The race between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the record for most goals in football history continues. With his recent goal against Atlanta United in MLS, the Inter Miami captain is closing in on the Portuguese striker, who leads the all-time scoring charts.
Ronaldo currently leads the list with 928 goals in 1,268 games throughout his career, which began at Sporting Lisbon and continued at clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. His most recent goal came on March 14 against Al Kholood.
Messi, for his part, has 860 goals in 1,092 games, scored with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami. In 2024, the Argentine scored 29 goals in MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup and Argentina. His most recent goal was on March 16 in a match against Atlanta United in Major League Soccer (MLS).
So Ronaldo still has a 68-goal advantage, but the Argentine has played 179 fewer games. Both maintain a similar average number of games per season, between 50 and 60, although CR7 has 2 more years of professional playing time.
Before reaching their current record, both Messi and Ronaldo surpassed Josef Bican’s record of 805 goals, who had held the all-time record for decades. According to FIFA data, the other top scorers include Romario (772 goals), Pele (757 goals), Ferenc Puskas (746 goals) and Gerd Muller (734 goals).
RANKING OF ALL-TIME TOP GOAL SCORERS (source: FIFA)
Cristiano Ronaldo 928 goals
Lionel Messi 860
Josef Bican 805
Romario 772 goals
Pele 757
Ferenc Puskas 746
Gerd Muller 734
