We glance throughout the Premier League’s all-time prime goalscorers, with the legendary Alan Shearer nonetheless main the best way together with his 260 objectives.
Prime 10 Premier League Scorers of All Time
- Alan Shearer – 260 objectives
- Harry Kane – 213 objectives
- Wayne Rooney – 208 objectives
- Andrew Cole – 187 objectives
- Sergio Agüero – 184 objectives
- Frank Lampard – 177 objectives
- Thierry Henry – 175 objectives
- Robbie Fowler – 163 objectives
- Jermain Defoe – 162 objectives
- Mohamed Salah – 159 objectives
1. Alan Shearer – 260 Targets
Extremely, Alan Shearer may have been the Premier League’s all-time main scorer for 30 years in December. Clearly his 260 objectives had been stretched over a a lot better interval than simply August 1992-December 1993, but it surely was then that he received himself out in entrance and nobody has overtaken him since.
Teddy Sheringham had been prime of the leaderboard for a piece of 1993 till Shearer went previous him, although Shearer had beforehand additionally held the lead within the inaugural Premier League season previous to a nasty knee damage.
A couple of pretenders to his crown have threatened to problem within the intervening years, however Shearer’s report seems protected for some time but after the summer season departure of Harry Kane.
On the charge Erling Haaland is scoring, it in all probability received’t be that lengthy till we’re pondering whether or not he’ll be the one to knock Shearer off his perch. However the modern-day footballer adjustments membership and/or league so regularly that it’s additionally not out of the query that Shearer’s report stays intact for many years extra.
Whereas Shearer is in fact most intently related to hometown membership Newcastle, for whom he scored 148 of his Premier League objectives over a 10-year interval, he additionally netted 112 in simply 138 video games for Blackburn Rovers, the place he received his solely league title in 1994-95.
A product of Southampton’s academy, Shearer went house to Newcastle in 1996 and spent the remainder of his profession at St James’ Park, the place he continues to be deified by followers.
2. Harry Kane – 213 Targets*
Has Harry Kane kissed goodbye to his possibilities of breaking Shearer’s report? There are actually many who assume so since he moved to Bayern Munich in the summertime of 2023.
It’s truthful to say, few might blame him for his resolution to make such a transfer; Kane’s had a dire lack of success on a group degree for a participant so gifted, and at Bayern it appears a certainty he’ll win one thing.
However would breaking the Premier League objectives report even have given him a better legacy? That was the chief counterargument to him transferring to the Bundesliga, as he’s solely 47 objectives behind Shearer.
In fact, what’s to say Kane doesn’t get pleasure from two or three years in Germany after which return to England when he’s 32 or 33? Given his sport has by no means been about uncooked tempo, he presumably stands a very good likelihood of enjoying effectively into his 30s identical to Shearer.
The graphic beneath, which gives a snapshot of Kane’s trajectory prior to leaving Spurs, actually suggests he was on track to overhaul Shearer.
If he had been to return to England with Spurs, he might lengthen the report he at the moment holds of essentially the most Premier League objectives for a single membership (213) – Kane additionally holds the report for many Premier League objectives scored in a calendar 12 months (39).
3. Wayne Rooney – 208 Targets
Contemplating he solely ever managed 20 or extra Premier League objectives in a season twice, the actual fact Wayne Rooney was for a time the second-highest scorer within the competitors’s historical past says quite a bit about his longevity.
However on the similar time, it could possibly be argued he started to fade a lot sooner than would’ve been anticipated; he left Manchester United in 2017 when he was 31 having scored solely 13 Premier League objectives in his last two seasons, an output impacted by his conversion to a midfielder that seemingly happened as a consequence of no him longer being as dependable or explosive to play up prime.
Nonetheless, in his prime there have been few higher all-round footballers on this planet, not to mention within the Premier League. Rooney might do all of it, and he tried to as effectively.
