Top Goal Scorers of the English Premier League
The Premier League era in world football has been filled with action and excitement since its formation in 1992. So far, many of the world's greatest players have graced the league and played for some of the world's best clubs.
No doubt that it’s time to take a look at the top 20 Goal Scorers of the English Premier League.
English Premier League Top GoalScorers
And here are the EPL top scorers of all time…
20. Cristiano Ronaldo
Premier League Clubs: Manchester United
Premier League Goals: 84
Golden Boot Wins: 2008
Though Ronaldo is not the best in our list, we all know that he is one of the best football players in the world. Many players have scored more goals than Cristiano in the Premier League history, but few have done so, in such prolific and spectacular fashion.
The talented well known football star, joined Manchester United in 2003 and in the age of 18, after leaving Portuguese club, Sporting CP in the same year.
After winning the FA Cup in his first season, he helped The Red Devils win three successive Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup; at age 23, he won his first Ballon d'Or. Finally, in 2009, Ronaldo left the Premier League to join Real Madrid with the transfer fee of €94 million (£80 million), which was the most expensive football transfer back in that time.
It is interesting to know that Ronaldo played out wide in a three-man attack in the beginning, but interchanged with the central striker with devastating impact.
19. Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Premier League Clubs: Manchester United
Premier League Goals: 95
Golden Boot Wins: 2003
Ruud Van Nistelrooy is a famous 43-year-old striker who is the sixth-highest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history with 56 goals.
Van Nistelrooy began his career with Den Bosch, and played for two other clubs in Netherlands before joining Manchester United in 2001.
His time at United was successful, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup and FA Community Shield, along with winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year twice. Van Nistelrooy hit 150 goals in just 219 games for United, as well as becoming, at the time, their all-time European record goalscorer. After Man Utd he joined Real Madrid, Hamburger SV, Malaga and finally announced his retirement in 2012.
It has to be mentioned that he is a three-time UEFA Champions League top scorer, as well as a top scorer in three different European domestic leagues.
18. Matt Le Tissier
Premier League Clubs: Southampton
Premier League Goals: 100
Golden Boot Wins: None
Not only a former famous professional footballer, Matt is also a football television presenter.
Mostly known for his exceptional technical skills as an attacking midfielder, he played most of his professional career for Southampton before kicking the ball shortly for Eastleigh and Guernsey.
It is good to know that Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990.
17. Didier Drogba
Premier League Clubs: Chelsea
Premier League Goals: 104
Golden Boot Wins: 2007, 2010
Known as all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team, Didier was born on 11 March 1978 and started his professional career at the age of 20, with playing for French club, Le Mans. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. It also has to be mentioned that Chelsea was the only premier League club he kicked the ball for. Widely regarded as one of Chelsea FC's greatest players of all-time, in December 2019, he was named in the Chelsea team of the decade on the clubs website as voted for by Chelseas' fans. He was also named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009.
16. Darren Bent
Premier League Clubs: Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Fulham
Premier League Goals: 106
Golden Boot Wins: None
The 36-year-old striker is one of the best strikers in the world in his generation. He started kicking the ball in the premier league in 2001 by playing for Ipswich Town, scoring his first EPL goal against Middlesbrough in 2002. His next club was Charlton Athletic before moving to Tottenham in 2007. He has also played for Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Fulham.
It is interesting to know that he was a nightmare for EPL defenders, but he announced his retirement from playing on 25 July 2019 and let the nightmare end.
15. Dion Dublin
Premier League Clubs: Manchester United, Coventry City, Aston Villa
Premier League Goals: 111
Golden Boot Wins: 1998 (joint with Michael Owen and Chris Sutton)
Today the former famous football player works as an English television presenter.
One of the best target men in Premier League history, Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a centre-forward. He then joined other clubs which include Manchester United, Coventry City, Aston Villa, Millwall, Leicester City and Celtic.
It also has to be mentioned that Dublin won the Golden Boot during the 1997-98 season, which was not an easy achievement for his post.
14. Ian Wright
Premier League Clubs: Arsenal, West Ham United
Premier League Goals: 113
Golden Boot Wins: None
The former famous football player, who is also a television and radio personality, was an elite goal scorer long before the Premier League era. He started his professional career with Greenwich Borough 1985 and then joined Crystal Palace where he kicked the ball for 6 years. After the beginning of the Premier League era, Ian played for Arsenal and West Ham United, while he also joined Nottingham Palace for a while on loan. In 1999 Wright joined Celtic and then Burnley and finally in 2000 announced his retirement.
With Arsenal he lifted the Premier League title, both the major domestic cup competitions, and the European Cup Winners Cup.
13. Dwight Yorke
Premier League Clubs: Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sunderland
Premier League Goals: 123
Golden Boot Wins: 1999 (joint with Michael Owen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink)
The first interesting thing about the famous football player is that with the number of 123 goals, he had the record for a non-European player until 2017, when Sergio Agüero broke the record.
The man known as 'The Smiling Assassin' had a clear enjoyment of playing the game and played with an ever-present grin on his face.
He started his playing career by joining Aston Villa in 1989. Later he joined Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland. Finally, the brilliant forward decided to be retired in 2009.
