IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer

The IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Only international goals from 1 January to 31 December in international matches, Olympic tournaments, FIFA Club World Cup, official matches between the topical continental club champions, and the continental club competitions of FIFA, AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA, as well as, the continental Super Cup matches of the six confederations are taken into consideration. If the number of goals is equal, the player who scored more goals in international matches is ranked higher.

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most wins (5), and most goals in a calendar year (32 in 2017). Dennis Bergkamp, Raí and César Obando won the award with the fewest goals (12 in 1992). Neymar and Gabriel Batistuta are the players with the most runner-up appearances (2). Cristiano Ronaldo is the player with most third-place finishes (3). Ali Daei, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Romelo Lukaku are the only players who have won the award more than once. Ronaldo and Messi are the only players to win the award in successive seasons, with Ronaldo achieving this twice. Ali Ashfaq scored the most goals without winning (23 goals in 2013). Real Madrid and Barcelona are tied for the clubs with the most wins (5).

In 2012, the IFFHS awarded the World's Best Goal Scorer of the First Decade, considering the years 2001 to 2010.

Men's winners

List of winners YearRankWinnerClub(s)Goals 19911st Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille162nd Gabriel Batistuta Boca Juniors Fiorentina123rd Darko Pančev Red Star Belgrade1219921st Dennis Bergkamp Ajax122nd Raí São Paulo123rd César Obando Motagua1219931st Saeed Al-Owairan Al Shabab182nd Kazuyoshi Miura Tokyo Verdy163rd Luís Roberto Alves América1419941st Hristo Stoichkov Barcelona172nd Hwang Sun-hong Pohang Steelers163rd Romário Barcelona1519951st Jürgen Klinsmann Bayern Munich172nd Mário Jardel Grêmio163rd Enzo Francescoli River Plate1419961st Ali Daei Persepolis Al Sadd 222nd Natipong Sritong-In Hernán Crespo Thai Farmers Bank River Plate163rd–19971st Ronaldo Barcelona Inter Milan 222nd Karim Bagheri Persepolis Arminia Bielefeld203rd Romário Kazuyoshi Miura Flamengo Valencia Tokyo Verdy1919981st Jasem Al-Huwaidi Al-Salmiya 202nd Gabriel Batistuta Fiorentina143rd Luis Hernández Necaxa1319991st Raúl Real Madrid 142nd Rivaldo Alex Barcelona Palmeiras133rd–20001st Rivaldo Barcelona 212nd Romário Vasco da Gama213rd Ali Daei Hertha BSC2020011st Hani Al-Dhabit Dhofar 222nd Archie Thompson Raúl Warriors FC Marconi Stallions Real Madrid163rd–20021st Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United 142nd Miroslav Klose Jon Dahl Tomasson 1. FC Kaiserslautern Feyenoord Milan133rd–20031st Thierry Henry Arsenal 152nd David Trezeguet Juventus153rd Raúl Real Madrid1420041st Ali Daei Saba Battery 172nd Carlos Tevez Boca Juniors163rd Adriano Didier Drogba Inter Milan Marseille Chelsea1520051st Adriano Inter Milan 182nd Wilmer Velásquez Olimpia153rd Ronaldinho Emad Moteab Barcelona Al Ahly1420061st Humberto Suazo Colo-Colo172nd Peter Crouch Liverpool163rd Mohamed Aboutrika Al Ahly1420071st Trésor Mputu TP Mazembe 202nd Salvador Cabañas América183rd Boca Juniors1720081st Rico Al-Muharraq192nd Ahmad Ajab Qadsia153rd Miroslav Klose Bayern Munich1520091st Shinji Okazaki Shimizu S-Pulse152nd Didier Drogba Chelsea153rd Abdelmalek Ziaya ES Sétif1520101st Bader Al-Mutawa Qadsia 172nd Samuel Eto'o Inter Milan173rd David Villa Barcelona1620111st Lionel Messi Barcelona 192nd Radamel Falcao Porto Atlético Madrid173rd Hassan Abdel-Fattah Mario Gómez Al-Kuwait Bayern Munich1520121st Lionel Messi Barcelona 252nd Neymar Santos213rd Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid1820131st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 252nd Ali Ashfaq New Radiant233rd Issam Jemâa Al-Kuwait2020141st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 202nd Neymar Barcelona193rd Lionel Messi Barcelona1820151st Bayern Munich 222nd Ahmed Khalil Shabab Al-Ahli203rd Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid1920161st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid242nd Lionel Messi Barcelona213rd Edinson Cavani1620171st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 322nd Kim Yu-song April 25163rd Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich1520181st Baghdad Bounedjah Al Sadd 202nd Romelu Lukaku153rd Ayoub El Kaabi RS Berkane1520191st Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus 212nd Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira193rd Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur1920201st Romelu Lukaku Inter Milan 162nd Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund143rd Neymar Paris Saint-Germain1120211st Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 242nd Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur223rd Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus Manchester United1920221st Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain 222nd Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain213rd Julián Álvarez River Plate Manchester City1520231st Romelu Lukaku Inter Milan Roma 222nd Erling Haaland Manchester City183rd Mehdi Taremi Porto1420241st Soufiane Rahimi Al Ain 202nd Ayoub El Kaabi Olympiacos193rd Erling Haaland Viktor Gyökeres Manchester City Sporting CP1720251st Erling Haaland Manchester City 292nd Harry Kane Bayern Munich233rd Kylian Mbappé Real Madrid22 Notes:

