IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer

IFFHS World's Best Woman Top Goal Scorer
IFFHS World's Best Woman Top Goal Scorer
Sport	Association football
Awarded for	Best goal scorer of the calendar year
Presented by	International Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award	2021
Editions	1
First winner	Jennifer Hermoso
Most wins	Jennifer Hermoso (1 award)
Most recent	Jennifer Hermoso
Website	www.iffhs.com

IFFHS World's Best Man Top Goal Scorer
IFFHS World's Best Man Top Goal Scorer
Sport	Association football
Awarded for	Best goal scorer of the calendar year
Presented by	International Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award	2011 (retroactive)
Editions	11
First winner	Cristiano Ronaldo
Most wins	Cristiano Ronaldo (4 awards)
Most recent	Robert Lewandowski (2)
Website	www.iffhs.com

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) has won the most awards since 2011 while Lionel Messi (right) set the record for most calendar year goals.

The IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 2020,^[1] and retroactively for the years 2011 to 2019,^[2] to the world's top goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

All international goals and all competitive goals for clubs playing in their country's top level division scored from 1 January to 31 December are taken into consideration.

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most wins (4) while Lionel Messi holds the record for most goals in a calendar year (91 in 2012). Robert Lewandowski won the award with the fewest goals (47 in 2020). Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski are the only players to have won the award more than once.

Plus, the IFFHS has awarded the World's Best Goal Scorer of the Decade in 2021, considering the years 2011–2020.^[3]

Men's winners[]

List of winners[]

Year	Rank	Player	Club(s)	Goals
2011	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo^[2]	Real Madrid	60
	2nd	Lionel Messi		59
	3rd	Aleksandrs Čekulajevs	Narva Trans	56

2012	1st	Lionel Messi^[2]	Barcelona	91
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	63
	3rd	Neymar	Santos	55

2013	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo^[2]	Real Madrid	69
	2nd	Ali Ashfaq	New Radiant	58
	3rd	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain	47

2014	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo^[2]	Real Madrid	61
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	58
	3rd	Jonathan Soriano	Red Bull Salzburg	55

2015	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo^[2]	Real Madrid	57
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	52
	3rd	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	49

2016	1st	Lionel Messi^[2]	Barcelona	58
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	55
	3rd	Luis Suárez	Barcelona	51

2017	1st	Harry Kane^[2]	Tottenham Hotspur	56
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	54
	3rd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	53

2018	1st	Baghdad Bounedjah^[2]	Al-Sadd	58
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	51
	3rd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid Juventus	49

2019	1st	Abderrazak Hamdallah^[2]	Al Nassr	57
	2nd	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	54
	3rd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	50

2020	1st	Robert Lewandowski^[2]	Bayern Munich	47
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	44
	3rd	Romelu Lukaku	Inter Milan	40

2021	1st	Robert Lewandowski^[4]	Bayern Munich	69
	2nd	Kylian Mbappé	Paris Saint-Germain	51
	3rd	Erling Haaland	Borussia Dortmund	49

Statistics[]

Harry Kane is the only English player to have won the award.

Winners (2011–present)
Player	Wins	Years
Cristiano Ronaldo	4	2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
Lionel Messi	2	2012, 2016
Robert Lewandowski	2	2020, 2021
Harry Kane	1	2017
Baghdad Bounedjah		2018
Abderrazak Hamdallah		2019

Most goals in a year
Rank	Player	Year	Goals
1	Lionel Messi	2012	91
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	2013	69
2	Robert Lewandowski	2021	69
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	2012	63
4	Cristiano Ronaldo	2014	61
5	Cristiano Ronaldo	2011	60
6	Lionel Messi	2011	59
7	Ali Ashfaq	2013	58
	Lionel Messi	2014
	Lionel Messi	2016
	Baghdad Bounedjah	2018

Wins by club
Club	Total	Players
Real Madrid	4	1
Barcelona	2	1
Bayern Munich	2	1
Al Nassr	1	1
Al Sadd	1	1
Tottenham Hotspur	1	1

Wins by nationality
Nationality	Total	Players
Portugal	4	1
Argentina	2	1
Poland	2	1
Algeria	1	1
England	1	1
Morocco	1	1

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

From 2011 to 2020, Zlatan Ibrahimović has scored a total of 340 goals for club and country.

The results have been posted on the IFFHS' official website on January 4, 2021.^[3]

The final list includes the 41 players who scored 200 or more goals in top-tier national leagues, national cups, continental and international competitions with both club and national teams in the period of time from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2020.

