Ever since the advent of the 'Beautiful Game', goal scoring has been the most sought-after attribute at any level of football. The ability to hit the back of the net consistently, game-in-game-out, year-in-year-out is not something all players are capable of doing.
Several players, when on song, find goal scoring relatively simple but when their golden run of form vanishes, seem like fish out of water. Hence arises the need for consistency.
Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Maradona have broken records consistently. Several players have written their name into the history books, but they are not the most prolific of all time.
Here are the ten players with the best goals to games ratio ever. This list has only top-flight matches from the leading footballing nations
#10 Eusebio - 0.9 goals per game
Eusebio nicknamed the Black Panther for his speed and agility was born in Mozambique. He spent 15 years at Benfica after having made his debut at the age of 18.
The Portuguese star scored 317 goals in 301 appearances for Benfica where he was simply phenomenal, winning 11 first division titles as well as a European Cup and 9 Honor Cups.
Overall, Eusebio amassed a whopping 532 goals in 590 official matches as well as racking up over 200 more goals in friendlies and other unofficial games. The Portugal star was at his prime in the 1966 World Cup where he won the Golden Boot award.
He also managed 41 goals in 64 appearances for his country. Eusebio died in 2014 from heart failure after which the Portugal President declared three days of holiday to mourn their lost hero.
#9 Gerd Muller- 0.93 goals per game
Gerd Muller is regarded as one of the best out and out goalscorers in football. The German scored a majority of his goals in and around the 6-yard box. Muller was renowned for his short bursts of pace and agility which propelled him past defenders.
Nicknamed 'Der Bomber', Muller amassed 735 goals in 793 games as well as 68 goals in 62 games for Germany. Muller had a decorated career at Bayern Munich winning 4 Bundesliga titles as well as a European Championship, 3 Champions Cup trophies and a World Cup to top it all off.
The German legend then moved to USA's Fort Lauderdale Strikers to play out his career. He was named in FIFA's list of 100 best players by none other than the legendary Pele.
Also Read: 10 best Premier League strikers of all time
#8 Pele - 0.93 goals per game
Pele is considered by most to be the best player in the history of football. Pele has officially scored 767 goals in 831 games.
He has scored a considerable number of goals in friendlies and unofficial matches which could have taken that tally to over a 1000 goals. Pele debuted at the age of 15 and added a World Cup to his kitty at 17. He is Brazil's all-time leading goal scorer and has won 3 World Cups in total.
Another rags-to-riches story, Pele grew up playing football with a sock stuffed in a newspaper. He also played a lot of indoor football in his younger days which contributed to his learning of the game.
Pele played for Santos for most of his career but also had a short stint at New York Cosmos. He is Santos' record scorer and amassed a ridiculous number of trophies in his glittering career including 10 Campeonato Paulista's and 6 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.
He was voted the World Player of the Century in 1999.
After his retirement, Pele was made a member of UNESCO and formed the Pele law to reduce corruption in Brazilian football. He is also involved in several goodwill foundations and charities and is a UN ambassador for ecology and environment.
#7 Ferenc Puskas - 1.01 goals per game
Ferenc Puskas is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. Puskas was a part of Hungary's and Real Madrid's golden generations. Puskas was not blessed with the greatest abilities, but had a tremendous understanding of the game and possessed a lethal left foot.
The Hungarian legend scored 754 goals in 746 games at just over a goal a game. Puskas initially played in Hungary for Budapest Hoinvad where he collected 5 Hungarian League titles. He then moved to Real Madrid where he won 5 La Liga titles, 3 European Championships and was named top scorer on eight occasions. He is mainly known for his performance against England in the Game of the Century.
Puskas has the honour of having the FIFA Puskas award named after him which is awarded to the player who scored the best goal of the year.
#6 Bernabe Ferreyra - 1.04 goals per game
Little known Bernabe Ferreyra was Argentina's most prolific scorer and makes Lionel Messi's numbers pale in comparison. He was immensely popular in Argentina and was the first South American sportsman to have a biographical film made about him.
