Top 10 goalscorers of all time: Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick sends him top of the list with 807

Oliver Martin
12 March 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick vs Brighton took the Portuguese icon's tally to 807 and top of the all-time scoring list.

The Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate has raged on for over a decade, and the duo's remarkable scoring records are frequently brought up.

But despite the pair dominating football at the highest level throughout their careers, there's only one winner when it comes to goals scored.

Manchester United's Portuguese icon fired himself to the top of the list with a superb hat-trick against Brighton, officially making him the best goalscorer of all time with 807 career goals.

But with Messi only ranking in fifth, Planet Sport take a look at who else makes the list of top 10 all-time goalscorers.

10: Uwe Seeler - 575

A true Hamburg legend. Uwe Seeler is regarded as one of the greatest German footballers of all time, and spent almost the entirety of his career at Hamburg, the only exception being a one-off game for Cork Celtic.

Despite standing at just 5ft 7", Seeler was well known for his aerial ability and was one of the pioneers in popularising the bicycle kick.

Seeler is part of a prestigious group of players who have scored in four World Cups. In fact, he was the first to do so, beating Pele by just a few minutes. Seeler was involved in the starting 11 during the 1966 World Cup final when West Germany controversially lost 4-2 against England.

Seeler's tally of 575 goals is tied with Brazilian star Tulio Maravilha, who managed his tally at over 20 different clubs. Although, we have decided to award the 10th spot to Seeler due to a better goal-per-game ratio.

9: Ferenc Deak - 576

Topping Seeler's total by just one is Hungarian striker Ferenc Deak. One of the lesser-known names on this list, Deak's goalscoring record is one of the most remarkable of all-time, netting 576 times in around just 400 games. He spent most of his career playing for clubs in Budapest such as Ferencvaros.

Deak was most prolific during World War II, scoring over 350 times in just a six year period. While at Hungarian club Szentlorinci AC, Deak was scoring an average of three goals per game, and still holds the record for most goals in a single league season with 66 in 1945/46.

At international level, Deak maintained a goals-per-game ratio of 1.5. He shares his name with Ferenc Puskas, fellow Hungarian footballer with whom Deak played for the national team with between 1946-49.

8: Eusebio - 622

Despite being an icon of Portuguese football, Eusebio was actually born in modern-day Mozambique. Widely regarded as Benfica's greatest ever player, the striker spent 15 years with the club, leading them to the Primeira Liga title a staggering 11 times.

Eusebio has received praise from footballing greats like Alfredo Di Stefano, who has publicly stated that he believes the Portuguese forward is the best player of all time.

He etched his name into footballing history in 1965 when he was awarded the Ballon d'Or, finishing runner-up on two other occasions. Eusebio finished top scorer at the 1966 World Cup in England, bagging nine goals at the tournament including four in one game against North Korea.

Despite being a Benfica legend, Eusebio was actually a whisker away from joining bitter rivals Sporting Lisbon.

7: Gerd Muller - 735

The second German striker on this list, Gerd Muller, is considered by some to be the best centre-forward of all time.

The clinical finisher maintained an unbelievable goal record for Bayern Munich in the 60s and 70s, scoring 398 goals in 453 games for the club. He served the German club for 16 years in total.

Midway through his time at Bayern Munich, Muller became the first German player to win the Ballon d'Or. He also became the all-time leading Bundesliga goalscorer, a record which he still holds 40 years later.

During an outstanding international career, Muller scored 10 goals during the 1970 World Cup and won the golden boot. He repeated this feat during the following European Championships in 1972 in which he led West Germany to the trophy.

Despite these triumphs, perhaps Muller's greatest moment on the international stage came in 1974 when he scored the winning goal in the World Cup final.

6: Ferenc Puskas - 746

Many will have heard his name through the Puskas award, handed to the player who has scored the 'best' goal of the calendar year.

Born in Budapest, Puskas spent half of his career in his home country with Honved, finding the net 358 times in 350 games.

Puskas also played for Real Madrid for nine seasons until he retired, and he is their sixth top scorer of all time. He was part of the Real Madrid team that won five consecutive La Liga titles between 1960 and 1965, and is often regarded as one of the best dribblers in history.