Statistics

+Winners (1991–present)PlayerWinsYears Cristiano Ronaldo52013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 Lionel Messi32011, 2012, 2022 Ali Daei21996, 2004 Robert Lewandowski2015, 2021 Romelu Lukaku2020, 2023 Jean-Pierre Papin11991 Dennis Bergkamp1992 Saeed Al-Owairan1993 Hristo Stoichkov1994 Jürgen Klinsmann1995 Ronaldo1997 Jasem Al-Huwaidi1998 Raúl1999 Rivaldo2000 Hani Al-Dhabit2001 Ruud van Nistelrooy2002 Thierry Henry2003 Adriano2005 Humberto Suazo2006 Trésor Mputu2007 Rico2008 Shinji Okazaki2009 Bader Al-Mutawa2010 Baghdad Bounedjah2018 Soufiane Rahimi2024 Erling Haaland2025

+Most international goals in a yearRankPlayerYearGoals1 Cristiano Ronaldo2017322 Erling Haaland2025293 Lionel Messi201225 Cristiano Ronaldo20135 Cristiano Ronaldo201624 Robert Lewandowski 2021

+Winners by clubClubTotalPlayers Real Madrid52 Barcelona43 Inter Milan33 Bayern Munich32 Al Sadd22 Ajax11 Al-Kuwait11 Al-Muharraq11 Al Shabab11 Arsenal11 Colo-Colo11 Dhofar11 Juventus11 Qadsia11 Manchester United11 Marseille11 Motagua11 Paris Saint-Germain11 Saba Battery11 São Paulo11 Shimizu S-Pulse1111 TP Mazembe11 AS Roma11 Al Ain11 Manchester City11

+Winners by nationalityNationalityTotalPlayers5551312222222121211111111111111111111111

The World's Best Top International Goal Scorer of the First Decade (2001–2010)

The awards were part of the IFFHS World Football Gala 2012 which took place in Barcelona in May 2012.

