# IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer

The IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 2020, and retroactively for the years 2011 to 2019, to the world's top goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).
All international goals and all competitive goals for clubs playing in their country's top level division scored from 1 January to 31 December are taken into consideration.
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most wins (5) while Lionel Messi holds the record for most goals in a calendar year (91 in 2012). Robert Lewandowski won the award with the fewest goals (47 in 2020).
Ronaldo (5), Messi (2) and Lewandowski (2) are the only players who have won the award more than once.
Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Al Nassr) is the only player to win the award with multiple clubs. Meanwhile, Al Nassr is the only club with multiple winners (Abderrazak Hamdallah in 2019 & Ronaldo in 2023).
In 2021, the IFFHS awarded the World's Best Goal Scorer of the first and second decade of the 21st century, considering the years 2001 to 2010 and 2011 to 2020.

## Men's winners
### List of winners

| Year | Rank | Player | Club(s) | Goals |
| 2011 | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 60 |
| 2011 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona | 59 |
| 2011 | 3rd | Aleksandrs Čekulajevs | Narva Trans | 56 |
| 2012 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 91 |
| 2012 | 2nd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 63 |
| 2012 | 3rd | Neymar | Santos | 55 |
| 2013 | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 69 |
| 2013 | 2nd | Ali Ashfaq | New Radiant | 58 |
| 2013 | 3rd | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Paris Saint-Germain | 47 |
| 2014 | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 61 |
| 2014 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 58 |
| 2014 | 3rd | Jonathan Soriano | Red Bull Salzburg | 55 |
| 2015 | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 57 |
| 2015 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 52 |
| 2015 | 3rd | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 49 |
| 2016 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 58 |
| 2016 | 2nd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 55 |
| 2016 | 3rd | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | 51 |
| 2017 | 1st | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | 56 |
| 2017 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 54 |
| 2017 | 3rd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 53 |
| 2018 | 1st | Baghdad Bounedjah | Al-Sadd | 58 |
| 2018 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 51 |
| 2018 | 3rd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid Juventus | 49 |
| 2019 | 1st | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Nassr | 57 |
| 2019 | 2nd | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 54 |
| 2019 | 3rd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 50 |
| 2020 | 1st | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 47 |
| 2020 | 2nd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 44 |
| 2020 | 3rd | Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan | 40 |
| 2021 | 1st | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 69 |
| 2021 | 2nd | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 51 |
| 2021 | 3rd | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | 49 |
| 2022 | 1st | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 56 |
| 2022 | 2nd | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund Manchester City | 46 |
| 2022 | 3rd | Bergson | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 46 |
| 2023 | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 54 |
| 2023 | 2nd | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 52 |
| 2023 | 3rd | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur Bayern Munich | 52 |
| 2024 | 1st | Viktor Gyökeres | Sporting CP | 62 |
| 2024 | 2nd | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 49 |
| 2024 | 3rd | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 46 |

### Statistics

Winners (2011–present) :
| Player | Wins | Years |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 | 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023 |
| Lionel Messi | 2 | 2012, 2016 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 2 | 2020, 2021 |
| Harry Kane | 1 | 2017 |
| Baghdad Bounedjah | 1 | 2018 |
| Abderrazak Hamdallah | 1 | 2019 |
| Kylian Mbappé | 1 | 2022 |
| Viktor Gyökeres | 1 | 2024 |
Most goals in a year :
| Rank | Player | Year | Goals |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 2012 | 91 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2013 | 69 |
| 2 | Robert Lewandowski | 2021 | 69 |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2012 | 63 |
| 5 | Viktor Gyökeres | 2024 | 62 |
| 6 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2014 | 61 |
| 7 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2011 | 60 |
| 8 | Lionel Messi | 2011 | 59 |
| 9 | Ali Ashfaq | 2013 | 58 |
| 9 | Lionel Messi | 2014 | 58 |
| 9 | Lionel Messi | 2016 | 58 |
| 9 | Baghdad Bounedjah | 2018 | 58 |
Wins by club :
| Club | Total | Players |
| Real Madrid | 4 | 1 |
| Al Nassr | 2 | 2 |
| Barcelona | 2 | 1 |
| Bayern Munich | 2 | 1 |
| Al Sadd | 1 | 1 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1 | 1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 1 |
| Sporting CP | 1 | 1 |
Wins by nationality :
| Nationality | Total | Players |
| Portugal | 5 | 1 |
| Argentina | 2 | 1 |
| Poland | 2 | 1 |
| Algeria | 1 | 1 |
| England | 1 | 1 |
| France | 1 | 1 |
| Morocco | 1 | 1 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 |