Simply as able to scoring screamers as he was tap-ins, Rooney left an indelible mark on English soccer, Everton and Manchester United, for whom he’s the all-time main scorer (all competitions) with 253 objectives. He’s additionally scored 74 extra Premier League objectives for United than every other participant.
4. Andrew Cole – 187 Targets
One other former Man Utd striker, Andy Cole performed a distinguished function within the membership’s most interesting hour as he was one in every of 4 dependable goalscorers that they had in the 1999 treble-winning marketing campaign.
He netted 93 instances within the Premier League for United, simply shy of half of his total output. He additionally scored for Newcastle, Blackburn, Fulham, Man Metropolis and Portsmouth within the competitors.
The truth is, Craig Bellamy (seven) is the one participant in Premier League historical past to attain for extra golf equipment than Cole (six).
However for a lot of, he’ll be most related to Sir Alex Ferguson’s good United sides of the mid-to-late 90s and his on-pitch rapport with Dwight Yorke – much less so with Teddy Sheringham…
5. Sergio Agüero – 184 Targets
A couple of others might have scored extra Premier League objectives than Sergio Agüero, however has anybody netted a extra iconic one than him?
Uncertain.
Agüero in fact scored the purpose that secured Manchester Metropolis their first Premier League title in 2012, a dramatic late winner in opposition to QPR that additionally sparked in all probability essentially the most recognisable commentary in Premier League historical past courtesy of Martin Tyler.
However whereas which may be Agüero’s most memorable contribution to the Premier League, his affect went a lot deeper than that.
He’s arguably the perfect goalscorer the Premier League’s ever seen, a minimum of pre-Erling Haaland. The Argentinian’s 184 got here at a charge of 1 each 108 minutes; of gamers to attain 70 or extra, his report is comfortably the perfect, forward of Thierry Henry (one each 122 minutes).
A coronary heart situation pressured his early retirement in 2021 shortly after becoming a member of Barcelona, however make no mistake, his legacy at Metropolis and within the Premier League stays potent.
6. Frank Lampard – 177 Targets
The Premier League’s most prolific midfielder of all time, Frank Lampard grew to become a Chelsea legend throughout a 13-season spell at Stamford Bridge after signing from West Ham in 2001.
It took him a few years to essentially discover his area of interest, however beginning in 2003-04, Lampard reached double figures for Premier League objectives in 10 successive campaigns.
His finest season in that respect was 2009-10 when he scored 22 objectives within the league. Though that whole was second to Didier Drogba’s 29, which stays essentially the most by a Chelsea participant in a Premier League marketing campaign, Lampard’s exploits had been undoubtedly very important as Carlo Ancelotti’s males received the title.
That haul additionally ensured Lampard grew to become solely the third Chelsea participant to attain 20 or extra objectives in a single Premier League season after Drogba and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Diego Costa – twice – is the one different participant to realize that for the Blues since.
In fact, Lampard did additionally rating eight Premier League objectives in a one-year spell with Manchester Metropolis in 2014-15, but it surely was at Chelsea the place his impression was essentially the most important.
7. Thierry Henry – 175 Targets
After an unconvincing season in Italy with Juventus, Thierry Henry additionally had a troublesome begin to life within the Premier League after reuniting with Arsène Wenger, the supervisor who gave him his breakthrough at Monaco.
Henry didn’t rating in any of his first seven Premier League video games for Arsenal, lastly breaking his duck in opposition to Southampton in match eight on 18 September, 1999. One other barren run lasting over two months adopted that, but he completed the marketing campaign with 17 top-flight objectives, a haul bettered by solely Kevin Phillips (30), Shearer (23), Yorke (20), Cole and Michael Bridges (each 19).
In fact, any criticism of Wenger for parting with a major sum (£11 million) to land Henry shortly vanished as soon as the younger ahead discovered his ft, as he developed into one of many best gamers of his era and a Premier League legend.
From 2001-02, Henry scored a minimum of 24 objectives in 5 successive Premier League seasons and helped the Gunners to 2 titles, together with in 2003-04 as a part of the Invincibles.
