Top 10 official goal-scorers in the history of football: Where do Messi and Ronaldo stand?

Football has been around for several years, with millions of fans worldwide religiously following the sport.

The game has been graced with some of the best players, many of whom have cemented their place in the history books of the sport.

A collection of these players are goal-scorers- men with undeniable ability and the consistency to be at the top of their game.

Here we take a look at the new and updated list of the top ten goal-scorers in the history of football:

(Note: Messi and Ronalo are currently still playing for their respective sides and the numbers are set to change depending on when you read this article. The numbers are correct as at November 2018, according to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.)

#10 Tulio Maravilha (Brazil) - 575 goals

We begin our countdown with Brazilian star Tulio Humberto Pereira Costa also known as Tulio Maravilha.

Wonder Tulio, as he was also called, was an immense striker, who boasts of 575 goals in his 24-year-long career.

It is notable that 13 of those goals came in only 15 appearances for his national team.

Tulio has played for more than 25 different clubs in his career, mostly Brazilian. However, he has also played at Swiss side, Sion (1992-1993) and Hungarian side, Ujpest (2002).

Tulio himself claims that he has crossed the 1000-goal mark but this personal statistic probably includes his goals in amateur and friendly games.

#9 Uwe Seeler (Germany) - 575 goals

Despite not being as popular or as talked about as Gerd Muller, Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler is one of Germany's most clinical strikers.

Seeler played for Hamburg for 18 long seasons (1954-72), establishing himself as a club legend. He also represented the German National Team between 1954 and 1970. In this period, he became the first player ever to appear in 20 World Cup matches.

The former Hamburg player retired with 21 World Cup games played under his belt becoming the player with the third highest World Cup appearances in history.

Seeler boasts of an incredible official total of 575 goals in his career, making him the ninth highest goal-scorer in the history of football.

#8 Ferenc Deak (Hungary) - 576 goals

Budapest-born Ferenc Deak saw his career being overshadowed by Ferenc Puskas but that did not slow him down as he went on to play football for 17 years.

Deak began his senior career with Szentlőrinci AC, where he scored 220 goals in 72 appearances. He then joined Ferencvárosi TC, where he scored 200 times in 140 appearances.

Deak also had stints with clubs like Ujpest and Spartacus Budapest among others.

The Hungarian also made 20 appearances for his country between 1946 and 1949, bagging 29 goals.

Deak ended his football career on an incredible note, with an official total of 576 official goals.

#7 Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 655 goals

Argentine ace Lionel Messi is one of only two players on the list who are still active in the game.

Since coming out of Barcelona's famous academy La Masia, Messi has proven himself to be one of the greatest goal-scorers in modern football.

Messi has been loyal to La Liga's FC Barcelona throughout his career and is currently still playing for the Catalan giants.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has also represented the Argentine football team since 2005, becoming their all-time highest goal-scorer. Following Argentina's dismal World Cup exit this year, however, the Barcelona star has requested to be exempted from international duties this year.

The Argentine talisman boasts of 655 official goals in his career so far and this number is likely to be higher by the time he hangs up his boots.

#6 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 680 goals

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo forms the second half of players on the list who are still playing competitively.

Since his days playing at the wings, Ronaldo has established himself as a goal-scoring machine, sharing a record five Ballon d'Or awards with Messi.

The talisman was first under the spotlight when he joined Manchester United where he enjoyed massive success under Sir Alex Ferguson.

He then made a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid for a then world record fee of £80 million.

The Portuguese honed his skills at the Bernabeu and soon become one of the most lethal footballers of all time, winning 15 major trophies in nine seasons at Los Blancos.

During this period, he helped Real win three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles.

Over the summer however, Ronaldo completed yet another shocking move to Serie A side Juventus in a hefty €100 million transfer.

The Portuguese has impressed at Turin, netting nine goals in 15 appearances for the Old Lady so far this season.

Ronaldo also plays for the Portuguese national team, finding success during the 2016 edition of the Euros.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner boasts of 680 official goals so far in his career. Like Messi, Ronaldo's numbers are also set to increase by the time he retires.

#5 Gerd Muller (Germany) - 735 goals

German legend Gerd Muller is easily one of the most prolific players to ever grace the game.

The striker has played for clubs like 1861 Nördlingen and Bayern Munich, before moving to the North American Soccer League (NASL) where he played for Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Muller established himself as a legend at Bayern Munich, remaining the club's top goalscorer of all time to date with 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games.

He also represented West Germany between 1966 and 1974 during which they won a European Championship in 1972 and the FIFA World Cup in 1974.

Muller boasts of 735 official goals in 793 matches throughout his career.

#4 Ferenc Puskas (Hungary) - 746 goals

Hungary's Ferenc Puskas is yet another legend known in the history books as one of the best goal scorers of all time.

Puskas only played for two clubs in his career - Hungarian side, Budapest Honvéd[1] (1943-55), and Spanish side, Real Madrid (1958-66), where together with Alfredo Di Stefano, he formed one of the deadliest attacking duos in football.

During his stint at the Bernabeu, Puskas won five consecutive league titles and three European Cups.

The talisman also played a pivotal role in the Hungarian national team, netting 84 goals in 85 games.

Puskas was also a part of the 'Golden Team' that went on an unbeaten 32-game streak to win the 1952 Olympics.

The Real Madrid legend ended his career on a high, with 746 official goals in 754 matches.

#3 Pele (Brazil) - 767 goals

Perhaps the most well-known footballer in the history of the sport, Santos and Brazilian legend, Pelé is not only one of the most prolific goalscorers in football but is deemed by many to be the greatest footballer of all time.

The Brazilian kickstarted his senior career in 1956 with Santos where he spent 18 seasons before moving to the NALS to play for New York Cosmos.

His most important game was arguably the 1958 World Cup in which the then 17-year-old player emerged to be the hero for his national team.

Brazil went on to win the World Cup title that year, after which they won two other editions in 1962 and 1970.

Pele is a legend at Santos, as he remains to be the player with the most appearances for the club and its all-time top-scorer.

While Pele has scored 1,271 career goals according to the Guiness Book of World Records (including friendlies and amateur games), the Brazilian had scored 767 official career goals in 831 matches, which is still a mind-blowing record to have.

#2 Romario (Brazil) - 772 goals

Known as one of the most clinical strikers in football, Romario began his 24-year-long career with Vasco da Gama in 1985, before moving to PSV and later, Barcelona.

He flourished at the two teams, scoring a staggering 165 goals in 167 games for PSV and an impressive 39 goals in his two seasons at Barcelona.

The Brazilian then went on to play for the likes of Flamengo and Valencia.

Romário also played for the Brazilian national team between 1987 and 2005, scoring 55 goals and winning the FIFA World Cup in 1994.

The Brazilian striker officially scored 772 career goals in 994 matches, making him the second highest top-scorer of all time.

#1 Josef Bican (Czech Republic) - 805 goals

Josef Bican is currently the highest goal-scorer in the history of football, boasting of a staggering 805 official goals from 530 matches throughout his career.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) even awarded him with the "Golden Ball" recognizing him as the greatest goalscorer of the last century.

Bican has played for a host of Czech clubs but is best known for his stints at Rapid Vienna and Slavia Prague.

The Czech star scored 52 goals in 49 games for Vienna and an incredible 395 goals in 217 appearances with Prague.

Internationally, Bican played for three different countries - Austria (1933-36), Czech Republic (1938-49), and Bohemia and Moravia in 1939.

Years after his retirement, his incredible record still stands and it is yet to be seen whether it will ever be beaten.

Edited by Emeka Monyei