–194720 Ferenc Bene6349721959–198521 Eusébio634+6631960–197822 Stan Mortensen628+8221938–196223 Fernando Peyroteo6253801937–194924 Joe Smith617+9031908–193125 Frederick Roberts613+4711922–193726 Luis Suárez6121,0542005–present27 Gyula Zsengellér611+6501931–195328 Jimmy Greaves590+8421956–198029 Uwe Seeler5866881954–197230 Fritz Walter586+5831938–195931 Túlio Maravilha585950+1987–201432 Zlatan Ibrahimović5821,0011999–202333 David Wilson581+6261927–194734 Jimmy Kelly574+1,0041925–195735 Imre Schlosser5704641906–192836 Glenn Ferguson5701,0851987–201137 Franz Binder569+4311927–194938 Charlie Fleming569766+1947–196539 Hughie Gallacher569+7171920–194040 Dixie Dean5686121923–194041 John Aldridge565+9901976–199842 Isidro Lángara564+4581930–194843 Hugo Sánchez5629561974–199844 José Torres5616151958–198045 Karim Benzema5581,0492004–present46 Jimmy McGrory5585491922–193847 Sándor Kocsis5565381946–196648 Paul Dechamps552+6121939–196449 Dave Halliday551+6421920–193850 Jimmy Smith550+5211928–194751 Zico5467981971–199452 Harry Kane5458092010–present53 Ferenc Szusza5456001940–196154 Jock Dodds5426141932–195055 József Takács5425281920–194256 Tommy Dickson539+7751946–196657 Otto Harder538+324+1910–193458 Dennis Westcott535+5871933–195459 Joseph Mermans5286521937–196060 Hughie Ferguson525+5591914–193061 Alfredo Di Stéfano5247201945–196662 Nándor Hidegkuti5236741938–195863 Des Dickson523+7151964–198364 Hans Krankl5227271970–198965 Gunnar Nordahl520+6021936–196166 Roberto Dinamite5198691971–199267 W. G. Richardson518+6221928–194668 George Brown517+711+1920–193869 Trevor Thompson513+5881955–196970 Giorgio Chinaglia512+7101962–199071 David McLean511+8011906–193172 György Sárosi5116071928–194873 George Camsell509+5931923–194274 Arthur Rowley508+7441941–196775 István Avar507+4491922–194976 Raich Carter506+8431928–195377 Steve Bloomer5057571891–192078 Dennis Guy504+6311960–197679 Willy van der Kuijlen5048071962–198380 Albert de Cleyn5035881933–195581 Delio Onnis5027471966–198682 Lajos Tichy5006281952–1971
See also List of top international men's football goalscorers by country List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals List of men's footballers with the most official appearances List of footballers who achieved hat-trick records List of world association football records List of goalscoring goalkeepers Lists of hat-tricks in football
References
Notes