TOP 10 SOCCER PLAYERS BY GOALS of all time | MOST GOALS SCORED IN SOCCER BY A PLAYER in history
Who Has Scored The Most Soccer Goals Of All Time? The top 10 soccer players of all time, ranked by total official career goals (combined for club soccer and country), are led by active players, arguably the Greatest Players Of All Time (GOATs), Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Note: The exact historical goal counts (especially for older generations like Bican and Helmchen) often fluctuate slightly depending on the statistical organization (e.g., RSSSF vs. FIFA), but this reflects the widely accepted top 10.
| RANK | PLAYER | ESTIMATED OFFICIAL GOALS | CAREER SPAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) | 940+ | 2002–present |
| 2 | Lionel Messi (Argentina) | 910+ | 2004–present |
| 3 | Josef Bican (Austria/Czechoslovakia) | 805+ | 1931–1957 |
| 4 | Romário (Brazil) | 750–780 | 1985–2009 |
| 5 | Pelé (Brazil) | 760+ | 1957–1977 |
| 6 | Ferenc Puskás (Hungary) | 720–746 | 1943–1966 |
| 7 | Gerd Müller (Germany) | 720+ | 1963–1981 |
| 8 | Erwin Helmchen (Germany) | 720–980 | 1924–1951 |
| 9 | Jimmy McGrory (Scotland) | 550–570 | 1922–1938 |
| 10 | Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) | 560–570 | 1999–2023 |
TOP 10 MOST GOALS SCORED IN A SINGLE GAME BY A SOCCER PLAYER
The world record for the most goals in a single professional soccer match is held by Stefan Dembicki, who scored 16 goals for RC Lens in a 32–0 victory over Auby-Asturies in the 1942 French Cup. Every single goal-scoring performance on this list resulted in a victory for the goal scorer’s team, often by massive double-digit margins. The top 10 individual goal-scoring performances across all levels of professional, international, and sanctioned domestic matches are:
| GOALS | PLAYER | GAME | FINAL SCORE | YEAR | COMPETITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Stefan Dembicki | RC Lens vs. Auby-Asturies | 32–0 | 1942 | Coupe de France |
| 16 | Panagiotis Pontikos | Olympos Xylofagou vs. SEK Ayios Athanasios | 24–3 | 2007 | Cypriot 3rd Division |
| 15 | Shokhan Salihi | Al-Hilal vs. Sama | 18–0 | 2022 | Saudi Women’s Premier League |
| 14 | Malika-e-Noor | Young Rising Stars vs. Margala* | 25–0 | 2011 | National Women’s Championship |
| 14 | Hacène Lalmas | OM Ruisseau vs. JS Birtouta | 18–0 | 1962 | Algerian Lower Division |
| 14 | Passang Tshering | Transport United vs. RIHS | 20–0 | 2007 | Bhutan A-Division |
| 13 | Archie Thompson | Australia vs. American Samoa | 31–0 | 2001 | FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 13 | Ekaterina Frolova | Zorka-BDU vs. FK Smorgon | 13–0 | 2024 | Belarusian Premier League |
| 5 | Jermain Defoe | Tottenham vs. Wigan | 9–1 | 2009 | English Premier League |
| 5 | Sergio Agüero | Manchester City vs. Newcastle | 6–1 | 2015 | English Premier League |
all-time TOP 10 MOST GOALS SCORED IN A SINGLE GAME in history
The highest-scoring professional soccer game in history is the 149–0 match between AS Adema and SO l’Emyrne in Madagascar’s domestic league in 2002, though this was an intentional protest involving continuous own goals. The highest legitimate competitive blowout is Arbroath’s 36–0 victory over Bon Accord in the 1885 Scottish Cup. The top 10 highest-scoring individual and team games across competitive football history highlight some extraordinary, lopsided encounters:
| Rank | Match | Score | Year | Competition / Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AS Adema vs. SO l’Emyrne | 149–0 | 2002 | Madagascar THB Champions League (Protest) – This absurd world record holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals in a game, not out of dominance, but as a deliberate match-fixing protest against refereeing decisions. SO l’Emyrne intentionally kicked the ball into their own net over and over. |
| 2 | Plateau United Feeders vs. Akurba | 79–0 | 2013 | Nigerian Nationwide League Division 3 (Match-fixing) – In an effort to manipulate promotion standings in Nigeria’s lower divisions, two simultaneous matches resulted in baffling scorelines. Both instances were heavily investigated, resulting in indefinite bans for the clubs and players involved. |
| 3 | Police Machine vs. Bubayaro | 67–0 | 2013 | Nigerian Nationwide League Division 3 (Match-fixing) |
| 4 | Vanuatu U23 vs. Micronesia U23 | 46–0 | 2015 | Pacific Games – During the U-23 tournament at the Pacific Games, the Vanuatu men’s national team ran up the score against an overmatched Micronesia squad, breaking into the top five highest-scoring games. |