### The World's Best Top Goal Scorer of the First Decade (2001–2010)

The final list includes the 32 players who scored 200 or more goals in top-tier national leagues, national cups, continental and international competitions with both club and national teams in the period of time from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010.
Players with at least 250 goals :
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club(s) | Goals for country | Goals for club(s) | Total goals |
| 1 | Aleksandar Đurić | Singapore | Geylang United Singapore Armed Forces Tampines Rovers | 16 | 311 | 327 |
| 2 | Washington | Brazil | Ponte Preta Fenerbahçe Athletico Paranaense Tokyo Verdy Urawa Red Diamonds Fluminense São Paulo | 2 | 281 | 283 |
| 3 | Thierry Henry | France | Arsenal Barcelona New York Red Bulls | 43 | 238 | 281 |
| 4 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | PSV Eindhoven Manchester United Real Madrid Hamburger SV | 33 | 242 | 275 |
| 5 | Samuel Eto'o | Cameroon | Mallorca Barcelona Inter Milan | 44 | 227 | 271 |
| 6 | Marc Lloyd Williams | Wales | Bangor City Southport Aberystwyth Town Total Network Solution Rhyl Newtown Porthmadog Airbus UK Broughton | 0 | 271 | 271 |

### The World's Best Top Goal Scorer of the Second Decade (2011–2020)

The final list includes the 41 players who scored 200 or more goals in top-tier national leagues, national cups, continental and international competitions with both club and national teams in the period of time from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.
The results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 4 January 2021.
Players with at least 200 goals :
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club(s) | Goals for country | Goals for club(s) | Total goals |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid Juventus | 77 | 473 | 550 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | 56 | 493 | 549 |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich | 54 | 363 | 417 |
| 4 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Sweden | Milan Paris Saint-Germain Manchester United LA Galaxy | 37 | 303 | 340 |
| 5 | Luis Suárez | Uruguay | Liverpool Barcelona Atlético Madrid | 47 | 288 | 335 |
| 6 | Edinson Cavani | Uruguay | Napoli Paris Saint-Germain Manchester United | 43 | 291 | 334 |
| 7 | Neymar | Brazil | Santos Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain | 63 | 264 | 327 |
| 8 | Sergio Agüero | Argentina | Atlético Madrid Manchester City | 32 | 270 | 302 |
| 9 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Gabon | Saint-Étienne Borussia Dortmund Arsenal | 21 | 257 | 278 |
| 10 | Sebastián Tagliabúe | United Arab Emirates | Ettifaq Al-Shabab Al-Wahda Al-Nasr | 1 | 264 | 265 |
| 11 | Eran Zahavi | Israel | Hapoel Tel Aviv Palermo Maccabi Tel Aviv Guangzhou R&F PSV Eindhoven | 24 | 240 | 264 |
| 12 | Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid | 16 | 243 | 259 |
| 13 | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | Anderlecht West Bromwich Albion Everton Manchester United Inter Milan | 55 | 203 | 258 |
| 14 | Omar Al Somah | Syria | Al Futowa Al Qadsia Al Ahli | 15 | 240 | 255 |
| 15 | Ali Mabkhout | United Arab Emirates | Al-Jazira | 65 | 185 | 250 |
| 16 | Gonzalo Higuaín | Argentina | Real Madrid Napoli Juventus Milan Chelsea Inter Miami | 24 | 218 | 242 |
