TL;DR
- Cristiano Ronaldo is officially recognized as the top scorer in FIFA-recognized games with 953 goals.
- Josef Bican's goal count is debated, with the Czech Federation claiming 821 official goals, challenging Ronaldo's record.
- Pelé claims over 1000 career goals, but official records and Guinness World Records list significantly lower, unverified numbers.
- The definition of "official" goals and the availability of historical records create ongoing debate for the all-time top scorer title.
The question is straightforward, ¿quién es el máximo goleador en la historia del fútbol? But the answer appears to be far more complicated than it truly ought to be. Cristiano Ronaldo is imposed according to official bodies, yet the names of Lionel Messi, Josef Bican and Pelé also come into discussion.
The 40-year-old Portuguese player has shattered goal records throughout his trophy-laden career, also holding the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer for Both Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team.
AllSportsPeople reached out to FIFA to confirm the roster. The global soccer governing body has remained silent as of publication, but other news outlets, including TalkSport and SI.com, have compiled their lists of "goles reconocidos por la FIFA", and this outlet is presenting the current one:
| Puesto | Jugador | Goles |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 953 |
| 2. | Lionel Messi | 895 |
| 3. | Josef Bican | 805 |
| 4. | Pelé | 757 |
| 5. | Romario | 745 |
| 6. | Gerd Müller | 735 |
| 7. | Ferenc Puskás | 704 |
| 8. | Robert Lewandowski | 704 |
| 9. | Jimmy Jones | 647 |
| 10. | Eusebio | 621 |
Lionel Messi aún está lejos de Ronaldo. Bican fue el último futbolista al que superó. Dependiendo de la duración de la carrera de cada uno de ellos, Messi podría marcar la diferencia, puesto que es tres años más joven que CR7.
Ronaldo rompió marca FIFA
The 🐐 @Cristiano ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Xju55IYVfA
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) March 12, 2022
Nevertheless, the record itself is open to interpretation, with some football historians asserting it's impossible to know for sure due to the absence of precise records in pre-20th-century football.
Ronaldo's record is tied to the number of matches and goals documented by FIFA since its inception. The previous record holder, Austria's Josef Bican, achieved an impressive 805 goals between 1931 and 1955.
Despite this, Bican's goal tallies remain debated, as the Brazilian icon Pelé claims to have scored over 1000 career goals, though this figure is still unverified.
There's no agreement on the world goal-scoring record.
Regarding accepted recognition, Ronaldo se ha consolidado como el "máximo goleador en juegos reconocidos de la FIFA", but the debate will persist. The Czech Football Federation has consistently contested Bican's figure of 805, asserting that he actually scored 821 once the final accounts were tallied.
The Czech Federation states it has accounted for all of Josef Bican's goals, concluding the Austro-Czech scored 821 goals in official matches, thereby denying Cristiano Ronaldo the title of football's all-time top scorer.Pic.twitter.com/TNIHCBX7DN
— Manu Heredia (@ManuHeredia21) January 21, 2021
Sin embargo, Ronaldo holds the record in his favor for this matter, with his own undeniable figures that aren't related to amateur football., como algunos de los goles de Pelé.
Bican's figures highlight the information gap between national federations and FIFA, with his domestic supporters asserting the higher number is accurate, while FIFA oddly suggests both could be incorrect, with a potential total of 823, as reported by ESPN.
Pelé's solo quest to remain at the top of the standings has become a personal matter for The Brazilian legend, with his "número oficial" recorded at 757, though the player himself claims to have scored 1283, despite a clear lack of evidence.
I have scored 1283 goals in my life,
— Pelé (@Pele) September 25, 2015
FIFA and CONMEBOL have previously credited Pelé with 1281 goals across 1363 matches, but this tally encompasses youth games, friendlies, and unofficial contests, which are not counted in Ronaldo's statistics.
The situation becomes even more complicated due to the El Libro Guinness de los Récords confirma a Pelé como el poseedor del récord, pero con 1279 goles., as goals from exhibition matches are disallowed from being counted.
.@Pele has the most football career goals at 1,279! Stick to your passions everyone: https://t.co/45XlIquRbn pic.twitter.com/9a8XMsQKQj
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) August 30, 2016
It could be concluded then regarding this that Ronaldo se transformó en el máximo anotador de "goles en partidos oficiales", while Pelé's discussed numbers will give him the advantage in "partidos totales".