Cristiano Ronaldo reached a breathtaking 700 goals in his club career after netting the winner against Everton on the weekend.
With that in mind, we are here to take you through the most prolific goalscorers throughout history, taking only club football into account.
10. Gerd Muller – 566 Goals
We begin our list with one of the most potent poachers of all-time in Gerd Muller.
The former West Germany target man spent nearly the entirety of his career at Bayern Munich, where he scored 398 goals in 453 matches, while setting some truly breathtaking records.
Most notably, he held the single-season record in the Bundesliga for over 50 years until Robert Lewandowski surpassed him with 41 in 2021, while he scored 85 goals in a calendar year in 1972, a record that stood for 40 years until Lionel Messi broke it in 2012.
9. Eusebio – 578 Goals
One of Portugal’s most beloved players, Eusebio, notched in a breathtaking 578 goals throughout his career which was largely spent at the country’s most decorated club Benfica.
The top scorer at the 1966 World Cup in England, this was perhaps his most impressive display of his blistering pace, power and athleticism that so often culminated in an abundance of goals.
473 goals in 440 for Benfica over a 15-year spell is a record that still stands today, and he is regarded as the great player to ever grace the Portuguese Primeira League.
8. Joe Bambrick – 595 Goals
Just sneaking past Eusebio on our list is a name unbeknown to most, Joe Bambrick, who was a prolific goalscorer hailing from Northern Ireland. ‘Head, heel or toe, slip it to Joe’ is said to be an infamous catchphrase used by fans and team-mates, of whom he had many throughout his 13-year career which ended in 1939.
Largely plying his trade in the Irish league, he netted a nigh-incomprehensible 286 goals in 183 games for Linfield before making the switch to Chelsea in the mid 30s.
7. Jimmy Jones – 635 Goals
Who knew Northern Ireland had such an abundance of goalscorers?
Jimmy Jones comes in at eighth, and 635 goals is a quite staggering return. He holds the record for scoring the most goals in a season in Irish football with 74 for Glenavon.
As well as this, he is the leading goalscorer in the history of Irish League football, and across his career he notched in 436 league goals in just 364 games.
Not bad at all.
6. Ferenc Puskas – 645 Goals
Edging just in front of the Northern Irish duo we have Ferenc Puskas, who many modern fans may know form the annual FIFA award given to the best goal that year, otherwise known as the Puskas Award.
Undoubtedly Hungary’s greatest footballing export, he only ever played for two clubs; Budapest Honved and Real Madrid. Although he scored more for the former, he was part of the great Los Blancos team of the late 50s/early 60s where he clinched three European Cups and five successive La Liga titles.
While he scored 20 or more goals in each of his first six seasons in Spain, he is best remembered for his outstanding international record; 84 goals in 85 games as well as helping Hungary to a second-placed finish at the 1954 World Cup.
5. Pele – 679 Goals
There is not much to say on Pele other than he is the most successful international player to ever grace the game having won three World Cups, and is widely regarded by many as perhaps the greatest of all time.
While he is better-known for his exploits with Brazil, he also enjoyed a glittering club career for Santos, where he spent 18 years. In this time, his 643 goals was the most goals scored for a single club until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2020.
4. Josef Bican – 688 Goals
Breaking into the top five we have Josef Bican, who is widely regarded as one of the great goalscorers in football having supposedly notched in 1813 total goals in over 1089 matches.
While we are focusing solely on the official club football metric, there is no denying 688 goals remains an incredible feat, and one which was achieved largely at Slavia Prague in the late 1930s and into the mid 40s.
Known for being particularly ambidextrous with his feet, he was also reportedly capable of completing 100 metres in 10.8 seconds – not far off some of the fastest sprinters alive at the time.
=2. Romario & Lionel Messi – 691 Goals
Perhaps a little-known fact, but Romario is on par with Lionel Messi in terms of total club goals.
The mercurial Brazilian also featured for Barcelona during his career but is perhaps best known for his stint at PSV, where he managed to register an incredible 98 goals in 110 league games.
NESTE DIA: Em 1994, Romário marcava dois gols contra o Atlético de Madrid, um deles esse golaço com a marca goleadora do baixinho.
Barcelona 4×3 Atletico de Madrid – La Liga 1994/95.
Nostálgico!
— Futebol Nostálgico! (@futnostalgico) October 8, 2022
He is also accredited as the first person to score over 100 goals with three different clubs, while he is a World Cup winner and the fourth-highest goalscorer in Brazil’s history.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi – the greatest player of all time? He certainly has a strong claim as a seven-time Ballon D’or winner. Of course, he shocked everyone when he was forced to make the switch away from his beloved Barcelona, where he broke the record for the most goals at a single club with 672 while helping them to an incredible 35 trophies.
The only time PSG failed to score a single goal this season Messi didn't play 👀 pic.twitter.com/cetYboeyqi
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 9, 2022
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 700 Goals
And, of course, we arrive at the outright goalscorer both at club and international level, Cristiano Ronaldo.
He reached the 700 milestone with his expertly taken winner against Everton on the weekend, and while he is nearing the grand old age of 38, his dedication to keeping himself in immaculate condition had allowed him to enjoy a long, relatively injury-free career, laden with goals.
𝟕𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬.
What a beautiful number we’ve achieved together!
Thank you to all my teammates, coaches, clubs, family & friends and of course my fans.
United we continue! 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/oYWo766Xcl— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 10, 2022
Five Champions Leagues five Ballon D’ors in a career spanning two decades, his most impressive feat is perhaps his 311 league goals in just 292 La Liga games for Real Madrid – truly astonishing numbers.
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