Ferreyra started his career at Tigre but moved to River Plate after five years where he had most of his success.
The striker scored 206 goals in 197 games in total with 187 of those coming for the Argentine giants. Ferreyra was such a formidable opponent that a leading Argentine newspaper gave an award for the first goalkeeper to keep him scoreless.
He had an extremely disappointing international career, though, having played just four games and didn't score a goal. Ferreyra never travelled to a World Cup and was criticised mainly for his international performances.
#5 Jimmy McGrory - 1.04 goals per game
Jimmy McGrory is the top scorer in the history of British top-flight football. McGrory spent a major part of his career playing in Scotland for Celtic where he managed 395 goals in 378 games.
He is Celtic's top scorer of all time and the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership as well. He also scored a British record 55 hat tricks. McGrory stood at just 5' 6" but scored a major part of his goals through headers which earned him the name 'Human Torpedo'.
After retirement, McGrory went into management and coached Kilmarnock before returning to his beloved Celtic to end his career. At Celtic, he won 3 Scottish Premierships and 5 Scottish Cups as a player and 1 Scottish League and 2 Scottish Cups as a manager.
Also Read: 10 best Premier League strikers of all time
#4 Franz Binder - 1.10 goals per game
Franz Binder was a prolific goalscorer at his club, Rapid Wein, where he spent 19 years. He has the unique distinction of having represented more countries than clubs after he turned out for both Austria and Germany. Binder averaged slightly over a goal a game with 267 goals in 242 games although he disputes that fact.
Binder has publicly stated that he managed more than 1000 goals competitively in 756 games, but FIFA have brushed aside that fact.
Binder was the top scorer of the Austrian League on three occasions, and he managed four league titles in his 19-year stint.
Nicknamed Bimbo, the Austrian coached several high-profile clubs after his retirement including Rapid Wein and PSV Eindhoven.
#3 Imre Schlosser - 1.3 goals per game
Hungary are no longer a force to be reckoned with at the international level, but they boasted some pretty decent talent in the 1900s. Imre Schlosser is the all-time leading scorer in the Hungarian League.
He spent a majority of his career at two clubs, Hungaria FC and Ferencvarosi and is the sixth-highest scorer in the history of club football after amassing 417 goals in 320 games.
He also has a pretty decent international record having made his debut at the age of 16 and racked up 59 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary. Schlosser has won the Hungarian League 13 times and was the top scorer on seven separate occasions, no mean feat.
Schlosser passed away at the age of 69.
#2 Josef Bican - 1.52 goals per game
Josef Bican scored over 800 goals in 530 games averaging just over 1.5 goals per match. Bican came from a poor background and grew up playing without boots, something which improved his ball control tremendously.
An extremely pacy striker, Josef was one of the quickest of his generation and could complete 100m in 10.8 seconds, comparable to the sprinters of his time.
He has represented eight clubs in total including Slavia Prague, where he was at his prolific best, finding the target 395 times in just over 200 appearances. He also represented Austria, Czechoslovakia and Bohemia at the international level with some success.
#1 Fernando Peyroteo - 1.77 goals per game
Fernando Peyroteo's goal scoring record is nothing short of ridiculous. In a brief but extraordinary career for Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese managed a mind-blowing 331 goals in just 187 games. In his debut season, Peyroteo was at his blistering best, amassing 34 goals in 14 games at nearly 2.5 goals a game.
In 12 years at the club, Peyroteo won the league five times, as well as five domestic cups and a Portuguese Super Cup. He holds the distinction of having scored nine goals in a single game as well as eight in another game.
Peyroteo also managed 14 goals in 20 international appearances for Portugal.
After retirement, he decided to coach the Portugal national team and oversaw the rise of Eusebio.
Also Read: 10 best Premier League strikers of all time
Edited by Staff Editor
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