Top 10 Highest Goal Scorers In Football (Soccer)

Football (soccer) is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world. The game has become extremely popular over the years, especially in Europe. Billions of fans from all over the world follow their favorite teams and players closely.

The sport is played between two teams of 11 players each. Each team tries to score goals by passing or throwing the ball into the opponent's goal. The team who scores the most goals wins the match.

But, which player has scored the most goals in football (soccer)?

This article will give you a comprehensive overview of the top 10 football players around the globe, ranked according to the number of active goals in International Men's Football.

Top 10 Highest Goal Scorers In International Football (Soccer)

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

Team: Portugal national football team

Position: Forward

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal has scored the most goals in men's international football with 117 goals in 191 games and counting.

He is recognized as one of the best footballers of all time and has won the UEFA

European Championship, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and seven league crowns.

Ronaldo also has the records for most Champions League appearances (183), goals

(140), and assists (42). He is one of the few athletes with over 800 senior-level goals for club and country.

2. Ali Daei

Team: Iranian National Team

Position: Striker

Between 2000 and 2006, Ali Daei led the Iranian national team. He is considered to be one of the best Asian football players of all time. Daei was a forward who scored a lot of goals and was renowned for his skill in the air and pinpoint heading.

With 109 goals, he held the record for the most goals scored by an international player until Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed him in 2021.

Daei is now retired and holds the second spot.

3. Lionel Messi

Team: Paris Saint-Germain

Position: Forward

Argentina's national squad is led by the professional footballer Lionel Andrés Messi.

Messi is recognized as one of the best plavers of all time and has won a record six

European Golden Shoes in addition to a record seven Ballon d'Or honors. He is a prolific scorer who owns the records for the most goals in a single La Liga season (50), a single La Liga and European league (474), the most hat tricks in a single La Liga season (36), and the UEFA Champions League (36).

With 90 goals, Messi is also the third-highest goal scorer in International Men's Football.

4. Mokhtar Dahari

Team: Selangor Football Club

Position: Forward

Legendary player Dato' Mod Mokhtar bin Dahari is revered in Malaysian football history. He was a forward who earned the moniker Supermokh for his power and playing ability. Mokhtar has scored the most goals for the Malaysian national team overall.

With 89 active goals, he is the fourth-highest goal scorer.

5. Ferenc Puskas

Team: Real Madrid

Position: Forward

Ferenc Puskas was a football player and manager from Hungary who is renowned as one of the game's all-time greats and the first global superstar. He was a forward who played in four international matches for Spain and scored 84 goals in 85 international games for Hungary.

In 1952, he won the Olympic gold medal, and in 1954, he helped his country go to the World Cup final. He is the fifth top goalscorer of all time.

6. Sunil Chhetri

Team: Indian National Team

Position: Forward

Sunil Chhetri is renowned for his link-up play, goal-scoring prowess, and leadership.

Chhetri is widely recognized as one of the greatest Indian footballers of all time and one of the finest Indian forward players of all time. He is the most capped player and an all-time leading goalscorer for the Indian football team.

He is also the third-highest international goalscorer among active players, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and the joint fifth-highest of all time.

7. Ali Mabkhout

Team: United Arab Emirates national team.

Position: Striker

Professional association footballer Ali Ahmed Mabkhout Mohsen Al Hajeri competes for both the United Arab Emirates national team and the UAE Pro League club Al Jazira. In a 5-0 victory over Indonesia, Mabkhout became the UAE's all-time leading scorer in 2019.

8. Godfrey Chitalu

Team: Kabwe Warriors

Position: Forward

Godfrey Chitalu, often known by his nickname Ucar, is widely regarded as the best Zambian player of all time. He holds the record for goals scored by his country's team and has won five Footballer of the Year awards. He was chosen by CAF as one of the top 200 African players of the previous 50 years in 2006.

With 79 goals he is the seventh-highest goal scorer.

9. Hussain Saeed

Team: Iraqi National Team

Position: Forward

Hussein Saeed Mohammed is a former forward for the Iraqi national team and the Iraqi Premier League club Al-Talaba. He was also the previous head of the Iraq Football Association. He ranks 25th on Asia's Finest Players of the Century list and is often regarded as the best Iraqi player of the 20th century, along with Ahmed Radhi.

With 78 goals, Hussein now has the most goals scored for the Iraqi national team.

10. Pele

Team: Brazil National Team

Position: Forward

Former Brazilian professional footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his stage name Pele, was a forward. He was one of the most successful and loved athletes of the 20th century and was dubbed "the greatest" by FIFA.

He was named the International Olympic Committee's Athlete of the Century in 1999, and Time named him one of the 100 most influential individuals of the 20th century. Pelé was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award in 2000 and was chosen by the International Federation of Football History &

Statistics (IFFHS) as the World Player of the Century.

He holds a Guinness World Record for scoring 1,279 goals in 1,363 games.

With 77 goals, Pele is the tenth-highest goal scorer in International Men's football.

These aforementioned 10 men are the greatest football players of all time and have etched their names in the history books, to be revered by football fans all over the world.