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The most widely accepted definition of all time career statistics are those recorded in official senior games - basically all games at senior level except club friendlies.
However, Messi and Ronaldo also scored many goals at youth level, which are sometimes included in certain lists/records.
| Team | Goals | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| All Senior Club | 678 | 795 |
| Argentina | 80 | 158 |
| Barcelona B | 6 | 22 |
| Barcelona C | 5 | 10 |
| Argentina U23 | 2 | 5 |
| Argentina U20 | 14 | 18 |
| Total | 785 | 1008 |
| Team | Goals | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| All Senior Club | 688 | 918 |
| Portugal | 115 | 184 |
| Sporting CP B | 0 | 2 |
| Portugal U23 | 2 | 3 |
| Portugal U21 | 3 | 10 |
| Portugal U20 | 1 | 5 |
| Portugal U17 | 5 | 7 |
| Portugal U15 | 7 | 9 |
| Total | 821 | 1138 |
Unfortunately, there isn't a crystal clear list of the top goalscorers of all time because the records and stats of players from decades past are patchy and incomplete, in addition to varying definitions of which goals should count.
The two most frequently shared all time top scorer lists are courtesy of IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) and RSSSF (Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation).
The IFFHS list takes into account only goals scored in "top-level competitions", which discounts youth goals and goals scored in regional competitions by players such as Josef Bican.
| Rank | Player | Goals | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 803 | 2002-present |
| 2 | Pelé | 765 | 1957-1977 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | 758 | 2004-present |
| 4 | Romário | 753 | 1985-2007 |
| 5 | Ferenc Puskás | 729 | 1943-1966 |
| 6 | Josef Bican | 720 | 1931-1955 |
| 7 | Jimmy Jones | 647 | 1947-1964 |
| 8 | Gerd Müller | 634 | 1964-1981 |
| 9 | Eusébio | 622 | 1958-1981 |
| 10 | Joe Bambrick | 616 | 1926-1943 |
The RSSSF list takes into account goals scored in competitions at all levels. The + indicates that some matches are unaccounted for and so the number of goals/matches could be higher.
| Rank | Player | Goals | Matches | Ratio | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erwin Helmchen | 982+ | 575 | 1.71 | 1924-1951 |
| 2 | Josef Bican | 948+ | 621 | 1.53 | 1931-1957 |
| 3 | Ronnie Rooke | 886+ | 955+ | 0.93 | 1930-1961 |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 821 | 1138 | 0.72 | 2002-present |
| 5 | Ferenc Puskás | 806 | 793 | 1.02 | 1943-1967 |
| 6 | Ferenc Deák | 795+ | 511+ | 1.56 | 1939-1959 |
| 7 | Lionel Messi | 785 | 1008 | 0.78 | 2004-present |
| 8 | Romário | 780 | 1000 | 0.78 | 1984-2009 |
| 9 | Abe Lenstra | 775+ | 826+ | 0.94 | 1936-1963 |
| 9 | Pelé | 775 | 840 | 0.92 | 1956-1977 |
If you’re looking for more all time goals stats, tweet us at @mvsrapp, and we’ll do our best to help.
Updated Jan 24, 11:40 AM UTC