Players with at least 200 goals
Rank	Player	Nation	Club(s)	Goals for country	Goals for club(s)	Total goals
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	Real Madrid Juventus	77	473	550
2	Lionel Messi	Argentina	Barcelona	56	493	549
3	Robert Lewandowski	Poland	Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich	54	363	417
4	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Sweden	Milan Paris Saint-Germain Manchester United LA Galaxy	37	303	340
5	Luis Suárez	Uruguay	Liverpool Barcelona Atlético Madrid	47	288	335
6	Edinson Cavani	Uruguay	Napoli Paris Saint-Germain Manchester United	43	291	334
7	Neymar^[5]	Brazil	Santos Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain	63	264	327
8	Sergio Agüero	Argentina	Atlético Madrid Manchester City	32	270	302
9	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang^[6]	Gabon	Saint-Étienne Borussia Dortmund Arsenal	21	257	278
10	Sebastián Tagliabúe	United Arab Emirates	Ettifaq Al-Shabab Al-Wahda Al-Nasr	1	264	265
11	Eran Zahavi	Israel	Hapoel Tel Aviv Palermo Maccabi Tel Aviv Guangzhou R&F PSV Eindhoven	24	240	264
12	Karim Benzema	France	Real Madrid	16	243	259
13	Romelu Lukaku^[7]	Belgium	Anderlecht West Bromwich Albion Everton Manchester United Inter Milan	55	203	258
14	Omar Al Somah	Syria	Al Futowa Al Qadsia Al Ahli	15	240	255
15	Ali Mabkhout	UAE	Al-Jazira	65	185	250
16	Gonzalo Higuaín	Argentina	Real Madrid Napoli Juventus Milan Chelsea Inter Miami	24	218	242
17	Ali Ashfaq	Maldives	VB Sports Club New Radiant PDRM FA Maziya S&RC TC Sports Club Club Green Streets Club Valencia	37	205	242
18	Nemanja Nikolić	Hungary	Videoton Legia Warsaw Chicago Fire Fehérvár	7	235	242
19	Abderrazak Hamdallah	Morocco	Olympic Safi Aalesund Guangzhou R&F El Jaish Al-Rayyan SC Al-Nassr	6	231	237
20	Harry Kane^[8]	England	Tottenham Hotspur	32	204	236
21	Burak Yılmaz	Turkey	Trabzonspor Galatasaray Beijing Sinobo Guoan Beşiktaş Lille	24	210	234
22	Mohamed Salah	Egypt	Al Mokawloon Basel Chelsea Fiorentina Roma Liverpool	43	186	229
23	Antoine Griezmann	France	Real Sociedad Atlético Madrid Barcelona	33	196	229
24	Carlos Saucedo^[9]	Bolivia	San José Saprissa Oriente Petrolero Blooming Real Potosí Guabirá Royal Pari	7	221	228
25	Edin Džeko	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Manchester City Roma	42	185	227
26	Bafetimbi Gomis	France	Lyon Swansea City Marseille Galatasaray Al Hilal	1	225	226
27	Baghdad Bounedjah	Algeria	USM El Harrach Étoile du Sahel Al Sadd	17	207	224
28	Radamel Falcao	Colombia	Porto Atlético Madrid Monaco Manchester United Chelsea Galatasaray	29	194	223
29	Youssef El-Arabi	Morocco	Caen Al Hilal Granada Al-Duhail Olympiacos	16	207	223
30	Klæmint Olsen	Faroe Islands	NSÍ Runavík	5	215	220
31	André-Pierre Gignac	France	Marseille UANL	3	216	219
32	Olivier Giroud	France	Montpellier Arsenal Chelsea	44	174	218
33	Thomas Müller	Germany	Bayern Munich	33	180	213
34	Dejan Damjanović	Montenegro	FC Seoul Jiangsu Suning Beijing Sinobo Guoan Suwon Samsung Bluewings Daegu FC	6	204	210
35	Jonathan Soriano^[10]	Spain	Red Bull Salzburg Beijing Sinobo Guoan Al Hilal	0	207	207
36	Hulk	Brazil	Porto Zenit Saint Petersburg Shanghai SIPG	11	194	205
37	Dries Mertens	Belgium	Utrecht PSV Eindhoven Napoli	21	182	203
38	Esteban Paredes	Chile	Colo-Colo Atlante Querétaro	6	196	202
39	Greg Draper	New Zealand	The New Saints	0	202	202
40	Bas Dost^[11]	Netherlands	Heerenveen VfL Wolfsburg Sporting CP Eintracht Frankfurt	1	200	201
41	Joe Gormley^[12]	Northern Ireland	Cliftonville	0	200	200

All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking[]

Romário ranks 4th in the All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking with 753 goals.