12. Nicolas Anelka
Premier League Clubs: Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea
Premier League Goals: 125
Golden Boot Wins: 2009
Born in 1979 in France, Nicolas Anelka is Known for his ability to both score and assist goals. He is described as a classy and quick player, with good aerial ability, technique, shooting, and movement off the ball.
Anelka began his professional career with PSG in 1996 and later he joined Premier League club, Arsenal in 1997. Anelka scored his first EPL goal in a 3-2 home win over Manchester United, and won a 1997/1998 Premier League title with the Gunners. He also became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League while he was playing under Arsene Wenger’s supervision. He then left the club to play with Rea Madrid and PSG again for three years. However, he rejoined EPL in 2001 as a loan player for Liverpool before joining Manchester City in 2002. There he kicked the ball with the citizens for three years.
After three seasons in Manchester, he moved to Fenerbahçe for two seasons, before returning to England to join Bolton Wanderers in deals worth £7 million and £8 million respectively. He was then transferred to Chelsea from Bolton for a reported £15 million in January 2008. In 2009, he won the Premier League Golden Boot award as the league's top goalscorer. Eventually on 12 December 2011, Shanghai Shenhua announced that they had reached an agreement with Anelka to join the team in the winter transfer window.
11. Robbie Keane
Premier League Clubs: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur (twice), Liverpool, West Ham United, Aston Villa.
Premier League Goals: 126
Golden Boot Wins: None
Known as one of the best football players in the world, Robbie Keane was born in July 1980.
During his professional life, Keane played as a forward and served as captain of Ireland from March 2006 until his international retirement in August 2016.
The 39-year-old began his professional career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring twice on his first-team debut when he was only 17. Later he joined Coventry and then Inter Milan, Leeds, and then it was time to join Tottenham.
He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2002 and played there for seven-and-a-half years over two spells and amassed 306 appearances across all competitions, scoring 122 goals. However, that was not the end as Keane later joined many other clubs, including Liverpool where he kicked the ball for one year.
It seems that he has earned a soft spot in the hearts of fans of every club he played for.
10. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Premier League Clubs: Leeds United, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic
Premier League Goals: 127
Golden Boot Wins: 1999, 2005
The Dutch former professional footballer and current manager, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, was born on 27 March 1972. Known as one of the best strikers in the world, he began his career with Telstar and AZ Alkmaar, before leaving the Netherlands for Portuguese club Campomaiorense in August 1995. Boavista was his next stop, but then his faith led him to The Premier League where he joined Leeds United in 1997. There he won the Premier League Golden Boot award in 1998–99. Later Hasselbaink joined where he kicked the ball just for one year and back to Premier League in 2000 he joined Chelsea. There he scored 23 league goals in his first season, which earned him a second Premier League Golden Boot. He also played in the 2002 FA Cup Final and made a career high second-place league finish in 2003–04. The 48-year-old later joined Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic, and Cardiff City before being retired in 2008.
9. Teddy Sheringham
Premier League Clubs: Tottenham Hotspur (twice), Manchester United, Portsmouth, West Ham United
Premier League Goals: 146
Golden Boot Wins: 1993
The 54-year-old former football player and manager started his career as a soccer player before the beginning of Premier League era.
Before joining Tottenham Hotspurs in 1992 and the beginning of Premier League, Sheringham kicked the ball for four other clubs, including Nottingham Forest.
During his professional playing time in EPL, he kicked the ball for Tottenham Hotspur between 1992 till 1997 and then again 2001 till 2003. He was a Red devil from 1997 till 2001 Manchester United, while he also kicked the ball for Portsmouth, and West Ham United, besides the other non-Premier League clubs.
8. Les Ferdinand
Premier League Clubs: Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers
Premier League Goals: 149
Golden Boot Wins: None
Born on 8 December 1966, Les Ferdinand was somewhat ahead of his time in terms of physical presence.
During his professional playing life, Ferdinand played for Queens Park Rangers, Beşiktaş, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Reading and Watford during which period he earned 17 caps for England. Ferdinand is the ninth highest scorer in the Premier League with 149 goals.
7. Michael Owen
Premier League Clubs: Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United
Premier League Goals: 150
Golden Boot Wins: 1998 (joint with Chris Sutton and Dion Dublin), 1999 (joint with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Dwight Yorke)
Born on 14 December 1979, Michael Owen is the son of former footballer Terry Owen.
Owen started his career in 1996 by joining Liverpool where he kicked the ball for the next five years. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool, and 158 goals in 297 total appearances.
After leaving the Reds, the 40-year-old joined Read Madrid ,but went back to the Premier League in 2005 by joining Newcastle United. Owen joined Manchester United in 2009 and Stoke City in 2012. Eventually he announced his retirement in 2013.
It also has to be mentioned that Owen is the youngest player to have reached 100 goals in the Premier League.
6. Robbie Fowler
Premier League Clubs: Liverpool (twice), Leeds United, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers
Premier League Goals: 163
Golden Boot Wins: None
Known for being a natural scorer with an instinctive goal-poaching ability, Fowler is known as one of the best strikers in the history of football.
