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In football, goalscorers are often the most celebrated players for obvious reasons. Scoring goals not only contributes to the team's success but also showcases the individual player's skill and ability to create and finish opportunities.
Goalscorers can often be the difference between winning and losing, and their ability to consistently score goals is highly valued by teams and fans alike. Even today, it's those players who find the back of the net on a regular basis that steal the limelight and grab the headlines in the world of football.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the greatest goalscorers of all time.
(Note: The rankings have been done purely on goalscoring ability and not overall footballing ability.)
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#5 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and his goalscoring ability has been a significant factor in his success. Messi's ability to dribble past multiple defenders, his agility and exceptional finishing skills make him a lethal goalscorer.
He is particularly adept at scoring from free-kicks and has developed a signature technique that is widely recognized as one of the best in the game. Messi's goalscoring ability has helped him win numerous individual awards, including the Ballon d'Or, and has played a vital role in his teams' successes.
Messi has scored over 800 goals in his senior career. He holds the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year (91 goals in 2012).
#4 Pele
Pele is widely regarded as one of the GOATs of football and his goalscoring ability has been crucial to his success. He was a prolific goalscorer throughout his career, scoring over 1000 goals for club and country.
He won three World Cups with Brazil and was instrumental in those triumphs, scoring several important goals in those tournaments.
Pele's consistency as a goalscorer set him apart from other players and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest goalscorers of all time.
#3 Gerd Muller
Gerd Muller is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of football. He was known for his clinical finishing ability, especially with his trademark 'toe-poke' technique and his ability to score from almost any position.
Muller's goalscoring prowess helped him achieve numerous records throughout his career, including being the all-time leading scorer in the Bundesliga with 365 goals. He also held the record for most goals in a calendar year, scoring 85 goals in 1972, a feat that was surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2012.
Muller won the Golden Boot at the 1970 World Cup, where he scored 10 goals. He also scored the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup final for West Germany against the Netherlands.
The German's goalscoring ability helped him win numerous trophies, including three European Cups with Bayern Munich, and he remains one of the greatest goalscorers of all time.
#2 Ferenc Puskas
Ferenc Pukas is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the history of the game. The Hungarian legend was always amongst the goals throughout his career, be it for club or country. He scored over 600 goals in his senior career and was renowned for his accurate finishing.
Puskas won three European Cups with Real Madrid and was the top scorer in the competition twice. He was also a key player for the Hungarian national team during their 'Golden Team' era in the 1950s, where he helped lead them to the World Cup final in 1954.
The FIFA award for the best goal scored in a calendar year, the 'Puskas Award', is named after the legendary Hungarian.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest goalscorer in the history of the beautiful game. Despite being 38, the Portuguese legend has been in sensational goalscoring form of late.
After starting out as a maverick winger, Ronaldo developed a taste for goalscoring during his time at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. He then flourished at Real Madrid, scoring more than one goal per game on average during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ronaldo is the leading goalscorer in men's international football. He has scored 122 goals for Portugal. The forward is also the all-time leading scorer in the UEFA Champions League, with 140 goals to his name. He has scored over 800 goals in his senior career for club and country.