As of 7 January 2022^[13]^[14]

Bold indicates players currently active.

* indicates player has scored at least 500 goals for a single club.^[15]

Players with at least 500 goals
Rank	Player	League	Cup	Continental	Country & other	Total	Years
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	487	51	150	115	803	2002–present
2	Pelé*	606	49	27	83	765	1957–1977
3	Lionel Messi*	475	70	133	80	758	2004–present
4	Romário	544	91	54	64	753	1985–2007
5	Ferenc Puskás	514	76	55	84	729	1943–1966
6	Josef Bican*	518	129	41	32	720	1931–1955
7	Jimmy Jones*	332	301	2	12	647	1947–1964
8	Gerd Müller*	405	92	69	68	634	1964–1981
9	Eusébio	425	97	59	41	622	1958–1981
10	Joe Bambrick	348	247	0	21	616	1926–1943
11	Glenn Ferguson	311	245	6	0	562	1987–2011
12	Zlatan Ibrahimović	392	48	57	62	559	1999–present
13	Fernando Peyroteo*	463	72	3	14	552	1937–1949
14	Uwe Seeler*	446	41	21	43	551	1954–1978
15	Jimmy McGrory*	408	130	0	12	550	1922–1937
16	Robert Lewandowski	328	49	91	74	542	2008–present
17	Alfredo Di Stéfano	376	55	70	29	530	1945–1966
18	György Sárosi	351	31	102	42	526	1930–1948
19	Luis Suárez	352	42	53	65	512	2005–present
20	Roberto Dinamite	476	8	5	22	511	1971–1992
21	Hugo Sánchez	390	49	38	30	507	1976–1997
22	Imre Schlosser	417	18	10	59	504	1905–1928
23	Franz Binder	296	93	87	26	502	1930–1949

Women's winners[]

List of winners[]

Year	Rank	Player	Club(s)	Goals
2021	1st	Jennifer Hermoso^[16]	Barcelona	48
	2nd	Lea Schüller	Bayern Munich	47
	3rd	Alexia Putellas	Barcelona	43

Statistics[]

Winners (2021–present)
Player	Wins	Years
Jennifer Hermoso	1	2021

Most goals in a year
Rank	Player	Year	Goals
1	Jennifer Hermoso	2021	48
2	Lea Schüller	2021	47
3	Alexia Putellas	2021	43

Wins by club
Club	Total	Players
Barcelona	1	1

Wins by nationality
Nationality	Total	Players
Spain	1	1

References[]

^ "IFFHS AWARDS 2020 - ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNERS ON DECEMBER 5, 2020". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST TOP GOAL SCORERS 2011 TO 2020". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ ^a ^b "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST TOP GOAL SCORER OF THE DECADE 2011-2020 - CRISTIANO RONALDO". www.iffhs.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
^ "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD BEST TOP GOALSCORER 2021". www.iffhs.com. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ In regards to Neymar's statistics during his spell at Santos (2011-2013), the IFFHS chose to consider the Campeonato Paulista (the top-flight league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, of which Santos is a municipality) as a national league. As a result, the official stats for Neymar include goals scored in two different Brazilian leagues: the Campeonato Paulista and the Brasileirão.
^ As the statistics are calculated starting from January 1, 2011, two goals from Aubameyang's loan spell at Monaco (from AC Milan) in the first half of the 2010-11 season are left out of the total amount. The Gabonese striker joined Saint-Étienne in January 2011 on another loan, and eventually signed for the French team on a permanent deal the following December.
^ Lukaku was registered for Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, but he never scored during his first season with the club and was loaned, respectively, to West Bromwich Albion and Everton (which eventually signed him permanently) during the following couple of years.
^ 14 goals scored during 2011 and 2013 are not counted, as Kane was playing in lower divisions (for Leyton Orient, Millwall and Leicester City): plus, he never scored during his time in Premier League with Norwich City. For this reason, while his first goal in a continental competition traces back to December 15, 2011 (on a 4-0 away win against Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Europa League group stage), he scored his first goal with a top-tier club, Tottenham, on October 30, 2013 (in the League Cup) and on April 7, 2014 (in Premier League).
^ Saucedo's spell at Independiente Medellín (Colombia) in 2011 wasn't considered, as the Bolivian striker never scored during that time.
^ The goals scored by Soriano for Barcelona B throughout 2011 are not counted, as the team was competing in the Spanish second tier. For the same reason, his only goal scored for Girona in the 2019-20 season is left out of the total amount.
^ On December 24, 2020, Dost joined Club Brugge on a permanent basis, but his first goal for the Belgian team is not counted, as it was scored on January 10, 2021, ten days after the limit date set for the counting (December 31, 2020).
^ In 2016, Gormley played for Scottish Premiership team St Johnstone (on loan from English League One side Peterborough United), but never scored a goal during that spell.
^ "IFFHS Statistics - All time goal scorer ranking". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
^ "THE WORLD'S BEST GOALSCORER OF XXI CENTURY". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
^ "Dollars, droughts and a half-millennium". FIFA. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^ "IFFHS WOMEN'S WORLD BEST TOP GOALSCORER 2021". www.iffhs.com. 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[1] "IFFHS AWARDS 2020 - ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNERS ON DECEMBER 5, 2020". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[:2-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST TOP GOAL SCORERS 2011 TO 2020". www.iffhs.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[:1-3] "IFFHS WORLD'S BEST TOP GOAL SCORER OF THE DECADE 2011-2020 - CRISTIANO RONALDO". www.iffhs.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-05.