For the final list of 15 players, international goals scored from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010 were taken into consideration. +Top 15 goal scorersRankPlayerNationClub(s)Goals for countryGoals for club(s)Total goals1 Manchester United Real Madrid Hamburger SV3353862Thierry Henry Arsenal Barcelona4342853Didier Drogba Marseille Chelsea4538834Miroslav Klose Werder Bremen5823815Samuel Eto'o Mallorca Barcelona Inter Milan4435796Flávio Amado Petro Atlético Al Ahly Al Shabab3241737Dimitar Berbatov Bayer Leverkusen Manchester United4625718 Raúl Real Madrid Schalke 042645719David Villa Zaragoza Valencia Barcelona44246810Andriy Shevchenko Milan Chelsea Dynamo Kyiv32366811Alexander Frei Servette Rennes Basel42216312Henrik Larsson Celtic Barcelona Manchester United Helsingborgs IF25366113Jon Dahl Tomasson Feyenoord Milan VfB Stuttgart Villarreal43165914Jared Borgetti Santos Laguna Pachuca Bolton Wanderers Al-Ittihad Morelia41175815Adriano Parma Inter Milan São Paulo Flamengo273158

All-time Best International Goal Scorer ranking

Bold indicates players currently active. * indicates player has scored at least 100 international goals for a single club. +Players with at least 100 international goalsRankPlayerTotalYears1 Cristiano Ronaldo*1550262701383102002–present2 Lionel Messi*13600123601122692004–present3 105080020852002008–present4 Harry Kane400186030731422011–present5 210270120891402009–present6 Neymar58000110791392009–present7 Karim Benzema90003260371382009–present8 342047310681371964–19819 Edin Džeko330284000681332003–present10 360165160691332005–present11 Ferenc Puskás36003020841251943–196612 Raúl71040130441231994–201513 Ali Daei110200001081211994–200714 510100000601212009–present15 49080000621191999–202316 360250000581192005–present17 45060000651162002–201618 59070100481151992–201219 15050000951152002–present20 Hossam Hassan1710410002691121984–200821 Ronaldo215158010621121993–201122 51080000511101994–201223 Ali Mabkhout16006010851082008–present24 Romário240024040551071985–200725 Kylian Mbappé55000110501072015–present26 Samuel Eto'o330150010561051999–201927 Sergio Agüero470150100411042003–202128 Pelé18000071771031957–197729 Sándor Kocsis83017000751031945–196530 Miroslav Klose150160000711021999–201631 Thomas Müller57000000451022008–present32 Olivier Giroud250161100571002010–present33 Eusébio46704020411001957–197834 Bader Al-Mutawa12031 ++0005699+2003–present

Women's winners

List of winners YearRankWinnerClub(s)Goals 20211st Ellen White Manchester City212nd Vivianne Miedema Arsenal173rd Lea Schüller1720221st Sam Kerr Chelsea172nd Beth Mead Arsenal153rd Ewa Pajor1520231st Barbra Banda Shanghai Shengli152nd Salma Paralluelo Barcelona143rd Sam Kerr Chelsea1320241st Lea Schüller Bayern Munich142nd Marie-Antoinette Katoto Paris Saint-Germain133rd Aitana Bonmatí Barcelona1320251st Claudia Pina Barcelona182nd Alessia Russo Arsenal143rd Alexia Putellas Barcelona13

Statistics +Winners (2021–present)PlayerWinsYears Ellen White12021 Sam Kerr12022 Barbra Banda12023 Lea Schüller12024 Claudia Pina12025 +Most goals in a yearRankPlayerYearGoals1 Ellen White2021212 Claudia Pina2025183 Sam Kerr202217 Vivianne Miedema2021 Lea Schüller20216 Beth Mead202215 Ewa Pajor2022 Barbra Banda20229 Salma Paralluelo202314 Lea Schüller2024 Alessia Russo2025 +Wins by clubClubTotalPlayers Chelsea11 Manchester City11 Shanghai Shengli11 Bayern Munich11 Barcelona11 +Wins by nationalityNationalityTotalPlayers1111111111

See also International Federation of Football History & Statistics IFFHS World's Best Club IFFHS World's Best Player IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer IFFHS World Team IFFHS World's Best Club Coach IFFHS World's Best National Coach

References

External links IFFHS official website