Bosnia And Herzegovina
Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
EL Salvador
Indonesia
International Tournaments
Montenegro
North Macedonia
South Africa
United Arab Emirates

Top ten highest goalscorers of all time: Ronaldo and Messi separated by Bican

talksport.com, 17 November 2023, 10:00
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are nearing 40 and still scoring for fun, but the GOAT debate still rumbles on...

Messi is now a World Cup winner after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar, however, former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Ronaldo continues to stake his claim as the best in the world.

Both are football greats and they are still netting goals at unbelievable rates for Inter Miami and Al Nassr respectively.

But it's Ronaldo who sits above his rival at the top of the all-time scoring table, with his records helping him to overtake Austria-Czech icon Josef Bican.

No one has scored more goals recognised by FIFA than the Portugal captain, who has inked his name at the summit of history's goal charts.

Messi has surpassed legendary trio Romario, Ferenc Puskas and Pele to move to third, but Ronaldo still remains at the very top.

However, the Argentinian is slowly catching his generational rival.

So, who else makes the list of the top ten highest goalscorers of all time?

10. Tulio Maravilha

575 goals (total games unknown) - 1988-2019

Maravilha was a Brazilian journeyman who certainly had an eye for goal.

Only recently retired, the forward played for nearly 40 clubs in his career.

He had his most success at Botafogo where he won the league's Golden Boot three times.

The Brazil national team handed him 15 caps and he scored 13 goals in those games, never losing a match with his country.

9, Uwe Seeler

575+ goals (total games unknown) - 1953-1978

German great Seeler was prolific for Hamburger but struggled to turn his goals into silverware.

In total, he played over 400 games for the club in which he ended up becoming president for a short period.

He scored twice in his one and only appearance for Ireland's Cork Celtic in 1978.

Seeler played for his country in four World Cups and famously captained West Germany in the 1966 final defeat to England.

Unfortunately, he passed away in July 2022, being honoured by clubs across Germany.

8. Ferenc Deak

576+ goals (total games unknown) - 1940-1957

One of Hungary's best during their heyday and a legend in his home country if not as much elsewhere in the world.

Incredibly, Deak averaged over three goals per game during his career at Szentlorinci AC.

He played a total of 186 games for the club while scoring a whopping 358 goals between 1940 and 1947.

The striker spent all of his playing days in Hungary and racked up over 400 appearances for six clubs.

7. Gerd Muller

734 goals in 793 games - 1962-1981

The striker's most important goal of the 68 he banged in for West Germany was the winner in the 1974 World Cup final against Netherlands in Munich.

During a historic 15 years at Bayern, Muller netted a record 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and 66 goals in 74 European matches.

His record of 40 goals scored in a single Bundesliga season stood for 49 years, and was broken by Robert Lewandowski in May 2021.

Harry Kane is now playing his football in Germany and he will be aiming to join Lewandowski in breaking Muller's record.

6. Ferenc Puskas

746+ goals in 754+ games - 1943-1966

Another Hungarian icon, Puskas now lends his name to the award for the most beautiful goal of each year.

The striker made his name in Budapest before cementing his legend at Real Madrid.

He scored over 150 goals for Los Blancos, almost averaging a goal a game.

Two of Puskas' most famous goals came in Hungary's infamous 6-3 win over England, with the 1953 match at Wembley later being coined the 'Match of the Century'.

5. Pele

757 goals in 831 games - 1957-1977

One of the greatest ever and a three-time World Cup winner.

Pele only played for two clubs while leading Brazil to glory throughout his career.

He scored nearly a goal-per-game during his 656 competitive games for Santos, though claims to have scored more than 1,000 times.

However, it is widely accepted hundreds of those goals came during tour or friendly matches. Pele would have told you otherwise!

The icon passed away in 2022 but his legacy lives on in the footballing world.

4. Romario

772 goals 994 games - 1985-2007

Romario led Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, scoring five goals in the tournament.

He enjoyed a stellar career at a number of top clubs around the world.

The forward played for 10 teams in total, playing over 700 games.

His time at PSV 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. Lionel Messi

819 goals in 1047 games - 2003-present

A true legend, Messi has won countless trophies to go along with his goals, including a record eight Ballon d'Or awards.

Now with Inter Miami in the United States, the Argentine has a few years left to add to his remarkable tally.

Messi scored seven times at the World Cup in Qatar, with two in the dramatic penalty shootout win over France in the final surely proving to be the most special in his entire career.

He netted over 400 times for Barcelona before moving on to PSG where he scored 22 times.

