The Premier League has hosted many legendary players, they’re the ones who get the most recognition and in turn, the most glory. Choosing a top 10 best Premier League goalscorers out of opinion would be next to impossible, as there are too many that have graced the beautiful game. I’m going with facts rather than opinion (for once), so here’s the top 10 highest goalscorers in Premier League history!
10. Robin Van Persie
Goals: 134
The Dutchman starts off this list with a nice goal total across two teams, Arsenal and Manchester United. He scored 96 at Arsenal over a period of 194 games and scored the other 38 over 59 games so far for the Red Devils. He basically single handedly won another league title for the reds in his first season at Old Trafford and is hailed as one of the best strikers on the planet. At 30 years of age, he still has a couple of years left to increase his goal tally.
9. Teddy Sheringham
Goals: 147
Old Teddy himself comes up 9th in this list after getting a long spell in the Premier League, he played for Nottingham Forest (scored their first ever Premier League goal), Portsmouth (scored their first ever Premier League goal too), Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham. Growing up, he was one of the most recognisable players as his unique name combined with his goal scoring abilities made him a household name in England. He kept on playing until the age of 42 which very few players are able to do.
8. Les Ferdinand
Goals: 149
Yes, he is related to Anton & Rio Ferdinand (cousins). I was actually too young to watch him play in his prime years (around the QPR/Newcastle time) but a quick YouTube search and you can see how good he was. By the looks of it, he was just a generally good striker, he wasn’t on parr with the likes of Raul or Ibrahimovich but he got the job done. Finishing, skill, pace, good in the air, strength etc all contributed to his goal scoring tally. His contribution was so great that he nearly won the title with Newcastle, something that would be unimaginable nowadays.
7. Michael Owen
Goals: 150
One of the finest English players we’ve had this generation, Michael Owen was known and loved (or hated depending on who you supported) by everyone and for good reason. He played for Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool (where he scored 118 of the 150 goals). He was revered as a legend to Kopites everywhere until he joined the Red Devils, where he lost his legend status due to the fierce rivalry between the two clubs. He ended his trophy filled career at Stoke City after his goal scoring abilities seemed to have disappeared.
6. Robbie Fowler
Goals: 163
At number 6 we have another Liverpool legend who was nicknamed “god” by Liverpool fans for his ability to score at will. He spent 8 years at Liverpool before he moved to Leeds and from there he went on to Manchester City but he never recaptured the goal scoring form he had at Liverpool (seems to be a habit of ex-Liverpool strikers). He scored 20 league goals for Manchester City and 14 for Leeds, his most came from his Liverpool days where he scored 120 in 236 games which is quite a feat.
5. Frank Lampard
Goals: 171
To be on this list is quite an achievement, coming in the top 5 even more so but to be a midfielder and come in this list is really something. He’s not even an attacking midfielder, he’s a central midfielder and yet he has scored so many goals. Frank Lampard is arguably the second best English midfielder of the century (second to Beckham) and at 36 years of age he is still playing, albeit for New York City FC. He scored 24 Premier League goals for West Ham before he moved to Chelsea and scored 147 over a period of 429 games. That tally is better than some strikers and this list doesn’t even take assists into account. He’s a Chelsea legend and respected by all football fans.
4. Wayne Rooney
Goals: 173
The scouser playing for Manchester United (who would have thought that?) has been one of Europe’s hottest prospects for years. His Premier League debut goal was nothing short of remarkable and since then he’s scored a lot more spectacular goals. Out of his goals, 15 have come from his short time at Everton and the other 158 have come from 307 games with Manchester United. He’s just 28 years old and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s much higher on this before his career ends.
3. Thierry Henry
Goals: 175
I think it is fair to say that Arsenal miss this man very much. During the 8 years he spent there he scored 174 goals (and another when he came back for a one off loan season) and won the hearts of Gunners everywhere. He is easily one of the best strikers of the century so far, definitely top 3 at least. He didn’t just sit around the box waiting for a good cross that he could tap in, he would regularly get the ball from midfield, walk it past his opponents and put it in the back of the net. I think this video is the best example really, you won’t find many players with goals close to as good as those.
2. Andy Cole
Goals: 187
Another player I never had the privilege of watching live, Andy Cole has and will always be known to Premier League football fans. I said Thierry Henry wasn’t the kind to stay in the box and wait for the ball to come in whereas Andy Cole would kind of do the same thing. With players like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in the same team he didn’t need to do anything himself besides get the ball from his feet into the back of the net, which he did very well. He scored 93 goals for Manchester United over a period of 195 games, he also played for Newcastle(55 goals in 70 games), Portsmouth(3 goals in 18 games), Fulham(3 goals in 13 games), Blackburn(27 goals in 83 games) and Manchester City(9 goals in 22 games).
1. Alan Shearer
Goals: 260
Holder of the most goals scored in a 48 game season, tied holder of the most goals scored in a 38 game season (with Luis Suarez) and the highest scoring player in Premier League history, Alan Shearer is without doubt one of the finest players to grace the Premier League. He started off at Blackburn Rovers where he won a league title, scoring 112 goals in just 138 games. He then went on to finish runner up with Newcastle and his career there ended with 148 goals in 303 games. How he didn’t get snapped up by Real Madrid or Barcelona I will never know, but he was good enough to create records that I don’t think will ever be broken in our lifetime.
Hope you enjoyed the list!
