Top 10 all-time scorers: Cristiano Ronaldo and World Cup winner Lionel Messi separated by Josef Bican

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are almost 40 years old and still scoring for fun, but the GOAT debate still rages…

Messi is now a World Cup winner after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar in 2022, however, former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Ronaldo continues to claim the title of best in the world.

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Both are footballing greats and they are still scoring goals at incredible rates for Inter Miami and Al Nassr respectively.

But it is Ronaldo who sits above his rival at the top of the all-time goalscoring charts, with his records helping him overtake Austrian-Czech icon Josef Bican.

No one has scored more FIFA-recognized goals than the Portuguese captain, who put his name at the top of the all-time goalscoring charts.

Messi has overtaken legendary trio Romario, Ferenc Puskas and Pele to move into third place, but Ronaldo still remains at the top.

However, the Argentinian is gradually catching up with his generational rival.

So who else is on the list of top ten scorers of all time?

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10. Tulio Maravilha

575 goals (match total unknown) – 1988-2019

Maravilha was a journeyman Brazilian who certainly had an eye for goal.

Recently retired, the striker played for almost 40 clubs during his career.

He enjoyed his greatest success at Botafogo where he won the league Golden Boot three times.

The Brazilian national team gave him 15 caps and he scored 13 goals in those matches, never losing a match for his country.

9, Uwe Seeler

Over 575 goals (match total unknown) – 1953-1978

German great Seeler was prolific for Hamburger but struggled to turn his goals into silverware.

In total, he played over 400 matches for the club, eventually becoming president for a short period.

He scored twice in his one and only appearance for Cork Celtic of Ireland in 1978.

Seeler played for his country in four World Cups and captained West Germany in the 1966 final defeat to England.

Sadly, he passed away in July 2022, honored by clubs across Germany.

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8. Ferenc Deak

Over 576 goals (match total unknown) – 1940-1957

One of Hungary’s best in their prime and a legend in his home country, if not just as much elsewhere in the world.

Incredibly, Deak averaged over three goals per game during his career at Szentlorinci AC.

He played a total of 186 matches for the club while scoring 358 goals between 1940 and 1947.

The striker spent all his playing days in Hungary and has racked up over 400 appearances for six clubs.

7. Gerd Muller

734 goals in 793 matches – 1962-1981

The striker’s most important goal of the 68 he scored for West Germany was the winner in the 1974 World Cup final against the Netherlands in Munich.

During the historic 15 years at Bayern, Muller scored a record 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches and 66 goals in 74 European matches.

His record of 40 goals scored in a single Bundesliga season stood for 49 years and was broken by Robert Lewandowski in May 2021.

Harry Kane is now playing his football in Germany and he will aim to join Lewandowski in breaking Muller’s record.

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6. Ferenc Puškas

More than 746 goals in more than 754 matches – 1943-1966

Another Hungarian icon, Puskas now lends his name to the prize for the best goal of each year.

The striker made his name in Budapest before consolidating his legend at Real Madrid.

He has scored over 150 goals for Los Blancos, an average of one goal per game.

Two of Puskas’ most famous goals came in Hungary’s infamous 6-3 win over England, with the 1953 match at Wembley later dubbed the ‘Match of the Century’.

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5. Pele

757 goals in 831 matches – 1957-1977

One of the greatest of all time and a three-time World Cup winner.

Pelé only played for two clubs while leading Brazil to glory throughout his career.

He scored almost a goal per game during his 656 competitive matches for Santos, although he claims to have scored over 1,000 times.

However, it is widely believed that hundreds of these goals were scored during tours or friendlies. Pelé would have told you otherwise!

The icon passed away in 2022 but his legacy lives on in the world of football.

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4. Romário

772 goals 994 matches – 1985-2007

Romario led Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, scoring five goals at the tournament.

He had a brilliant career with several major clubs around the world.

The striker has played for 10 teams in total, playing over 700 matches.

His time at PSV brought him the most success in front of goal as he scored 98 goals in just 110 matches.

Romario has also scored 55 times in 70 caps for his country.

3. Lionel Messi

832 goals in 1057 matches – 2003-present

A true legend, Messi has won countless trophies to support his goals, including a record eight Ballons d’Or.

Now at Inter Miami in the United States, the Argentinian still has a few years to add to his remarkable record.

Messi scored seven times at the World Cup in Qatar, including twice in the dramatic penalty shootout victory over France in the final, which surely proved to be the most special of his entire career.

He scored over 400 times for Barcelona before joining PSG where he scored 22 times.

The icon now plays in MLS and continues to play for Argentina on the international stage.

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2. Joseph Bican

Over 805 goals in 530+ matches – 1931-1956

The legendary striker scored an incredible 395 in 217 matches for Slavia Prague from 1937 to 1948.

He also played for several Czech clubs, racking up an incredible number of goals.

This means that Bican was the all-time top scorer for over 60 years, but was eventually overtaken.

Although he scored almost 1,500 goals in total during his playing career, only 805 of them were recognized by FIFA.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

885 goals in 1,217 matches – 2001 to present

A modern great for Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid.

Ronaldo won everything in the game and is still going strong today, and added the biggest record to his historic career by surpassing Bican.

Ronaldo’s goalscoring record continued to grow after his goal against Ghana in the 2022 World Cup.

The goal makes him the only player to have scored in five separate World Cups – and he’s not yet done with talk of an early retirement, according to the man himself.

In fact, Ronaldo pushed the envelope even further, securing the most expensive contract in sporting history by signing a £178million-a-year deal with Saudi side of Al Nassr until 2025.

He reached the incredible milestone of 500 career league goals while at the club.

On the international stage, he also has over 200 international caps – a world record – and he has continued to score, netting 128 times for his country.

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