Premier League all-time top scorers: Kane chasing Rooney and Shearer
The Premier League has been home to some of the greatest goalscorers to have ever graced the game, with many of those iconic figures registering over 100 efforts in the English top-flight.
From Alan Shearer to Wayne Rooney via Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, superstars from all over the world have shown that they are capable of finding the back of net with remarkable regularity.
Who, though, forms part of this exclusive club of centurions and in what order do they sit on an all-time chart? GOAL takes a look…
Who is the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer?
Alan Shearer hung up his boots back in the summer of 2006, but he continues to set the benchmark for other Premier League finishers some 16 years on.
The former England international savoured title glory while on the books at Blackburn Rovers, before breaking the world transfer record when returning to his roots at Newcastle United in 1996.
He was the first man to 100 Premier League goals, with 112 registered at Ewood Park, and finished with 260 to his name.
Two legends of the game have been inducted into the #PLHallOfFame:
— GOAL (@goal) April 26, 2021
🇫🇷 Thierry Henry
Apps: 258
Goals: 175 ⚽
Golden boots: 4
Premier League trophies: 🏆🏆
🏴 Alan Shearer
Apps: 441
Goals: 260 ⚽
Golden boots: 3
Premier League trophies: 🏆 pic.twitter.com/UtpDlmsEPi
Wayne Rooney, who is Manchester United’s all-time leading marksman, is the only other man to have passed the 200-goal mark having found the target on 206 occasions across spells with Everton and the Red Devils.
Andy Cole, another legend at Old Trafford, currently occupies third spot on a notable chart, while Manchester City fan favourite Sergio Aguero – who was forced into retirement by health problems after leaving the Etihad Stadium for Barcelona in 2021 – sits fourth.
Frank Lampard’s remarkable exploits from a midfield berth saw him register 177 Premier League goals through stints at West Ham United, Chelsea and City, while 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry hit all 175 of his efforts while donning the colours of Arsenal.
A couple of former Liverpool poachers also make the highest rung of a Premier League ladder, in the form of Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen, along with ex-West Ham and Spurs star Jermain Defoe, and current Tottenham talisman Harry Kane is still going strong on 196.
Rank | Player | Goals | Club/s |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alan Shearer | 260 | Blackburn, Newcastle |
2 | Wayne Rooney | 208 | Everton, Manchester United |
3 | Harry Kane | 204 | Tottenham |
4 | Andy Cole | 187 | Newcastle, Manchester United, Blackburn, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth |
5 | Sergio Aguero | 184 | Manchester City |
6 | Frank Lampard | 177 | West Ham, Chelsea, Manchester City |
7 | Thierry Henry | 175 | Arsenal |
8 | Robbie Fowler | 163 | Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester City |
9 | Jermain Defoe | 162 | West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Bournemouth |
10 | Michael Owen | 150 | Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United, Stoke |
How many players have scored 100 or more Premier League goals?
The top 10 are the only ones to have reached 150 Premier League goals, with Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy (133) the closest of those still plying their trade at present to breaking into that elite group.
Romelu Lukaku returned to English football at Chelsea in the summer of 2021 and was already a centurion at that stage, while Mohamed Salah’s remarkable consistency at Liverpool saw the Egyptian chase down Steven Gerrard’s haul of 120 goals.
🇨🇮 Didier Drogba
— GOAL (@goal) October 16, 2021
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah
🇸🇳 Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane becomes the third African player to score 100 Premier League goals! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wkTpwMrdSN
Didier Drogba, who took in two spells at Chelsea during his playing days, was the first African to reach 100 efforts in the Premier League, with Liverpool winger Sadio Mane the latest to join that party.
Raheem Sterling reaches 100 Premier League goals 🤩 pic.twitter.com/t9jFbYgM6h
— GOAL (@goal) December 11, 2021
Raheem Sterling of Manchester City is the most recent inductee into the Premier League’s 100-goal club - having achieved that feat against Wolves on December 11, 2021 – and a list of prolific goal-getters has now been extended to 32 names in total.
Rank | Player | Goals | Club/s |
|---|---|---|---|
11 | Les Ferdinand | 149 | QPR, Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham, Leicester, Bolton |
12 | Teddy Sheringham | 146 | Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Manchester United, Portsmouth, West Ham |
13 | Robin van Persie | 144 | Arsenal, Manchester United |
14 | Jamie Vardy | 134 | Leicester |
15 | Mohamed Salah | 129 | Chelsea, Liverpool |
16 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | 127 | Leeds, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Charlton |
17 | Robbie Keane | 126 | Coventry, Leeds, Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham, Aston Villa |
18 | Nicolas Anelka | 125 | Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton, Chelsea, West Brom |
19 | Dwight Yorke | 123 | Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn, Birmingham, Sunderland |
20 | Romelu Lukaku | 121 | Chelsea, West Brom, Everton, Manchester United |
21 | Steven Gerrard | 120 | Liverpool |
22 | Ian Wright | 113 | Arsenal, West Ham |
=22 | Raheem Sterling | 113 | Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea |
24 | Dion Dublin | 111 | Manchester United, Coventry, Aston Villa |
=24 | Sadio Mane | 111 | Southampton, Liverpool |
26 | Emile Heskey | 110 | Leicester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Wigan, Aston Villa |
27 | Ryan Giggs | 109 | Manchester United |
28 | Peter Crouch | 108 | Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Tottenham, Stoke |
=29 | Paul Scholes | 107 | Manchester United |
=29 | Darren Bent | 106 | Ipswich, Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Fulham |
31 | Didier Drogba | 104 | Chelsea |
32 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 103 | Manchester United |
Shearer was the fastest to 100, reaching the tally in 124 appearances, with Kane following closely behind by doing it in 141 outings.
Owen was the youngest after bursting onto the scene at Anfield and hitting a century by the age of 23 years and 133 days old.
Of the 32 currently occupying the loftiest of scoring perches, six have reached that mark without converting a single penalty – Mane, Cole, Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey, Les Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs.