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 in 2022 but former Manchester United star Ronaldo continues to stake his claim as the best in the world.
Ronaldo and Messi are two of the best scorers in football history
Both are footballing greats and they are still netting goals at unbelievable rates for Al Nassr and Inter Miami respectively.
But it’s Ronaldo who sits above his rival at the top of the all-time scoring table, with stunning records helping both overtake Austria-Czech icon Josef Bican.
No one has scored more goals recognised by FIFA than Portugal captain Ronaldo, who brought up his 900th strike for club and country against Croatia in the Nations League.
Messi has surpassed a host of legendary names too, but Ronaldo still remains at the very top.
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.
Seeler in action against Switzerland in the 1962 World CupAFP
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.
‘Der Bomber’ was a World Cup and European Championship winner with West GermanyAFP/Getty Images
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’.
Puskas celebrates his first goal in the Match of the CenturyGetty Images – Getty
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.
Pele made his debut for Brazil when he was just 16, winning his first World Cup at 17Getty
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. 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.
Messi famously scored a record 91 goals in the calendar year 2012 and is still banging them in at 37Getty
2. Lionel Messi
841 goals in 1073 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 650 times for Barcelona before moving on to PSG where he scored 32 more.
The icon now plays in the MLS and is continuing to star for Argentina on the international stage, helping them win the 2024 Copa America.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
903 goals in 1,240 games – 2001-present
A modern great for Portugal, Manchester United and Real Madrid, Ronaldo has won everything in the game and is still going strong today.
Ronaldo is 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 £178million-a-year deal with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr until 2025.
He has reached the incredible milestone of 500 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.
Ronaldo has also now become the first player ever to score 900 career goals, netting against Croatia and Scotland in the Nations League.
Ronaldo continues to break records despite being 39Getty