He nonetheless holds the report for essentially the most Premier League Golden Boot wins (4).
8. Robbie Fowler – 163 Targets
Within the early years of the Premier League, Robbie Fowler was one of many competitors’s sharpest strikers, scoring as many as 28 in 38 video games throughout the 1995-96 marketing campaign.
Nonetheless, accidents hampered him within the second half of his first spell with the Reds, ultimately falling down the pecking order behind Michael Owen and Emile Heskey underneath Gérard Houllier.
Nonetheless, he departed Anfield in December 2001 having scored a formidable 120 Premier League objectives in 236 video games, transferring on to Leeds United after which Manchester Metropolis.
He returned to Liverpool halfway by way of the 2005-06 season, spending one other 18 months at Anfield, scoring eight league objectives, his final within the Premier League.
9. Jermain Defoe – 162 Targets
After coming by way of the ranks at West Ham in one thing of a golden period for the membership’s academy, Jermain Defoe went on to get pleasure from an extended profession within the Premier League, enjoying a minimum of as soon as in each season from 2000-01 till 2018-19.
Nearly all of his time was spent at Tottenham, who first signed him from West Ham in February 2004, however a lot of this four-year spell was spent being rotated with a number of different high-profile forwards.
He ultimately departed for Portsmouth in early 2008, reuniting together with his former West Ham supervisor Harry Redknapp, who he would later comply with again to Spurs after a reinvigorating 12 months on the south coast.
Ninety-one of Defoe’s Premier League objectives got here for Spurs, however he additionally went on to make an enormous impression at Sunderland in direction of the tip of his profession, scoring 34 instances in 87 top-flight video games.
Defoe’s final Premier League membership was Bournemouth, for whom he scored 4 instances in 28 video games.
10. Mohamed Salah – 159 Targets*
Given he’s 32 and there’s been a good quantity of hypothesis round his future previously couple of years, it appears unlikely Salah will finally threaten Shearer’s all-time report – although you by no means know.
Nonetheless, his purpose for Liverpool in a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace in December 2023 put him within the prime 10 – that was additionally Salah’s 2 hundredth purpose for Liverpool. He’s since moved on to 159.
With two strikes in opposition to Newcastle, he hit the 150-goal landmark for Liverpool within the Premier League, changing into simply the fifth participant within the competitors to attain as many objectives for a single membership within the competitors after Harry Kane for Tottenham (213), Sergio Agüero for Man Metropolis (184), Wayne Rooney for Man Utd (183) and Thierry Henry for Arsenal (175).
He was the fifth-fastest participant to succeed in the 150-goal landmark; together with his 247 video games behind solely Shearer (212), Agüero (217), Kane (218) and Henry (220).
After beginning 2024-25 with a purpose in opposition to newly promoted Ipswich City on Matchday 1 and one other on MD 2 versus Brentford, it now stays to be seen how deep into the highest 10 Salah can get.
Different Premier League Gamers With 100+ Targets
Michael Owen – 150 objectives
Les Ferdinand – 149 Targets
Teddy Sheringham – 146 Targets
Robin van Persie – 144 Targets
Jamie Vardy – 137 Targets*
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – 127 Targets
Robbie Keane – 126 Targets
Nicolas Anelka – 125 Targets
Dwight Yorke – 123 Targets
Raheem Sterling – 123 Targets*
Son Heung-Min – 122 Targets*
Romelu Lukaku – 121 Targets*
Steven Gerrard – 120 Targets
Ian Wright – 113 Targets
Dion Dublin – 111 Targets
Sadio Mané – 111 Targets*
Emile Heskey – 110 Targets
Ryan Giggs – 109 Targets
Peter Crouch – 108 Targets
Paul Scholes – 107 Targets
Darren Bent – 106 Targets
Didier Drogba – 104 Targets
Cristiano Ronaldo – 103 Targets*
Matt Le Tissier – 100 Targets
*Participant nonetheless lively
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