Top 10 goal scorers in league football across Europe

There have been many footballers who might have not done very well in international football, but have certainly left their mark in club football.They have helped their respective clubs win many championships by scoring goals on a consistent basis and have created a legacy for themselves over there.Pele is the most successful league scorer in the world, having found the back of the net a record 1281 times. Here is a look at the most prolific goalscorers in the history of the top tiers of major European leagues.Here’s a look at at the top 10 goals scorers in league football in Europe:

#10 Honourable mentions

Lionel Messi and Charlie Buchan are tied at 11th spot with 257 goals: The Argentian debuted in 2004 for the Catalan giants nad has been a prolific goal-scorer for them in 10 seasons. Buchan played club football at Arsenal and Sunderland between 1911 and 1928.

Raul is in 13th spot with 256 goals. He scored 228 off those 256 goals at Real Madrid and then scored 28 goals for Schalke.He played club football between 1994 and 2012.

Nat Lofthouse and Bernard Lacombe are tied on 14thposition with 255 goals. Lofthouse played for Bolton Wanderers between 1946 and 1960 while Lacombe played 18 seasons of club football, representing 3 clubs- Lyon, St Etienne and Bordeaux.

#9 Klaus Fischer - 268 goals

The German, who was known for his ability to score goals with bicycle kicks, scored a total of 268 goals in 545 appearances.He first played for TSV 1860 Munchen between 1968 and 1970, scoring 28 goals in 60 matches.He then moved on to Schalke and in 11 seasons over there scored 182 goals in 305 games.

He then moved to FC Koln, where he spent three seasons between 1981 and 1984, scoring 31 goals in 96 games. He finished his club career at VfL Bochum, where he played for 4 years, between 1984 and 1988 and scored 27 goals in 84 matches.

#8 Silvio Piola - 274 goals

The Italian Silvio Piola scored a total of 274 goals in the Serie A in a club career spanning almost a quarter of a century.Piola first played for Pro Vercelli between 1929 and 1934, scoring 51 goals in 127 games. He then represented Lazio for nine seasons between 1934 and 1943, scoring 143 goals in 227 appearances for the club.

He played one season for Juventus in the Serie A in 1946, scoring 10 goals in 28 matches. He then moved to Novara in 1948 and spent 5 seasons over there, scoring 70 goals for them in 165 games.

#7 Alan Shearer - 283 goals

One of the finest players in English football, Alan Shearer scored 283 goals between 1987 and 2006. He first played for Southampton between 1987 and 1992, scoring 23 goals in 118 games for the club. He then made a career altering shift to Blackburn Rovers, where he enjoyed a successful four-year spell, scoring 112 goals in 138 matches, and helped his club win the league title in 1995 under Kenny Dalglish.

Shearer then shifted to Newcastle United in 1996 and here too he did exceedingly well, scoring 148 goals in 303 matches. Despite being one of their key players, he couldn't help the Magpies win the title during his reign over there.

#6 Cristiano Ronaldo and Gordon Hodgson - 287 goals

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is tied at sixth position with Gordon Hodgson at 287 goals.

Ronaldo started his career in Sporting Lisbon, where he spent just one season scoring 3 goals in 25 matches.He was bought by Manchester United in 2003 and he spent the next six years of his career at Old Trafford, scoring a total of 84 goals in 196 appearances.In those six years between 2003 and 2009, Ronaldo helped the Red Devils win the Premier League on three occasions.

He made a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2009 and made an immediate impact, scoring 26 goals in 29 appearances in his first season with the Los Blancos.He has so far scored 203 goals in 180 games for the club in the La Liga and helped them win the club title in 2012.

Joining him at sixth is Gordon Hodgson, who also scored the same number of goals, 287 while playing for three clubs in England Liverpool, Aston Villa and Leeds United.

#5 Delio Onnis - 299 goals

The Argentian scored a total of 299 goals in his club career that spanned close to 15 years between 1971 and 1985.Onnis spent all of his club career in France, first playing forStade de Reims, scoring 39 goals between 1971 and 1973and then representing AS Monaco between 1973 and 1980. He scored 157 goals for the latter during his 7 seasons over there.

He then moved on to Tours FC, for whom he played three seasons between 1980 and 1983. He scored a total of 64 goals in 47 games for the club. He then made a move to SC Toulon where he played three more seasons and he eventually finished his club career there, scoring 39 goals in 30 matches.He scored the most number of goals in Ligue 1 in1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984.

#4 Dixie Dean - 310 goals

Dixie Dean played 13 seasons in the first division for Everton. He scored a total of 310 goals for the club during the time. He played a crucial role in Everton winning the league title in 1931-32, scoring 45 goals in 38 matches. Though his side didn't win the title in 1927-28, he scored 60 goals in 39 matchesand also scored 26 goals in 38 games in 1934-35 season.

He was part of FA Charity Shield wins in 1928 and 1932 and won an FA Cup title with Everton.

#3 Steve Bloomer - 317 goals

England Steve Bloomer scored a total of 317 goals between 1892 and 1917. He first represented Derby County and played for them between 1892 and 1905. But, his prolific goal-scoring at the club couldn't help them win the League title. Derby finished in second position in 1895-96 season and in the third position in 1893-94 and 1896-97 season. He scored a total of 201 goals for the club in 13 seasons.

Bloomer then made a move to Middlesborough in 1906 and played for the club from 1906 to 1910, scoring a total of 63 goals in 125 games. He made a return, back to Derby County in 1911 and played three more seasons over there scoring38 goals in 64 games for them.

#2 Gerd Muller - 365 goals

The German enjoyed a particularly good spell in the BundesLiga, scoring a total of 365 goals in 427 appearances.

Mullers move to Bayern Munich from TSV 1860 Munchen in 1966 proved to be the turning point of his career. Right from his first season at the club, Muller seemed to be in prolific goal-scoring form and he spent a total of 13 seasons with the Bavarians scoring 365 goals in 427 appearances.

He played a key role in his club winning the domestic league title in 1968, 1972 and 1974.

#1 Jimmy Greaves -369 goals

Englands Jimmy Greaves leads the list of the most number of goals scored in League football.The Englishman scored 366 goals in total in a career spanning close to 15 years from 1957 to 1971. Greaves first played for Chelsea in 1957 and during his four year with the Blues scored a total 124 goals in 157 games, despite his side failing to win the title in each of the four years. Greaves then made a move to Italy to play for AC Milan, but had a disappointing time over there, scoring just 12 goals in 9 matches in the lone season that he played there.

He made a return to England during the 1961-62 season, when he was signed on by Tottenham Hotspurs. Greaves enjoyed the most successful spell of his club football career at Spurs, scoring at total of 220 goals in 321 appearances for the club in the League.

After leaving Tottenham in 1969, Greaves joined West Ham United and played a couple of seasons for the club, scoring 13 goals in 38 games. He playedfor four more teams after leaving West Ham in 1971, but couldn't score for any of them.