IFFHS World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer

Last updated
IFFHS World's Best Man International Goal Scorer
Sport Association football
Awarded forBest international goal scorer of the calendar year
Presented by International Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award1997
Editions28
First winner Flag of Turkey.svg Hakan Şükür
Most wins Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi (4 awards)
Most recent Flag of Sweden.svg Viktor Gyökeres (36 goals in 2024)
Website www.iffhs.com
Lionel Messi has won the award a record four times. Lionel Messi, Player of FC Barcelona team.JPG
Lionel Messi has won the award a record four times.

This award is given annually since 1997 to the player who scores the most goals in a league season (in a calendar year since 2020) in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).

Contents

Men's winners

List of winners

YearWinnerClub(s)Goals
1997 Flag of Turkey.svg Hakan Şükür Flag of Turkey.svg Galatasaray 38
1998 Flag of Ecuador.svg Iván Kaviedes Flag of Ecuador.svg Emelec 43
1999 Flag of Brazil.svg Mário Jardel Flag of Portugal (official).svg Porto 36
2000 Flag of Brazil.svg Mário Jardel Flag of Portugal (official).svg Porto 38
2001 Flag of Bolivia.svg José Alfredo Castillo Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Oriente Petrolero 42
2002 Flag of Bolivia.svg Joaquín Botero Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Bolívar 49
2003 Flag of Paraguay.svg José Cardozo Flag of Mexico.svg Toluca 58
2004 Flag of Chile.svg Patricio Galaz Flag of Chile.svg Cobreloa 42
2005 Flag of Brazil.svg Clemerson Araújo Flag of Japan.svg Gamba Osaka 33
2006 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ajax 35
2007 Flag of Brazil.svg Afonso Alves Flag of the Netherlands.svg Heerenveen 34
2008 Flag of Paraguay.svg Lucas Barrios Flag of Chile.svg Colo-Colo 37
2009 Flag of Austria.svg Marc Janko Flag of Austria.svg RB Salzburg 39
2010 Flag of Uruguay.svg Luis Suárez Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ajax 35
2011 Flag of Latvia.svg Aleksandrs Čekulajevs Flag of Estonia.svg Narva Trans 46
2012 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona 50
2013 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona 46
2014 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid 31
Flag of Uruguay.svg Luis Suárez Flag of England.svg Liverpool
2015 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid 48
2016 Flag of Uruguay.svg Luis Suárez Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona 40
2017 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona 37
2018 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona 34
Flag of Brazil.svg Jonas Flag of Portugal (official).svg Benfica
2019 Flag of Algeria.svg Baghdad Bounedjah Flag of Qatar.svg Al Sadd 39
Calendar year
2020 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Italy.svg Juventus 33
2021 Flag of Poland.svg Robert Lewandowski [1] Flag of Germany.svg Bayern Munich 43
2022 Flag of Argentina.svg Germán Cano [2] Flag of Brazil.svg Fluminense 33
2023 Flag of England.svg Harry Kane [3] Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur
Flag of Germany.svg Bayern Munich 		38
2024 Flag of Sweden.svg Viktor Gyökeres [4] Flag of Portugal (official).svg Sporting 36
Source: [5]

Statistics

Multiple winners (1997–present)
PlayerWinsYears
Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi 42012, 2013, 2017, 2018 (shared)
Flag of Uruguay.svg Luis Suárez 32010, 2014 (shared), 2016
Flag of Portugal (official).svg Cristiano Ronaldo 2014 (shared), 2015, 2020
Flag of Brazil.svg Mário Jardel 21999, 2000

The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer of the First Decade (2001–2010)

The final list includes the 18 players who scored 150 or more goals in top-tier national leagues in the period of time from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010.

The results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 25 September 2022. [6]

Players with at least 180 goals
RankPlayerNationGoalsClub(s)
1 Aleksandar Đurić Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 246 Flag of Singapore.svg Geylang United (2001–04)
Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore Armed Forces FC (2005–09)
Flag of Singapore.svg Tampines Rovers (2010)
2 Marc Lloyd Williams Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 236 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Bangor City (2001–02; 2003; 2006-07)
Flag of England.svg Southport (2002–03)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Aberystwyth Town (2003–04)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg The New Saints (2004–06)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Newtown (2007–08)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Rhyl (2008)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Porthmadog (2008–09)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Airbus UK Broughton (2009–10)
3 Washington Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 214 Flag of Brazil.svg Ponte Preta (2001–02)
Flag of Turkey.svg Fenerbahçe (2002–03)
Flag of Brazil.svg Athletico Paranaense (2004)
Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo Verdy (2005)
Flag of Japan.svg Urawa Red Diamonds (2006-07)
Flag of Brazil.svg Fluminense (2008; 2010)
Flag of Brazil.svg São Paulo (2009-10)
4 Rhys Griffiths Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 198 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Cwmbrân Town (2001–02)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Haverfordwest County (2002–04)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Carmarthen Town (2004)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Port Talbot Town (2004–06)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli Town (2006–10)
5 Thierry Henry Flag of France.svg  France 182 Flag of England.svg Arsenal (2001–07)
Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona (2007–10)
6 Magno Alves Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 182 Flag of Brazil.svg Fluminense (2001–02)
Flag of South Korea.svg Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2003)
Flag of Japan.svg Oita Trinita (2004-05)
Flag of Japan.svg Gamba Osaka (2006–07)
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Ittihad Club (2007-08)
Flag of Qatar.svg Umm Salal (2008-10)
7 Maksim Gruznov Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 180 Flag of Estonia.svg Narva Trans (2001–08)
Flag of Estonia.svg Sillamäe Kalev (2009-10)