| 17 | Ali Ashfaq | Maldives | VB Sports Club New Radiant PDRM FA Maziya S&RC TC Sports Club Club Green Streets Club Valencia | 37 | 205 | 242 |
| 18 | Nemanja Nikolić | Hungary | Videoton Legia Warsaw Chicago Fire Fehérvár | 7 | 235 | 242 |
| 19 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Morocco | Olympic Safi Aalesund Guangzhou R&F El Jaish Al-Rayyan SC Al-Nassr | 6 | 231 | 237 |
| 20 | Harry Kane | England | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 204 | 236 |
| 21 | Burak Yılmaz | Turkey | Trabzonspor Galatasaray Beijing Sinobo Guoan Beşiktaş Lille | 24 | 210 | 234 |
| 22 | Mohamed Salah | Egypt | Al Mokawloon Basel Chelsea Fiorentina Roma Liverpool | 43 | 186 | 229 |
| 23 | Antoine Griezmann | France | Real Sociedad Atlético Madrid Barcelona | 33 | 196 | 229 |
| 24 | Carlos Saucedo | Bolivia | San José Saprissa Oriente Petrolero Blooming Real Potosí Guabirá Royal Pari | 7 | 221 | 228 |
| 25 | Edin Džeko | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Manchester City Roma | 42 | 185 | 227 |
| 26 | Bafétimbi Gomis | France | Lyon Swansea City Marseille Galatasaray Al Hilal | 1 | 225 | 226 |
| 27 | Baghdad Bounedjah | Algeria | USM El Harrach Étoile du Sahel Al Sadd | 17 | 207 | 224 |
| 28 | Radamel Falcao | Colombia | Porto Atlético Madrid Monaco Manchester United Chelsea Galatasaray | 29 | 194 | 223 |
| 29 | Youssef El-Arabi | Morocco | Caen Al Hilal Granada Al-Duhail Olympiacos | 16 | 207 | 223 |
| 30 | Klæmint Olsen | Faroe Islands | NSÍ Runavík | 5 | 215 | 220 |
| 31 | André-Pierre Gignac | France | Marseille UANL | 3 | 216 | 219 |
| 32 | Olivier Giroud | France | Montpellier Arsenal Chelsea | 44 | 174 | 218 |
| 33 | Thomas Müller | Germany | Bayern Munich | 33 | 180 | 213 |
| 34 | Dejan Damjanović | Montenegro | FC Seoul Jiangsu Suning Beijing Sinobo Guoan Suwon Samsung Bluewings Daegu FC | 6 | 204 | 210 |
| 35 | Jonathan Soriano | Spain | Red Bull Salzburg Beijing Sinobo Guoan Al Hilal | 0 | 207 | 207 |
| 36 | Hulk | Brazil | Porto Zenit Saint Petersburg Shanghai SIPG | 11 | 194 | 205 |
| 37 | Dries Mertens | Belgium | Utrecht PSV Eindhoven Napoli | 21 | 182 | 203 |
| 38 | Esteban Paredes | Chile | Colo-Colo Atlante Querétaro | 6 | 196 | 202 |
| 39 | Greg Draper | New Zealand | The New Saints | 0 | 202 | 202 |
| 40 | Bas Dost | Netherlands | Heerenveen VfL Wolfsburg Sporting CP Eintracht Frankfurt | 1 | 200 | 201 |
| 41 | Joe Gormley | Northern Ireland | Cliftonville | 0 | 200 | 200 |

### The World's Best Top Goal Scorer of the Third Decade (2021–2030)

The provisional results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 7 January 2025.
Players with at least 160 goals :
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club(s) | Goals for country | Goals for club(s) | Total goals |
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | France | Paris Saint-Germain Real Madrid | 32 | 166 | 198 |
| 2 | Erling Haaland | Norway | Borussia Dortmund Manchester City | 32 | 162 | 194 |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | Bayern Munich Barcelona | 21 | 160 | 181 |
| 4 | Harry Kane | England | Tottenham Hotspur Bayern Munich | 37 | 140 | 177 |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Juventus Manchester United Al Nassr | 33 | 127 | 160 |