[4] "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD BEST TOP GOALSCORER 2021". www.iffhs.com. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[5] In regards to Neymar's statistics during his spell at Santos (2011-2013), the IFFHS chose to consider the Campeonato Paulista (the top-flight league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, of which Santos is a municipality) as a national league. As a result, the official stats for Neymar include goals scored in two different Brazilian leagues: the Campeonato Paulista and the Brasileirão.

[6] As the statistics are calculated starting from January 1, 2011, two goals from Aubameyang's loan spell at Monaco (from AC Milan) in the first half of the 2010-11 season are left out of the total amount. The Gabonese striker joined Saint-Étienne in January 2011 on another loan, and eventually signed for the French team on a permanent deal the following December.

[7] Lukaku was registered for Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, but he never scored during his first season with the club and was loaned, respectively, to West Bromwich Albion and Everton (which eventually signed him permanently) during the following couple of years.

[8] 14 goals scored during 2011 and 2013 are not counted, as Kane was playing in lower divisions (for Leyton Orient, Millwall and Leicester City): plus, he never scored during his time in Premier League with Norwich City. For this reason, while his first goal in a continental competition traces back to December 15, 2011 (on a 4-0 away win against Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Europa League group stage), he scored his first goal with a top-tier club, Tottenham, on October 30, 2013 (in the League Cup) and on April 7, 2014 (in Premier League).

[9] Saucedo's spell at Independiente Medellín (Colombia) in 2011 wasn't considered, as the Bolivian striker never scored during that time.

[10] The goals scored by Soriano for Barcelona B throughout 2011 are not counted, as the team was competing in the Spanish second tier. For the same reason, his only goal scored for Girona in the 2019-20 season is left out of the total amount.

[11] On December 24, 2020, Dost joined Club Brugge on a permanent basis, but his first goal for the Belgian team is not counted, as it was scored on January 10, 2021, ten days after the limit date set for the counting (December 31, 2020).

[12] In 2016, Gormley played for Scottish Premiership team St Johnstone (on loan from English League One side Peterborough United), but never scored a goal during that spell.

[13] "IFFHS Statistics - All time goal scorer ranking". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

[14] "THE WORLD'S BEST GOALSCORER OF XXI CENTURY". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

[15] "Dollars, droughts and a half-millennium". FIFA. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

[16] "IFFHS WOMEN'S WORLD BEST TOP GOALSCORER 2021". www.iffhs.com. 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

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IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer

Contents

Men's winners[]

List of winners[]

Statistics[]

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

All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking[]

Women's winners[]

List of winners[]

Statistics[]

See also[]

References[]

v t IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer
Men's winners 2011: C. Ronaldo 2012: Messi 2013: C. Ronaldo 2014: C. Ronaldo 2015: C. Ronaldo 2016: Messi 2017: Kane 2018: Bounedjah 2019: Hamdallah 2020: Lewandowski 2021: Lewandowski
Women's winners 2021: Hermoso