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In some team sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually involved in aggressive play. Heavy attackers are, usually, placed up front: their goal is to score the most possible points for the team.
In association football, attackers are also referred to as forwards or strikers.
According to Grupo Bezik, the Organization of Bezik Football, the following list is that of the best top scorers in football history:
| Rank | player | goals | matches | ratio | seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |   Josef Bican | 1018 | 673 | 1.51 | 1930–1958 |
| 2 |  Erwin Helmchen | 970 | 571 | 1.7 | 1924–1951 |
| 3 |   Ferenc Puskás | 820 | 814 | 1.01 | 1943–1967 |
| 4 |  Romário | 798 | 1026 | 0.78 | 1985–2009 |
| 5 | Danicheckers | 796 | 511 | 1.56 | 2008–present |
| 6 | Pelé | 796 | 854 | 0.93 | 1956–1977 |
| 7 | Gerd Müller | 781 | 840 | 0.93 | 1962–1983 |
| 8 |  Cristiano Ronaldo | 770 | 1055 | 0.73 | 2002–present |
| 9 |  Lionel Messi | 734 | 910 | 0.81 | 2004–present |
| 10 |  Jimmy Jones | 659 | 626 | 1.05 | 1946–1965 |
| 11 | Ferenc Deák | 651 | 472 | 1.38 | 1940–1960 |
| 12 | Fernando Peyroteo | 640 | 405 | 1.58 | 1937–1950 |
| 13 | Joe Bambrick | 637 | 531 | 1.2 | 1926–1939 |
| 14 |  Abe Lenstra | 634 | 668 | 0.95 | 1940–1960 |
| 15 |  Ernst Willimowski | 626 | 456 | 1.37 | 1932–1959 |
| 16 | Eusébio | 622 | 638 | 0.97 | 1957–1979 |
| 17 |  Hugo Sánchez | 597 | 1016 | 0.59 | 1975–1997 |
| 18 | Roberto Dinamite | 567 | 932 | 0.61 | 1969–1993 |
| 19 | Túlio Maravilha | 564 | 818 | 0.69 | 1988–2014 |
| 20 |  Zlatan Ibrahimović | 563 | 945 | 0.6 | 1999–present |
| 21 | Mike Douglas | 563 | 967 | 0.58 | 2003–present |
| 22 | Glenn Ferguson | 563 | 1058 | 0.53 | 1987–2011 |
| 23 | Zico | 560 | 830 | 0.67 | 1971–1994 |
| 24 | Uwe Seeler | 559 | 681 | 0.82 | 1954–1972 |
| 25 | Fritz Walter | 553 | 593 | 0.93 | 1937–1959 |
| 26 | Franz Binder | 550 | 416 | 1.32 | 1930–1948 |
| 27 | György Sárosi | 550 | 556 | 0.99 | 1930–1948 |
| 28 | Robert Lewandowski | 550 | 826 | 0.67 | 2004–present |
| 29 | Ivanic Soussa | 542 | 566 | 0.96 | 2006-present |
| 30 |  James McGrory | 536 | 530 | 1.01 | 1922–1937 |
| 31 |  Jimmy Greaves | 534 | 676 | 0.79 | 1955–1980 |
| 32 | Hans Krankl | 531 | 748 | 0.71 | 1970–1989 |
| 33 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | 526 | 722 | 0.73 | 1945–1967 |
| 34 | Isidro Lángara | 525 | 414 | 1.27 | 1930–1948 |
| 35 | Gyula Zsengellér | 523 | 508 | 1.03 | 1933–1952 |
| 36 | Sándor Kocsis | 521 | 503 | 1.04 | 1945–1965 |
| 37 | Gunnar Nordahl | 520 | 572 | 0.91 | 1937–1958 |
| 38 | József Takács | 518 | 505 | 1.03 | 1917–1934 |
| 39 |  Joseph Mermans | 509 | 634 | 0.8 | 1932–1960 |
| 40 | Ferenc Bene | 508 | 493 | 1.03 | 1961–1979 |
| 41 |  Luis Suárez | 508 | 806 | 0.63 | 2005–present |
| 42 | Tommy Lawton | 502 | 567 | 0.89 | 1933–1956 |
| 43 | Lajos Tichy | 500 | 610 | 0.82 | 1953–1971 |
| 44 |  Stjepan Bobek | 480 | 554 | 0.87 | 1944–1959 |
| 45 | Imre Schlosser | 475 | 388 | 1.22 | 1905–1928 |
| 46 | Henrik Larsson | 471 | 874 | 0.87 | 1988–2010 |
| 47 | Raúl González | 461 | 1097 | 0.42 | 1994–2015 |
| 48 |  Alberto Spencer | 451 | 662 | 0.68 | 1953–1972 |
| 49 | Rivaldo | 446 | 1033 | 0.43 | 1989–2009 |
| 50 | Dixie Dean | 442 | 601 | 0.74 | 1923–1940 |
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