### All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking

    As of 2 November 2024
    Bold indicates players currently active.
    * indicates player has scored at least 500 goals for a single club.
Players with at least 500 goals :
| Rank | Player | League | Cup | Continental | Country & other | Total | Years |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 556 | 56 | 168 | 135 | 915 | 2002–present |
| 2 | Lionel Messi* | 517 | 71 | 149 | 112 | 849 | 2004–present |
| 3 | Pelé* | 604 | 49 | 26 | 83 | 762 | 1957–1977 |
| 4 | Romário | 545 | 93 | 54 | 64 | 756 | 1985–2007 |
| 5 | Ferenc Puskás | 516 | 69 | 56 | 84 | 725 | 1943–1966 |
| 6 | Josef Bican* | 515 | 137 | 38 | 32 | 722 | 1931–1955 |
| 7 | Robert Lewandowski | 400 | 57 | 107 | 84 | 648 | 2008–present |
| 8 | Jimmy Jones* | 330 | 286 | 14 | 9 | 648 | 1947–1964 |
| 9 | Gerd Müller* | 405 | 92 | 69 | 68 | 634 | 1964–1981 |
| 10 | Joe Bambrick* | 347 | 253 | 5 | 21 | 626 | 1926–1943 |
| 11 | Abe Lenstra | 573 | 18 | 0 | 33 | 624 | 1936–1963 |
| 12 | Luis Suárez | 409 | 48 | 57 | 69 | 583 | 2005–present |
| 13 | Eusébio | 381 | 97 | 59 | 41 | 578 | 1960–1978 |
| 14 | Glenn Ferguson | 313 | 241 | 9 | 0 | 563 | 1987–2011 |
| 15 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 394 | 48 | 57 | 62 | 561 | 1999–2023 |
| 16 | Imre Schlosser | 413 | 68 | 13 | 59 | 553 | 1906–1928 |
| 17 | Fernando Peyroteo* | 464 | 72 | 3 | 14 | 553 | 1937–1949 |
| 18 | Uwe Seeler* | 447 | 41 | 21 | 43 | 552 | 1954–1978 |
| 19 | Jimmy McGrory* | 407 | 131 | 0 | 12 | 550 | 1923–1937 |
| 20 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | 378 | 54 | 76 | 29 | 537 | 1945–1966 |
| 21 | György Sárosi | 350 | 35 | 103 | 42 | 530 | 1931–1948 |
| 22 | Roberto Dinamite | 476 | 10 | 5 | 22 | 513 | 1971–1992 |
| 23 | Hugo Sánchez | 390 | 49 | 38 | 30 | 507 | 1976–1997 |
| 24 | Franz Binder | 297 | 93 | 87 | 26 | 503 | 1930–1949 |
| 25 | Zico | 410 | 27 | 16 | 48 | 501 | 1971–1994 |

## Women's winners
### List of winners

| Year | Rank | Player | Club(s) | Goals |
| 2021 | 1st | Jennifer Hermoso | Barcelona | 48 |
| 2021 | 2nd | Lea Schüller | Bayern Munich | 47 |
| 2021 | 3rd | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | 43 |
| 2022 | 1st | Fenna Kalma | Twente | 45 |
| 2022 | 2nd | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 38 |
| 2022 | 3rd | Tessa Wullaert | Anderlecht Fortuna Sittard | 38 |
| 2023 | 1st | Temwa Chawinga | Wuhan Jiangda | 63 |
| 2023 | 2nd | Charlyn Corral | Pachuca | 39 |
| 2023 | 3rd | Kiana Palacios | América | 38 |
| 2024 | 1st | Charlyn Corral | Pachuca | 44 |
| 2024 | 2nd | Caroline Graham Hansen | Barcelona | 36 |
| 2024 | 3rd | Ewa Pajor | Wolfsburg Barcelona | 35 |

### Statistics

Winners (2021–present) :
| Player | Wins | Years |
| Jennifer Hermoso | 1 | 2021 |
| Fenna Kalma | 1 | 2022 |
| Temwa Chawinga | 1 | 2023 |
| Charlyn Corral | 1 | 2024 |
Most goals in a year :
| Rank | Player | Year | Goals |
| 1 | Temwa Chawinga | 2023 | 63 |
| 2 | Jennifer Hermoso | 2021 | 48 |
| 3 | Lea Schüller | 2021 | 47 |
| 4 | Fenna Kalma | 2022 | 45 |
| 5 | Charlyn Corral | 2024 | 44 |
| 6 | Alexia Putellas | 2021 | 43 |
| 7 | Charlyn Corral | 2023 | 39 |
| 8 | Sam Kerr | 2022 | 38 |
| 8 | Tessa Wullaert | 2022 | 38 |
Wins by club :
| Club | Total | Players |
| Barcelona | 1 | 1 |
| Twente | 1 | 1 |
| Wuhan Jiangda | 1 | 1 |
| Pachuca | 1 | 1 |
Wins by nationality :
| Nationality | Total | Players |
| Malawi | 1 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 |
| Spain | 1 | 1 |
| Mexico | 1 | 1 |