Puskas scored 84 goals in 85 games for Hungary, after making his debut in 1945. He scored in the World Cup final against West Germany in 1954 but ended up on the losing side.

Six years after retiring from the Hungarian national team, Puskas represented Spain on four occasions between 1961 and 1962.

5: Lionel Messi - 759

Widely acknowledged as the best player of all time, Leo Messi has amazed audiences since his debut in 2003.

Despite his tally reaching 759 as of February 2022, goalscoring remains a somewhat underrated aspect of the Argentine's game. A seventh Ballon d'Or in December extended his record as the player to have won the award the most.

The forward holds countless records, including most goals for a single club. After winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies with Barcelona, an international trophy was finally added to his cabinet in 2021 when he won the Copa America with Argentina.

Messi had spent his entire senior career with Barcelona until he joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021. Despite scoring just two league goals this season, Messi has occasionally shown flashes of brilliance. Expect him to climb up this ranking in the near future.

4: Pele - 767

While some believe Pele is indeed the top goalscorer of all time, his official goal tally is often disputed. His Guinness World Record of 1,279 goals includes friendly matches, and the Brazilian seems to increase the figure everytime his record is broken. Nevertheless, Pele is a legendary figure of the sport.

Pele is the only footballer to win the World Cup three times, and he remains his country's all-time leading goalscorer with 77. Pele spent most of his club career in his home country with Santos, where he scored 643 goals in 659 games.

In total, he won 25 trophies during his time with the club, before ending his career at New York Cosmos.

Pele's international career began at a young age, scoring his first goal as a 16-year-old. During the 1970 World Cup, Pele was part of a team that included fellow Brazilian icons such as Rivelino, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto - a side often regarded as the best international team of all time.

3: Romario - 772

You have to be some player to score more goals than both Lionel Messi and Pele. Romario spent most of his early years with PSV Eindhoven, scoring 165 goals in just five seasons. He revolutionised the centre-forward position and has been named as an inspiration by Thierry Henry.

Romario won the La Liga title and made it to the final of the Champions League with Barcelona in 1994. He was also named FIFA World Player of the Year the same season.

He is also the fourth highest goalscorer for the Brazilian national team with 71 goals in 85 games. He won the Golden Boot at the 1994 World Cup, which Brazil ended up lifting.

Much like many other players on this list, Romario's official goal tally has been questioned. In 2007, he scored his '1,000th goal' in a game for Vasco de Gama, leading to celebrations for over 20 minutes. However, this tally includes goals in non-official, youth and friendly games.

2. Josef Bican - 805

Josef Bican is the man who was dethroned at the top of the list, despite being perhaps the most unknown name on it.

Bican was an Austrian-Czech striker who was most prolific during the 30s and 40s. He spent most of his career at Slavia Prague where he scored a staggering 427 goals in just 221 appearances.

Bican represented three national teams during his career: Austria, Czechoslovakia, and a one-off appearance for Bohemia and Moravia in 1939 in which he scored a hat-trick. During his time with Austria, he helped them reach the semi-final of the 1934 World Cup.

He also holds the record for being the top scorer of a domestic league the most times after claiming the title on 12 occasions. Remarkably, despite his unbelievable ability for goalscoring, Bican only won two offical league titles in his entire career.

Recently, official FIFA figures revealed Bican's total to be 805 goals. An astounding total, but not enough to fend off Ronaldo.

1: Cristiano Ronaldo - 807

Cristiano Ronaldo climbed to the top of the list with a superb hat-trick against Brighton taking his tally to 807. While there's plenty of debate to be had around Ronaldo being the best of all time - he's certainly the best goalscorer.

Out of his 807 goals, more than half of them were during his lengthy spell at Real Madrid, where he established himself as one of the greatest athletes of all time. His knack for scoring in a multitude of ways means he is a threat to defences from all angles.

Ronaldo is a five-time Ballon d'Or winner and a four-time Champions League winner, and also holds the record for most goals in the competition.

Further success came on the international stage, with Ronaldo helping Portugal to the Euro 2016 trophy despite missing a majority of the final through injury.

As of 2022, Ronaldo made a fairytale return to Old Trafford, and it seemed fitting that he broke the all-time record wearing the famed red and black of Manchester United.