Every player to notch 100 or more Premier League goals

We start with one of a handful of players on this list that played First Division football before the birth of the Premier League in 1992, but this list only counts the Premier League goals. Thus, Le Tissier, known as “Le God” by Southampton fans due to spending his entire career there as a top attacking midfielder, has exactly 100 Premier League goals. Those go with 61 he scored playing First Division football from 1986 through the 1991-92 campaign.

One of the two or three best players of his generation, Ronaldo’s best seasons came with Real Madrid. He returned to Manchester United, his first English team, later in his career. Now an apathetic goal poacher, his presence on the pitch actually hindered the success of Man U, but it did do one thing for Ronaldo. It helped him get over 100 goals in the league. Now, of course, he’s collecting Saudi money.

The face of the greatest generation of Ivorian football talent, Drogba joined Chelsea as the team was rising under the ownership of Roman Abramovich. His striking skills allowed him to pick up 100 goals for the Blues in his first run. Drogba then rejoined for a cup of coffee during the 2014-15 season, but managed a mere four goals. At that point, there was only one thing left to do as a fading football great: Join the MLS.

Bent is the first player on this list to score for more than one Premier League team, and the journeyman striker scored for several of them. It started with Ipswich, but then there was Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Fulham. In truth, Bent was rarely remarkable, which may be why he only got 13 caps with England. Bent actually spent several seasons playing second-division football.

There are strikers and goal poachers on this list, sure, but not Scholes. No, the midfielder was known for his all-around game, and he is considered one of the best Manchester United players ever. Sure, it took 499 appearances to get to 107 goals, but doing that while doing so much else shows just how talented Scholes was.

Standing 6’7’’, Crouch always cut a distinct figure on the pitch, be it in the Premier League or for England. In addition to his abilities in the air (note the height), Crouch also had the ability to play as a second striker, making him adaptable. Now, there’s a reason why he played for seven Premier League teams – he was a good piece, but no superstar – though he did play 202 games and tally 45 goals for Stoke City.

To think, for a decade Manchester United had Giggs and Scholes in the midfield. No wonder Alex Ferguson’s teams won so much. Arguably the greatest Welsh player of all time, Giggs played a bit before the Premier League turned around, so he totaled 114 goals for United, but 109 in the Premier League. Notably, Giggs and Crouch are two of the players on this list to have zero penalty goals to their name.

For England, and for Liverpool during a portion of his career, the imposing Heskey (he was built like an NFL linebacker as much as a striker) was often the “other guy” to another name higher on this list. However, he played professional football from 1994 through 2016, so he had plenty of opportunities to score, and occasions to be the first-choice striker. Heskey scored 110 goals across five Premier League teams, and also spent some time in Australia.

Some guys rack up goals on their resume by being a big fish in a small pond. That is to say, they play for a middling club, but are probably the best player for said club, and it’s not like teams like Coventry City and Aston Villa (turn-of-the-millennium edition) get shut out every game. It took Dublin years to get a chance to move on from Cambridge United, but eventually he would become a Premier League staple in the middle of the table, helping him notch 111 goals.

Mane also scored 111 Premier League goals, but, with all due respect to Dublin, he’s a way better player. The greatest Senegalese player in history, Mane was a known name, in Germany and at Southampton, before he joined Liverpool. There, the winger would be a key part of the rise of the Reds back to glory. He potted 90 goals with Liverpool as part of maybe the greatest three-headed attack the Premier League has seen. Roberto Firmino didn’t make this list, but the other member of this trio certainly does.

If you don’t remember “Wrighty” as a player, you likely recognize him from his TV work. Back in the day, though, he was one of the top goal scorers of his generation. So far, Wright is the player getting the shortest shrift from this being a Premier League-only list. He potted several First and Second Division Premier goals with Crystal Palace, and after moving to Arsenal had 24 goals in the last season prior to the birth of the Premier League. “Wrighty” would score plenty more with the Gunners, though, and notched 113 goals in the league.

Son isn’t the first active player on this list, but he is the first still in the Premier League. The Korean is the first, and to date only, Asian member of the Century Club. Joining Spurs from Leverkusen, he picked up plenty of goals as the secondary scoring option for the club. Now, though, Son is the top guy for Tottenham, and obviously the expectation is that he rises higher up this list.

The local boy made good. Gerrard was born in Merseyside! He was a member of Liverpool’s academy before spending 504 games with the big club. For years, Gerrard was not only Liverpool’s captain, but the frequent captain of England as well. Though he played in the center of the midfield, that didn’t stop Gerrard from scoring plenty of goals. He had 120 of them, all for the Reds, and with one of the best goals-per-game averages you’ll find for a pure midfielder.

Liverpool fans have less positive feelings about Sterling, who left the team as a promising young player for the riches of Manchester City, before moving to Chelsea after that. The winger has, in a way, both overachieved and underachieved at the same time. Either way, the English international has managed to move past Gerrard, and there is room left for him to improve his totals.

Part of Belgium’s Golden Generation, Lukaku is the country’s all-time leading scorer. He moved around England too much to set the standard anywhere, and also has spent a lot of time in Italy as well. Chelsea brought him over to the Premier League, but famously gave up on him. At that point, he went and became a star for the likes of Everton and, to a lesser degree, Manchester United.