The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer of the Second Decade (2011–2020)

The final list includes the 36 players who scored 150 or more goals in top-tier national leagues in the period of time from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.

The results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 6 January 2021. [7]

Players with at least 200 goals
RankPlayerNationGoalsClub(s)
1 Lionel Messi Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 346 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona (2011–20)
2 Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 332 Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid (2011–18)
Flag of Italy.svg Juventus (2018–20)
3 Robert Lewandowski Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 248 Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund (2011–14)
Flag of Germany.svg Bayern Munich (2014–20)
4 Zlatan Ibrahimović Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 236 Flag of Italy.svg Milan (2011–12; 2019–20)
Flag of France.svg Paris Saint-Germain (2012–16)
Flag of England.svg Manchester United (2016–18)
Flag of the United States.svg LA Galaxy (2018–19)
5 Luis Suárez Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 224 Flag of England.svg Liverpool (2011–14)
Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona (2014–20)
Flag of Spain.svg Atlético Madrid (2020)
6 Carlos Saucedo Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia 213 Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg San José (2012–13; 2017–19)
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Saprissa (2014)
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Oriente Petrolero (2015)
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Blooming (2015–16)
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Real Potosí (2016)
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Guabirá (2017)
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Royal Pari (2020)
7 Edinson Cavani Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 209 Flag of Italy.svg Napoli (2011–13)
Flag of France.svg Paris Saint-Germain (2013–20)
Flag of England.svg Manchester United (2020)

All-time World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer ranking

Ferenc Puskas Puskas (1971).tif
Ferenc Puskás
As of 9 November 2025 [8] [9] [10] [11]
Bold indicates players currently active.
Players with at least 400 goals
RankPlayerGoals
1 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Cristiano Ronaldo 581
2 Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi 552
3 Flag of Austria.svg Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Josef Bican 515
Flag of Hungary (1896-1915; angels).svg Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Ferenc Puskás
5 Flag of Poland.svg Robert Lewandowski 420
6 Flag of Uruguay.svg Luis Suárez 419
7 Flag of Hungary (1896-1915; angels).svg Imre Schlosser 417
8 Flag of Hungary (1896-1915; angels).svg Gyula Zsengellér 416
9 Flag of Scotland.svg Jimmy McGrory 409
10 Flag of Germany.svg Gerd Müller 405
Lucie Martinkova was the top women's goal scorer for club in 2021. Irena Martinkova 20190525.jpg
Lucie Martínková was the top women's goal scorer for club in 2021.

Women's winners

List of winners

The women's award was introduced in 2021.

YearWinnerClubGoals
2021 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Lucie Martínková [12] Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Sparta Prague 38
2022 Flag of the United States.svg Mia Fishel [13] Flag of Mexico.svg UANL 33
2023 Flag of Mexico.svg Charlyn Corral [14] Flag of Mexico.svg Pachuca 34
2024 Flag of Mexico.svg Charlyn Corral [15] Flag of Mexico.svg Pachuca 42

See also

References

  1. ↑ "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD BEST TOP DIVISION GOALSCORER 2021". IFFHS. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "IFFHS AWARDS 2022 - MEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORER". IFFHS. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORER 2023". IFFHS. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "IFFHS AWARDS 2024 - VIKTOR GYOKERES, MEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL TOP DIVISION GOALSCORER". IFFHS. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "The World's Best Football Men National Goal Scorer (National Goals)". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST NATIONAL GOAL SCORER OF THE DECADE 2001-2010 : Aleksandar Đurić". IFFHS. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  7. ↑ "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST NATIONAL GOAL SCORER OF THE DECADE 2011-2020 : LIONEL MESSI". IFFHS. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Suárez and Lewandowski reached 400 national league goals". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "CR7, new best ever national leagues' goal-scorer !". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORERS OF ALL TIME : FERENC PUSKAS LEADS THE RANKING". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "MEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL GOAL SCORER OF XXI CENTURY". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "IFFHS WOMEN'S WORLD BEST TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORER 2021". IFFHS. 30 December 2021. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "IFFHS AWARDS 2022 - WOMEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORER". IFFHS. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "IFFHS WOMEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORER 2023". IFFHS. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "IFFHS AWARDS 2024 - CHARLYN CORRAL, WOMEN'S WORLD BEST NATIONAL TOP DIVISION GOALSCORER". IFFHS. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
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