The icon now plays in the MLS and is continuing to star for Argentina on the international stage.

2. Josef Bican

805+ goals in 530+ games - 1931-1956

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

He also starred for multiple clubs in Czechia, racking up an unbelievable amount of goals.

This means that Bican was football's leading goalscorer of all time for over 60 years but he has now finally been trumped.

Although it is said he scored close to 1,500 goals in total during his playing days, only 805 of those were recognised by FIFA.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

864 goals in 1,194 games - 2001-present

A modern great for Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid.

Ronaldo has won everything in the game and is still going strong today, and added the biggest record yet to his historic career by overtaking Bican.

Ronaldo's goal record continued to grow after his strike against Ghana at the 2022 World Cup.

This goal made him 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 broke more boundaries, securing the most expensive contract in sports' history by penning a £178million-a-year deal with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr until 2025.

He has scored 27 goals in 28 games for the Saudi side, while also reaching the incredible milestone of 500 career league goals.

Since then, he has moved to over 200 international caps - a world record - and he hasn't stopped scoring, netting 127 times for his country.

Show more

Top News

20 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk array(0) {} 20 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk After their magical playoff run fell just short in 2024, the New York Red Bulls hope to begin the 2025 Major League Soccer season on the right foot as they head to TQL Stadium to face FC Cincinnati on Saturday. 20 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season officially gets underway on Saturday, with Inter Miami welcoming New York City FC to Chase Stadium. 20 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly determined to sign Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi in the summer transfer window and beat Tottenham Hotspur to his signature. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly identified Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong as a replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold should he leave the club in the summer, but are said to be in competition with Manchester City for his signature. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City suffered their 13th defeat of the season across all competitions against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, which is the most Pep Guardiola has ever been beaten in a single campaign in his managerial career. 19 February 2025 talksport.com Robbie Fowler has condemned Darwin Nunez for 'criminally' missing a glorious chance to win Liverpool's end-to-end clash at Aston Villa. 19 February 2025 talksport.com Kylian Mbappe had Manchester City on strings and got manager Pep Guardiola doing stuff he'd never experienced before. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Freiburg's push for Champions League qualification continues on Friday when they welcome Werder Bremen to Europa-Park Stadion in their 23rd Bundesliga game of the season. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The 2024-25 season has brought major change to a previously tired Champions League format, giving a fresh look to UEFA's top tournament. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides battling for survival in the Turkish Super Lig go head-to-head on Friday, as Bodrumspor welcome Hatayspor to the Bodrum Ilce Stadyumu in a crucial relegation clash. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk A direct showdown for fourth place in the Turkish Super Lig takes centre stage on Friday as Eyupspor host Besiktas at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium. 19 February 2025 talksport.com Kylian Mbappe created football history en route to dumping Manchester City out of the Champions League with a stunning hat-trick. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool wing wizard Mohamed Salah broke a club goalscoring record and emulated the legendary Lionel Messi in the Reds' 2-2 Premier League draw with Aston Villa at Villa Park. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick as Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-1 in the second leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff on Wednesday night to breeze into the next stage of the competition. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Aston Villa away from home in the Premier League on Wednesday evening and have given Arsenal hope in the Premier League title race. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Braga will have the opportunity to kick-start round 23 of the Primeira Liga when they welcome Nacional to the Municipal Stadium on Friday evening. 19 February 2025 talksport.com Mohamed Salah has once again eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo's best ever goal contribution tally in the Premier League. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Leeds United are reportedly interested in Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters ahead of the summer transfer window. 19 February 2025 talksport.com Follow all the action as Manchester City must come from behind to beat Real Madrid to remain in the Champions League. 19 February 2025 talksport.com Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night. 19 February 2025 talksport.com There is plenty going on in the Premier League this week, and talkSPORT has all the latest news covered. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly received a major boost in their pursuit of Southampton attacker Tyler Dibling. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Inter Milan have reportedly entered the race to sign Corinthians attacker Yuri Alberto. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Antonio Rudiger has been recalled to Real Madrid's starting lineup for tonight's Champions League playoff second leg against Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City and Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in FC Midtjylland striker Franculino ahead of the summer transfer window. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola is reportedly an option to replace Carlo Ancelotti, should the Italian leave his job as Real Madrid manager at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa and Liverpool have announced their starting lineups for Wednesday's Premier League fixture. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid are reportedly giving serious consideration to making a move for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite during this summer's transfer window. 19 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Christian Eriksen has calmed suggestions that he could be sidelined for a lengthy period due to the illness that forced him to miss Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.