| 5 | Arbroath vs. Bon Accord | 36–0 | 1885 | Scottish Cup – Arbroath’s Victorian-era demolition of Bon Accord stands as the official, legitimate world record for the highest score in a competitive top-tier football tournament. |
| 6 | Infonet FC vs. Virtsu Jalgpalliklubi | 36–0 | 2015 | Estonian Cup – More than a century later, the Scottish record was equaled in Europe when Estonian top-flight club Infonet FC put 36 goals past lower-league side Virtsu. |
| 7 | RC Lens vs. Auby Asturies | 32–0 | 1942 | Coupe de France |
| 8 | Australia vs. American Samoa | 31–0 | 2001 | FIFA World Cup Qualifier – Holding the record for the most lopsided international match, Australia shattered American Samoa in a game that directly led FIFA to introduce preliminary qualification rounds for smaller nations. Archie Thompson also set an individual world record in this fixture by scoring 13 goals. |
| 9 | Villarreal vs. Navata | 27–0 | 2009 | Club Friendly – In a preseason friendly designed to build up fitness, Spanish La Liga side Villarreal put on an attacking clinic against a regional amateur side. |
| 10 | Preston North End vs. Hyde United | 26–0 | 1887 | FA Cup – Before modern professional leagues were fully ironed out, Preston North End recorded one of the most lopsided scorelines in the early days of English football. |
TOP 10 MOST GOALS SCORED IN A SINGLE SEASON BY A SOCCER PLAYER WHILE PLAYING FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY
The Top 10 Most Goals Scored by a soccer player in a single season (combined club and national team) is 82 goals: Argentina’s Lionel Messi holds the all-time goal-scoring record for the most goals scored in a single soccer season for club and country combined, scoring 82 goals during his historic 2011–12 campaign, while playing for Argentina and FC Barcelona.
2011-2012 FC Barcelona Season | Guardiola’s Barca | Tiki-Taka
The 2011–12 FC Barcelona season was Pep Guardiola’s final campaign in charge, concluding a legendary era. Despite Lionel Messi’s historic 73-goal season, the club finished 2nd in La Liga to Real Madrid and lost in the Champions League semi-finals to Chelsea, ultimately winning the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
Pep Guardiola stepped down as head coach at the conclusion of the season, which ended on a high as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 3–0 in the Copa del Rey final at the Vicente Calderón. This was soccer club’s 113th year in existence. And this was the year Barcelona debuted its first paid shirt sponsor, which was the nonprofit Qatar Foundation, a five-and-a-half-year deal that scored the iconic club €170 million.
| Rank [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] | Player | Teams (Club / Country) | Season | Goals | Assists | G/A Ratio | Penalty / Non-Pen | Major Individual Awards Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona / Argentina | 2011–12 | 82 | 32 | 1.19 | 15 / 67 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, Pichichi Trophy |
| 2 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich / England | 2025–26 | 72 | 10 | 1.18 | 14 / 58 | European Golden Shoe, Bundesliga Torjägerkanone |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona / Argentina | 2012–13 | 69 | 17 | 1.11 | 5 / 64 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, Pichichi Trophy |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid / Portugal | 2011–12 | 69 | 15 | 1.00 | 15 / 54 | Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano (La Liga MVP) |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid / Portugal | 2014–15 | 66 | 22 | 1.10 | 13 / 53 | European Golden Shoe, Pichichi Trophy |
| 6 | Pelé | Santos / Brazil | 1958 | 66 | 15 | 1.43 | 0 / 66 | FIFA World Cup Best Young Player, Paulistão Top Scorer |
| 7 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona / Argentina | 2014–15 | 62 | 31 | 0.93 | 6 / 56 | Ballon d’Or, UEFA Best Player in Europe, La Liga Best Player |
| 8 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid / Portugal | 2013–14 | 62 | 12 | 1.05 | 10 / 52 | Ballon d’Or, European Golden Shoe, UEFA Best Player in Europe |
| 9 | Luis Suárez | Barcelona / Uruguay | 2015–16 | 60 | 24 | 1.13 | 5 / 55 | European Golden Shoe, Pichichi Trophy |
| 10 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid / Portugal | 2012–13 | 59 | 14 | 0.92 | 7 / 52 | UEFA Champions League Top Scorer |
NOTE: Historical tallies from early football decades often lack reliable verified match documentation, so this ranking relies on modern era and globally recognized statistical records. Totals represent combined official statistics tracking both senior club appearances and senior A-national team matches. Pelé’s legendary 1958 record famously included zero penalties.
