10 Greatest Finishers in Football History [Ranked]

In brief
It has been said that Gerd Muller is the best finisher of all time.
Pele loses to Muller by a slim margin, while Cristiano Ronaldo finishes third.
The top 10 also includes other legends like Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi.
Michael Owen, a former England player, famously remarked that “whichever team scores more goals usually wins.” Even while that remark is self-evident, it is also accurate and highlights how crucial it is to have a strong striker at the head of the line who can spot an opening at any time.

All of the qualities required to be a number nine are present in a solid finisher. They can be lethal from anywhere in the 18-yard box, both on foot and in the air. Both high xG possibilities and potentially unfavourable ones can be converted by them. But the issue still stands: who is the greatest in this particular skill?

In light of that, the following list of ten of the best finishers to ever grace the beautiful game includes their rating elements.

Ranking Elements
Scored goals (club and national)
percentage of goals per game
Rate of conversion
The time period when players were

10Thierry Henry

Career Goals: 411

Let’s begin with one of the most illustrious names in Premier League history. The fact that the Frenchman loved playing in the left-hand channel makes it even more remarkable that Thierry Henry was a goal machine, especially during his heyday at Arsenal.

With 228 of his 411 career goals for the north London club, the former Barcelona and Monaco player holds the record for most goals scored by the Gunners. Additionally, he is ranked second for his country, while Kylian Mbappe is not far behind.

near first look, Henry’s goals-per-game (GPG) ratio of 0.45 near the end of his career seems a little low to be on this list. But with his 19% conversion rate and the variety of goals he scored, the forward deserves to be in 10th place.

9Luis Suarez

Career Goals: 565

Luis Suarez is a more traditional number nine than the player he sits ahead of, according to Premier League legends, and his goal totals reflect this. By the time he retires, the Uruguayan could have improved his stats even further because he is still playing well for Inter Miami.

Suarez was fortunate to be a part of Barcelona’s outstanding squad, but remember that he nearly lifted Liverpool to their first Premier League championship in 2014 with a standout individual effort. The 2016 Golden Shoe winner’s GPG ratio, as of December 2024, is 0.60 at a 17% conversion rate. In the later years of his playing career, this could still increase if he keeps dominating the MLS.

8Romario

Career Goals: 287

Romario, a Brazilian forward and past World Cup winner, stands out on this list simply because he had a far lower career goal total than many of the other players. The 1994 FIFA World Player of the Year’s record of 287 goals in 375 appearances, however, is something that many would aspire to and demonstrates how deadly he was in front of goal.

Romario still ranks fourth in Brazil’s scoring list and sixth in PSV’s, where he scored 128 goals in just 148 appearances, despite spending a portion of his international career as the number two player behind players like Ronaldo Nazario. He concluded his career with the highest conversion percentage to date (20%) and a GPG of 0.76.

7Robert Lewandowski

Career Goals: 675

Over the course of his remarkable career, Poland’s best football player has matured like a fine wine, making him increasingly effective in front of goal. Greatness was not always predicted for Robert Lewandowski. Incredibly, he was previously called an ineffective striker. He would go on to become one of the most dangerous number nines in European football, so that moniker definitely didn’t last long.

This man knows where the goal is, whether it’s for Borussia Dortmund, where he first gained recognition alongside players like Marco Reus and Mario Gotze, Bayern Munich, where he would win numerous Bundesliga titles and the Champions League, or more recently, Barcelona, where he is having a goal-filled career swansong.

In today’s football, 675 goals in 951 games is an amazing accomplishment. The fact that ‘LewanGOALski,’ as Thomas Muller refers to him, was never awarded the 2020 Ballon d’Or that he so richly deserved is a farce.

Will someone take Muller's phone off him?!

He's determined to make 'LewanGOALski' a thing 🤣 pic.twitter.com/bGJyZEKIf5

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 21, 2020

6Eusebio

Career Goals: 619

One may argue that sixth place is much too low for a player who only scored 17 goals less than the number of games he played in his career based on Eusebio’s amazing goal total. Even if it’s an incredible record, there’s a solid reason why the Portuguese legend isn’t higher.

First of all, it is difficult to locate accurate records of the Benfica icon. According to some reports, he averaged more than one goal per game, while others assert that he scored over 700 competitive goals. However, the results that seem the most certain show that he finished with 619 goals in 636 games. Another thing to think about is that football was different in Eusebio’s day than it is now, so it is far less possible that you will score a hat-trick with 20 minutes remaining in your Benfica debut.

Eusebio is still one of the top players in the game and one of the few who has never won the European Cup, despite his 23% conversion rate.

5Ferenc Puskas

Career Goals: 729

When you receive an award for the year’s best goal, you know you are among the greatest goal scorers in history. Ferenc Puskas, a former Hungarian who is now a Spanish international, is one example of this. Yes, after years of playing for the Hungarian national team, the Real Madrid star also played for Spain, even though he had already played 84 times for them.

The fact that Puskas wasn’t an all-out forward is what sets him apart on this list. It is all the more remarkable that he scored as many goals as he did because he played attacking midfield for the majority of his career. As with other players on this list, one may argue that football was different when Puskas was alive than it is now, but it doesn’t alter how outstanding his stats are.

4Lionel Messi

Career Goals: 850

Who is the best player in the game? Most likely. The quantity of Ballon d’Ors and, for that matter, Ballon d’Or votes does tend to indicate Lionel Messi’s path. But while some people built their careers on scoring goals, the Argentinean’s game was more than that. The Barcelona legend consequently falls ever so slightly down the list.

Despite this, Messi still has a very good goal-to-game ratio of 0.78 and is the second-greatest goalscorer in football history. The 37-year-old is well-deserving of his spot in the top four, especially considering the era he played in and the numerous honours he has earned. However, it is barely out of reach to stand on the podium.

3Cristiano Ronaldo

Career Goals: 910

Cristiano Ronaldo ranks just above his long-time rival. Fans may argue if the Portuguese icon should be ranked higher than Messi based only on statistics. The former Manchester United player’s goal to game ratio is little lower at 0.73, and his conversion rate is also worse at 21% to 18%, despite the fact that he is without a doubt the greatest goalscorer in football history.

But in the later years of his career, Ronaldo transformed into the best number nine in the world, briefly surpassing Messi as the most successful player in Ballon d’Or history. He must just grab the cake and move up to third place because of his ability to score goals of any kind, from headers with hangtime that basketball players would be proud of to 40-yard screamers.

2Pele

Career Goals: 762