The FIFA World Cup 2022 has just gone by. It was the first time that FIFA hosted the World Cup in an Arab country. Argentina won the World Cup with flying colors defeating France. Also, Lionel Messi, the captain of the Argentinian football team, became the best player. He played well and scored 7 goals in the tournament.
Lionel Messi is 35 years old and still scoring goals for Argentina and Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He plays as a forward and is considered one of the best forwards in the history of football. But he is still far away from becoming the highest goal scorer in the world.
Who Is The Highest Goal Scorer In The World?
Until the World Cup 2022, Josef Bican, an Austrian-Czech professional footballer was the highest goal scorer. According to FIFA, he scored 805 goals and retained the title for over six decades. But his record was broken by Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal in the World Cup 2022.
Though Cristiano Ronaldo scored only one goal in the fifa world cup 2022, he broke the record of Josef Bican and changed the GOAT list. Here it is necessary to clear that only FIFA-recognized goals are considered for ranking footballers.
Portugal reached the quarter final of the World Cup 2022 but got eliminated by Morocco 1-0. But the Portuguese captain achieved a rare feat with his solo goal in the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo broke the world record for the highest number of goals and reached the top. The new GOAT list starts with Cristiano Ronaldo.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Great team spirit to come back and win it!
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) May 23, 2023
Big thank you to the fans that stood with us when we most needed ! 🙌🏻 💛💙 pic.twitter.com/juwdTz5HUW
The 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo captains both the Portugal national team and the Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr which he recently joined after leaving Manchester United. He has scored 834 goals in 1,160 appearances and is still playing. He is nearing 40 but has the stamina of scoring more goals for his team and club. Also, his £178 million annual deal with Al Nassr until 2025 is a record.
2. Josef Bican (Austrian-Czech)
Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed Josef Bican (805) record for the most competitive goals in football history. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/g1rCvSxEK8
— The Football Arena (@thefootyarena) March 12, 2022
Josef Bican was the top goal scorer in the world until the World Cup 2022 when Cristiano Ronaldo trumped him from the seat and made number two on the latest GOAT list. Unofficial sources claim that he scored over 1500 goals but FIFA recognizes only 805 goals. Since this list is based on FIFA-recognized goals, Josef Bican is kept in second place. He scored 805 goals in 530 appearances from 1931-1956.
3. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Te sufrimos.
— SD Eibar (@SDEibar) February 22, 2020
Te padecemos.
Te sobrellevamos.
Y no nos queda otra que ponernos en pie y aplaudirte.
🔝 @TeamMessi 🔝 pic.twitter.com/6md5L4ZSE3
With 805 goals in 1022 appearances, Lionel Messi stands in the third position but looking ahead to jump to the second position in the upcoming tournaments. Lionel Messi is a legendary footballer with a high potential for scoring goals. He scored 7 goals in the World Cup 2022. The thing here to see is how long he takes to reach the top spot in the GOAT list.
4. Romario (Brazil)
CHOOSE ENGLAND https://t.co/XCUtqvHHvO CHOOSE OUR WORLD CUP SONG #ThreeLions #ENGTUN #ItsComingHome #DoubleHeadedTShirt RETWEET #WorldCup ⚽️ 🏆 🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/5x4qsqQo8v
— Lions Out Loud (@BonkersEngland) June 18, 2018
The footballer-turned-politician has scored 774 goals in 994 appearances from 1985-2007. He was a striker in football and missed no opportunity to strike goals. He even received the Golden Ball award in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Also, he played for various clubs including Barcelona, Valencia, and Flamengo, and become one of the few players to score 100 goals for three different clubs.
5. Pele (Brazil)
Antes do Rei, o número 10 era apenas um número.
— Pelé (@Pele) April 6, 2023
.
Before the King, number 10 was just a number. pic.twitter.com/6ux2nhlc7m
One of the greatest footballers ever born, Pele has etched his name in the history of football. Also, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that his name is taken as synonymous with football. His football career spans two decades from 1957-1977 and he made 831 appearances during this time. Also, he scored 757 goals which is still a record. But his position on the latest GOAT list slipped to fifth.
6. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)
Ferenc Puskás:
— … (@Trachta10) April 8, 2022
718 games, 64095 minutes
708 goals, 90 penalties
388 assists pic.twitter.com/GWQNVVzbX3
Ferenc Puskas had an illustrious career both as a player and as a manager. He played football from 1943-1966 and performed managerial duties from 1966-1993. He played 85 matches for Hungary and 4 matches for Spain. He also played for Budapest Honvéd and Real Madrid clubs. According to FIFA, he scored over 746 goals in 754 games and for this reason, he is in the sixth position on our list.
7. Gerd Muller (Germany)
Germany and Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller has sadly passed away, aged 75.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 15, 2021
One of the all-time greats 🙏 pic.twitter.com/FuCQHXOFb8
One of the finest strikers, Gerd Muller was fondly called “Bomber der Nation” because of his clinical finishing and goal-scoring ability. He played 793 games from 1962-1981 and scored 734 goals. He stands in the seventh position on our GOAT list but he holds the record for scoring the highest goals in Bundesliga matches. He scored 365 goals in 427 appearances.
8. Ferenc Deak (Hungary)
Ferenc Deak – Playing career 1940-1959
— Fussball Geekz (@fussballgeekz) January 25, 2023
435 league games, 647 goals.
20 🇭🇺 appearances, 29 goals.@MLSZhivatalos @ujpestfc1885 @1899FTC @SiofokKC pic.twitter.com/0Wtk1EaZBV
Ferenc Deak was one of the best strikers of his time and even today. He played for Hungary and clubs including Szentlőrinci AC, Ferencváros, and Budapesti Dózsa. His career spans only 15 years from 1940-1957. Though he scored more goals in his career, FIFA recognized only 576 goals. But no record is maintained of his appearances.
9. Uwe Seeler (Germany)
Defeat in Gelsenkirchen 😔#GERCOL 0-2 pic.twitter.com/9pQHRMCmbd
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 20, 2023
Uwe Seeler played for the Western Germany national team and Hamburger SV from 1953-1975 and scored 575 goals. But these are FIFA-recognized goals and the unofficial number of his goals could be much larger. Also, no record is found about his appearance. In 2004, Pele named Uwe Seeler as one of FIFA’s 100 greatest living players.
10. Tulio Maravilha (Brazil)
When Brazilian stars head back to the Brasileirão 🏠 pic.twitter.com/C6wiekhKa0
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 29, 2021
Tulio Maravilha played as a forward for Brazil national team and various clubs including Goiás, Botafogo, and Corinthians from 1988-2019 and scored 575 goals. But no record is available for the matches he played.
Tulio Maravilha had an amazing football career with clubs but he never played for a club for more than one season. He also remained the top scorer for Botafogo three times in 1989, 1994, and 1995.
Conclusion
The top scorer of all time Cristiano Ronaldo is racing ahead but closely followed by Lionel Messi. Both the players are great footballers and both intend to play football for a long time. Now all eyes are on the upcoming tournaments where both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will try to outsmart each other.