TOP 10 MOST GOALS SCORED IN A SINGLE CLUB SEASON BY A SOCCER PLAYER
The Top 10 Most Goals Scored in a Single Club Season by a Soccer Player (such as domestic leagues, domestic cups, and continental tournaments like the UEFA Champions League) is once again Lionel Messi, during the 2011-2012 La Liga season, while playing for Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona.
| Rank | Player | Club Team | Season | Club Goals | Appearances | Goals Per Game | Club Assists | Club Goal Contrib. | Penalty / Non-Pen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2011–12 | 73 | 60 | 1.22 | 29 | 102 | 14 / 59 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2014–15 | 61 | 54 | 1.13 | 22 | 83 | 13 / 48 |
| 3 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 2025–26 | 61 | 54 | 1.13 | 7 | 68 | 11 / 50 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2012–13 | 60 | 50 | 1.20 | 16 | 76 | 4 / 56 |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2011–12 | 60 | 55 | 1.09 | 15 | 75 | 14 / 46 |
| 6 | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | 2015–16 | 59 | 53 | 1.11 | 22 | 81 | 5 / 54 |
| 7 | Pelé | Santos | 1958 | 58 | 38 | 1.53 | 12 | 70 | 0 / 58 |
| 8 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2014–15 | 58 | 57 | 1.02 | 27 | 85 | 5 / 53 |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2012–13 | 55 | 55 | 1.00 | 12 | 67 | 6 / 49 |
| 10 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2013–14 | 51 | 47 | 1.09 | 12 | 63 | 10 / 41 |
NOTE: Pelé holds the absolute highest efficiency on this list, averaging a stunning 1.53 goals per game during his 1958 club season with Santos. Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2014–15 season finished in a dead heat for both total goals (61) and exact efficiency (1.13).
TOP 10 MOST GOALS SCORED IN A SINGLE SEASON BY A SOCCER player playing for his national team
The Top 10 Most Goals Scored in a Single Club Season by a Soccer Player while playing for his senior international team is as follows:
| Rank | Player | National Team | Season | International Goals | Appearances | Goals Per Game | International Assists | Penalty / Non-Pen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 2012–13 | 9 | 12 | 0.75 | 1 | 1 / 8 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 2011–12 | 9 | 14 | 0.64 | 0 | 1 / 8 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 2011–12 | 9 | 9 | 1.00 | 3 | 1 / 8 |
| 4 | Harry Kane | England | 2025–26 | 11 | 8 | 1.38 | 3 | 3 / 8 |
| 5 | Pelé | Brazil | 1958 | 8 | 8 | 1.00 | 3 | 0 / 8 |
| 6 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 2014–15 | 5 | 6 | 0.83 | 0 | 0 / 5 |
| 7 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 2012–13 | 4 | 9 | 0.44 | 2 | 1 / 3 |
| 8 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 2014–15 | 4 | 10 | 0.40 | 4 | 1 / 3 |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 2013–14 | 11 | 12 | 0.92 | 0 | 0 / 11 |
| 10 | Luis Suárez | Uruguay | 2015–16 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 / 1 |
NOTE: Because the original top 10 list was ranked strictly by a player’s combined club and country volume, the standalone international rows shift position significantly. Luis Suárez’s international appearances for Uruguay during his 2015–16 cycle were severely restricted due to his remaining FIFA competitive match ban from the 2014 World Cup.
