TOP GOAL SCORERS IN FOOTBALL  HISTORY

1) JOSEF BICAN (1913-2001) GOALS:805
         

He may not be as famous as the likes of Romario, Pele, Muller and Eusebio, but Josef Bican is recognized as the most prolific goal-scorer in official matches for club and country. He was of Czech-Austrian Nationality, representing both Austria and Czechoslovakia .His career spanned between 1928 and 1955, and his most prolific spell was at Slavia Prague where he scored a sensational 395 goals in just 217 games. It is important to note that his career occurred throughout the war, where many footballers were recruited as soldiers, and so there was not much competition for him. Even at the end of his career, aged 42, he was able to score 22 times in 29 games.

2) ROMARIO (1966-) GOALS: 772
              

 Pele may have more goals for the Brazilian National team, but fellow Brazilian legend Romario has more official goals overall for club and country. Romario led Brazil to victory in the 1994 World Cup, and also the 1989 and 1997 Copa Americas. Unlike Pele, he represented a number of clubs throughout his career, and excelled in Europe during his time at PSV and Barcelona between 1988 and 1995. He was named FIFA World Player of The Year in 1994 and picked up numerous club and individual honors throughout his illustrious career, one that lasted until he reached age 43.

3) PELE (1940-) GOAL:767
            

Pele is regarded by many people within and outside of football as the greatest player of all time, scoring for fun throughout his career. In 1999 he was voted as World Player of the Century, and the list of his individual accolades is endless. He spent 2 years at the end of his career with New York Cosmos, but he was a one-club man with Santos for the majority of his playing time. He was declared a ‘national treasure’ by the Brazilian Government, winning 3 World Cups after beginning his international career at the age of just 16.
 
4) FERENC PUSKAS (1927-2006) GOALS; 746
                        

Puskás was part of the Hungary generation of players that were victorious in the 1952 Olympics and runners up in the 1954 World Cup. His career spanned a long 23 years, where he represented Budapest Honvéd and Real Madrid, scoring prolifically for both. He won numerous Hungarian League titles with Budapest Honvéd, before picking up 5 La Liga titles and 3 European Cups with Real Madrid. The FIFA Puskás Award was made in honor of Puskas, and awarded to a player judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant and "most beautiful" goal of the year.

5) GERD MULLER (1945-) GOALS: 735
Gerd Muller is a very popular name in the history of football, and he is yet another player to spend the majority of his career at one club (Bayern Munich). His modest speed and lack of height was irrelevant as his incredible positioning and finishing was second-to-none. He enjoyed much success with Bayern Munich, having won 4 League titles, 4 German Cups, and 4 League Cups. He was also instrumental in West Germany winning Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup. Muller also held the record for most goals scored in a calendar year, managing a huge 85 goals in 1972, until Lionel Messi overtook this in 2012.    

6) FERENC DEAK (1922-1998) GOALS: 576
                 

Ferenc Deak is an unfamiliar name to most people, and this is because his career took place in times of World War, when numerous official tournaments are impossible to stage. Deak was of Hungarian nationality, representing Szentlorinci, Ferencvaros, and Budapesti Dzosa in his home country. He was only able to represent the Hungary national team between 1944 and 1949, where he still managed 29 goals in 20 games. The instability and damage caused by World War II meant that Deak had to cut short his international career. He still managed 576 career goals.  

7) UWE SEELER (1936-) GOALS : 575
  

  Another German forward who enlisted himself as one of the most lethal goal-scorers in the history of the game is Uwe Seeler. Another legendary figure that spent an entire career with one team, he represented Hamburg between 1953 and 1972. He also had 43 goals in 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. He was only able to win one League title and League Cup with Hamburg, but was rewarded the German Footballer of the Year award in 1960, 1964 and 1970. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in German football history.

8) ERNST WILLIMOWSKI (1916-1997) GOALS: 554
   

  Ernst Willimowski was a forward who played for both the Polish and German national teams between 1934 and 1942. His parents were German, but after his father died in the First World-War his mother married a Polish man. He was one of the best goal-scorers in the history of the Polish national team, and in Polish club football before he decided to re-take German citizenship and play for Germany. He is remembered as the first player to score 4 goals in World Cup game, doing so against Brazil in 1938.

9) EUSEBIO (1942-2014) GOALS: 552

  Eusebio is a much more familiar name, and he is considered as one of the very greatest footballers of all time. He represented Benfica for 15 out of the 22 years (1957-1979) that he was a professional footballer, achieving legendary status at the club in the process. Nicknamed the ‘Black Panther’, he won a number of club and individual accolades in a magnificent career, and was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot. He sadly passed away on January 5th 2014 and received tributes from all over the world.

10) JAMES McGRORY (1904-1982) GOALS: 550

  James McGrory was a Scottish striker who spent the majority of his career with Celtic (1922-1937), bar a loan stint at Clydebank in between. He holds the title of being the all-time leading goal-scorer in top-flight British football: 408 in Scottish league, 77 in Scottish Cup, 53 in other cup tournaments, 6 for Scotland, and 6 for the Scottish League XI. He was at Celtic for 15 years and is a legendary figure in the club’s history. He was only 5 ft 6 but earned a reputation for his fantastic heading ability. He sadly passed away in 1982, aged 78.