Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo official goals. Top ten players with most goals in history revealed as Lionel Messi closes in on Romario in 5th
In scoring, Messi took his official career goals tally to 747 – just 13 off Romario in the all time rankings.
But who else makes the top ten? We take a look…
10. ARTHUR FRIEDENREICH – 554 goals
THE Brazilian striker was was a professional footballer for an incredible 26 years between 1909 and 1935.
Friedenreich was dubbed ‘The King of Football’ by European media at the time, despite the fact he never left Brazil, such was his goal-getting fame.
The Sao Paulo-born star scored 554 goals during his career, including ten goals in 21 matches for Brazil.
9. FERENC DEAK – 558
BEFORE Puskas, there was another Hungarian superstar called Ferenc on the scene.
Deak scored 558 goals during his career in his home nation – including an astonishing 29 goals in just 20 matches for Hungary.
8. EUSEBIO – 615
THE Portuguese legend famously scored at better than a goal per game at Benfica – netting 317 times in just 301 league games.
And his total tally was 615 when all was said and done – including 41 goals in 64 international games.
Eusebio won the Ballon d’Or in 1965.
7. FERENC PUSKAS – 706
THE more-famous of the Ferencs, Puskas scored an astronomical 706 goals in his illustrious career.
Puskas did much of the damage at local side Budapest Honved, but also scored at nearly a goal per game at Real Madrid in the 1950s and 60s.
Despite being arguably the best player on the planet in his day, he never won the Ballon d’Or – coming second in 1960.
6. GERD MULLER – 720
THE German legend is fifth in the standings, but you sense not for long.
Muller netted 720 times in his career – scoring 565 times in just 607 games for Bayern Munich.
The German won the Ballon d’Or in 1970 and scored more than a goal a game for his country – with 68 goals in just 62 matches.
Muller helped Germany win the 1974 World Cup.
5. ROMARIO – 734
IN 5th, Brazil legend Romario enjoyed a senior career spanning an unbelievably 24 years.
He found the net 734 times, including 55 goals for Brazil in just 70 games.
Romario was a key cog in his nation’s side which lifted the 1994 World Cup in America, too.
3. PELE – 757
THE man himself claims to have more than 1,000 goals – but officially, that tally is much lower at 757.
Pele has claimed the record for most career goals for decades, but knows his grasp is growing ever-more loose with Ronaldo and Messi knocking on the door.
The Brazil icon scored 643 goals for Santos in just 656 games in all competitions.
Pele also netted 43 goals in just 41 games for Brazil’s senior side – helping them to win THREE World Cups during his time.
2. CRISTIANO RONALDO – 783
RONALDO will be hell bent on breaking Pele’s record.
And for now, he seems set to do it with 783 official goals.
Ronaldo is still playing, of course, but at two years Messi’s senior, he may retire sooner than the Barca ace.
But given the Portuguese legend’s fitness regime, he could play well into his 40s.
Ronaldo has scored a staggering 102 goals for Portugal – with 13.6 per cent of all of his goals coming for his country.
1. JOSEF BICAN – 805
JOSEF BICAN would have been as famous as Pele if he had played in a different era.
That is the view of a Fifa historian as Cristiano Ronaldo hunts down the former Czech striker’s formidable official goal tally.
No one is certain of the exact number of goals he bagged as Bican’s career spanned from 1931 to 1955 when record keeping was not quite as efficient as it is in 2021.
But the most common tally credited to the former Slavia Prague ace is 805 goals – 779 for club and 26 international – according to Fifa.
As with Pele, the lines are somewhat blurry when it comes to official and unofficial goals scored.