Top 10 WORLD CUP GOALSCORERS OF ALL TIME Goals in a Single World Cup (with Penalties & Tournament Outcomes)
Only two players in history have achieved the feat of winning the FIFA World Cup while also posting a top 10 single-tournament goalscoring campaign: West Germany’s Gerd Müller in 1974 (though his top-10 stat occurred in 1970) and Brazil’s Ronaldo in 2002. Notably, out of all ten legendary campaigns listed below, Ronaldo is the only player who won the actual tournament in the exact same year he set his scoring record.
| Rank | Player | Tournament | Matches | Goals (PKs / Open Play) | Ratio | Assists | Tournament Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just Fontaine (France) | 1958 | 6 | 13 (0 PK / 13 OP) | 2.17 | 1 | 3rd Place |
| 2 | Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) | 1954 | 5 | 11 (0 PK / 11 OP) | 2.20 | 1 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Gerd Müller (West Germany) | 1970 | 6 | 10 (1 PK / 9 OP) | 1.67 | 3 | 3rd Place |
| 4 | Ademir (Brazil) | 1950 | 6 | 9 (0 PK / 9 OP) | 1.50 | 6 | Runners-up |
| 5 | Eusébio (Portugal) | 1966 | 6 | 9 (4 PK / 5 OP) | 1.50 | 1 | 3rd Place |
| 6 | Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) | 1930 | 4 | 8 (0 PK / 8 OP) | 2.00 | 0 | Runners-up |
| 7 | Ronaldo (Brazil) | 2002 | 7 | 8 (0 PK / 8 OP) | 1.14 | 1 | Champions |
| 8 | Kylian Mbappé (France) | 2022 | 7 | 8 (2 PK / 6 OP) | 1.14 | 2 | 🥈 Runners-up |
| 9 | Leônidas (Brazil) | 1938 | 4 | 7 (1 PK / 6 OP) | 1.75 | 0 | 3rd Place |
| 10 | Jairzinho (Brazil) | 1970 | 6 | 7 (0 PK / 7 OP) | 1.17 | 1 | Champions (Note 1) |
NOTE: While Jairzinho won the tournament with Brazil in 1970, his legendary 7-goal run wasn’t even the highest on his own team history, and it took a backseat to Pele’s iconic campaign.
Top 10 WORLD CUP GOALSCORERS OF ALL TIME (with Penalties, GOALS-PER-GAME RATIO, GAMES PLAYED, Tournament Outcomes)
Lionel Messi leads the all-time list with 19 total goals, while Brazil’s legendary Pelé holds the record for the most assists among the tournament’s elite historical scorers with 10. The complete updated table below displays the top 10 all-time career goalscorers in World Cup history, enriched with their total match appearances, goals-per-game ratio, penalty breakdowns, and career assists.
| Rank | Player | National Team | Matches | Total Goals (PKs / Open Play) | Ratio (Goals/Game) | Assists | World Cup Titles Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 29 | 19 (4 PK / 15 OP) | 0.66 | 8 | 1 Time (2022) |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 14 | 18 (2 PK / 16 OP) | 1.29 | 2 | 1 Time (2018) |
| 3 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 24 | 16 (0 PK / 16 OP) | 0.67 | 5 | 1 Time (2014) |
| 4 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 19 | 15 (0 PK / 15 OP) | 0.79 | 5 | 2 Times (1994, 2002) |
| 5 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | 13 | 14 (1 PK / 13 OP) | 1.08 | 6 | 1 Time (1974) |
| 6 | Just Fontaine | France | 6 | 13 (0 PK / 13 OP) | 2.17 | 1 | None (Best: 3rd Place) |
| 7 | Pelé | Brazil | 14 | 12 (0 PK / 12 OP) | 0.86 | 10 | 3 Times (1958, 1962, 1970) |
| 8 | Sándor Kocsis | Hungary | 5 | 11 (0 PK / 11 OP) | 2.20 | 1 | None (Best: Runners-up) |
| 9 | Jürgen Klinsmann | Germany | 17 | 11 (0 PK / 11 OP) | 0.65 | 3 | 1 Time (1990) |
| 10 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 10 (0 PK / 10 OP) | 1.00 | 2 | 1 Time (1954) |
PK NOTE: Penalty Kicks scored during normal or extra time (excludes penalty shootouts).