Born on 9 April 1975, the 45-year-old started his professional playing career with Liverpool where he is best remembered for his tenure and is the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League.
He earned the nickname "God" from the Anfield crowd, becoming a club legend due to his ruthlessness in front of goal. He has also kicked the ball for other Premier League clubs during his career, including Leeds United, Manchester City, and Blackburn Rovers
Fowler was included in England's squads for Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.
5. Thierry Henry
Premier League Clubs: Arsenal
Premier League Goals: 175
Golden Boot Wins: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
Coming to number five on our list, here is Thierry Henry, one of the best strikers in the world. He is considered as one of the greatest strikers of all time and has often been debated by pundits and journalists as the greatest striker in the history of the Premier League.
Henry made his professional debut with Monaco in 1994 before signing for defending Serie A champions Juventus. The next club was Arsenal where he has almost the best years of his career. Thierry spent 6 years with the Gunners. Later the 42-year-old joined Barcelona in 2007, and then New York Red Bull. Finally Thierry announced his retirement from playing in 2014.
In case of his honors, you need to know that in 2003 and 2004, Henry was the runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year and was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in the former year. He was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, the FWA Footballer of the Year three times, and was included in the UEFA Team of the Year five times. He was also one of the most commercially marketed footballers during the 2000s.
4. Frank Lampard
Premier League Clubs: West Ham United, Chelsea
Premier League Goals: 177
Golden Boot Wins: None
Known as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Lampard has established himself as Chelsea vice-captain and the best goal scorer from central midfield in Premier League history.
He began his career in 1995 at West Ham United and later joined Chelsea in 2001 for £11 million. In his thirteen years with the team, Lampard established himself as a prolific scorer from midfield, becoming Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer, with 211 goals scored in all competitions.
The current Chelsea coach, was dangerous from long range, and has a number of free kicks and strikes from outside the penalty area in his career total.
It has to be mentioned that the 41-year-old has won a number of trophies during his playing career, including three Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, four FA Cups, a UEFA Europa League title, and two Football League Cups. In 2005, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year, and finished runner-up for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
3. Andy Cole
Premier League Clubs: Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland
Premier League Goals: 187
Golden Boot Wins: 1994
Born on 15 October 1971, he started his football life with kicking the ball for Arsenal’s youth club in 1988 and then joined the first team in 1989 when he was 18 years old.
He is most notably remembered for his time in the Premier League, with Manchester United, where he spent six years of his career, winning numerous trophies in the process.
He also played in the top division of English football for Arsenal, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland, as well as in the Football League for Bristol City, Birmingham City, Burnley and Nottingham Forest.
Despite the many awards and goals he has in his professional life resume, the last years of playing football weren’t easy for him as he had to move from one club to another repeatedly. Eventually, on 11 November 2008, Cole announced his retirement from football, ending a 19-year career.
2. Wayne Rooney
Premier League Clubs: Everton, Manchester United
Premier League Goals: 208
Golden Boot Wins: None
The famous 34-year-old player is widely considered as one of the best players of his generation as he is the record goal scorer for both the England national team and Manchester United.
Wayne Rooney started his professional career in 2002 by joining Everton. He then joined Manchester United in 2004 and stayed committed to the team for the next 13 years. In 2017 he went back to Everton Before joining D.C. United and Derby country where he still kicks the ball.
Rooney won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards for the 2009–10 season, and he won the Premier League Player of the Month award five times throughout his career, a record only bettered by Steven Gerrard and Harry Kane. Rooney's displays at the start of the decade saw him come fifth in the vote for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and he was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI for 2011. His bicycle kick against city rivals Manchester City made him win the Best Goal award in the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards.
1. Alan Shearer
Premier League Clubs: Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United
Premier League Goals: 260
Golden Boot Wins: 1995, 1996, 1997
And here is the premier League top scorer of all time, according to our list.
Born on 13 August 1970, Shearer started his professional career in 1988 by joining Southampton. He joined Blackburn Rovers in 1992, and Newcastle United in 1996 and that was the end of changing clubs for him, as he kicked the ball with the Magpies for the next 10 years and eventually announced his retirement in 2006.
The 49-year-old is Newcastle's and the Premier League's record goal scorer.
He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. In 1996, he was third in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004 Shearer was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Shearer scored 283 league goals in his career and 11 Premier League hat-tricks, and a total of 422 in all competitions including international at all levels.
English Premier League Top Scorers in 2020
Though the League was suspended in March, before that things were really hotting up in the Premier League Golden Boot race. Now that we are here, let’s take a brief look at the numbers so far.
- Jamie Vardy – 19 goals (2,224 minutes)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang– 17 goals (2,305 minutes)
- Sergio Aguero – 16 goals (1,401 minutes)
- Mohamed Salah– 16 goals (2,246 minutes)
- Danny Ings – 15 goals (2,006 minutes)
- Marcus Rashford– 14 goals (1,881 minutes)
- Sadio Mane – 14 goals (2,082 minutes)
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 13 goals (1,912 minutes)
- Tammy Abraham – 13 goals (1,944 minutes)
- Raul Jimenez – 13 goals (2,459 minutes)