Yorke, from Trinidad and Tobago, was the first non-English member of the Century Club. He had 13 First Division goals prior to the Premier League’s birth, and then racked up goals for Aston Villa. His greatest success, though, came in his first couple seasons with Manchester United, where he was part of an elite striking partnership with a guy further up this list. Yorke returned to the Premier League with Sunderland at the tail end of his career, scoring one more goal to give him 123.

They may have called Anelka “Le Sulk,” owing to a tempestuous personality not uncommon in elite strikers, but he was a high-level player, and must have enjoyed playing football. Otherwise, why would he have kept going and plied his trade in places like China and India. The Frenchman bounced all over the world, including five Premier League teams, notching 125 goals.

While Roy Keane (no relation) had the better “Keane” career in England, Ireland’s all-time leading scorer was no slouch. Keane debuted as a teenager for Wolverhampton, when it played second-tier football, and after struggling to find his footing, the Irish striker would excel with Tottenham. He had 126 Premier League goals, and then was later one of the best late-career MLS guys. Keane had 83 goals for LA Galaxy in 125 games.

Before Chelsea was “Chelsea,” Hasselbaink was the guy for the Blues. He scored over 20 goals in both the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons. There were other stops along the way, but the Dutchman tallied 69 of his 127 Premier League goals with Chelsea, before leaving on a free transfer just as the Abramovich Era began.

Vardy’s loyalty to Leicester City has kept him from notching as many Premier League goals as possible. When Leicester was, surprisingly, relegated, the English striker stayed with the club as it moved down to the Championship. Hey, his first two seasons with the club were down in the Championship as well. In between, though, Vardy picked up 136 goals. At 37, his best days are behind him, but maybe Vardy will get one last chance to play Premier League football (Leicester is all but a lock to be promoted).

When Arsene Wenger brought van Persie over from Feyenoord, he decided to turn him from a winger to a striker. Mission? Definitely accomplished. He scored 96 goals for Arsenal, including 30 in his last season before moving to Manchester United. Van Persie’s scoring touch helped United stay afloat at the end of Ferguson’s run, tallying 48 goals with the team. He’s also the Netherlands’ all-time goal leader, which is quite impressive.

How do you end up so high up a list like this when you primarily served as a second striker and played several seasons prior to the start of the Premier League? Well, you play forever, and that’s what Sheringham did. He played in the inaugural Premier League season, potting 21 goals, and would still be playing in the league in the 2006-07 season, when he scored his last two goals. That season, Sheringham set the record for the oldest outfield player in league history at 40 years, 270 days. So yeah, that’s how he got to 146 goals.

Second cousin to Rio and Anton, by dint of being related to one of England’s iconic defensive players, Les is relegated to second fiddle in the family. However, this Ferdinand was clearly no slouch. He actually spent part of five seasons with Queens Park Rangers prior to the Premier League, tallying 20 goals. Ferdinand was a star striker at the start of the Premier League’s history, and then stuck around to keep on scoring here and there. All in all, that adds up to 149 Premier League goals for Ferdinand.

We mentioned Heskey’s striking partnership at Liverpool. The other name would be Owen. Owen scored as a 17-year-old for Liverpool, and he was off and running. While the Englishman never had a 20-goal season, he had only 16 goals six times, and that’s while dealing with a chronic hamstring issue. After a failed move to Real Madrid that lasted a season, Owen returned to England, but his speed was not what it once was. Still, he added enough goals to be the first member of the Century-and-a-Half Club (150 goals).

Some may focus on what’s next for Salah, and whether or not Liverpool will move on from him, or vice versa. Let’s not focus on that now. Salah is one of the best players in Liverpool history. There’s a real case for him being the best African player ever. “The Egyptian King” has been running down the wing for the Reds to power them to glory. He is the last active Premier League player on this list, and he kicks off the top 10.

Defoe is one of those players where you don’t think of him in the pantheon, but when you hear his name, you think, “Oh yeah, he was really good.” Indeed, Defoe had 20 goals for England, much less all his Premier League goals. Yeah, he played for five teams in the Premier League, with a random stop in MLS and Scotland in the mix. Was he ever the best striker in the world? No, and his 0.33 goals per game is the lowest in the top 20 among forwards (and 19th overall). Regardless, scoring 162 Premier League goals is remarkable.

Before Owen arrived on the scene, Fowler was unquestionably the star of the show for Liverpool. The fans in the Kop just straight-up called him “God.” Fowler once notched 28 goals in a season for the Reds, and he had a couple of solid seasons with Leeds and (pre-sheikh money) Manchester City as well. Fowler had 163 goals, 128 with Liverpool.

In terms of goals per game, nobody in the Century Club beats Henry. Sure, his 0.68 number is a sliver above two guys at 0.67 yet to pop up. As with van Persie, Wenger helped turn Henry into a striker when he joined Arsenal. Henry was the best goal scorer, and maybe player, during his peak with the Gunners. The Frenchman had 175 goals in 258 games with Arsenal. To think, he spent three quality seasons with Barcelona as well.

Yeah, it took a lot of games for Lampard to get to 177 goals. Who cares? He was a box-to-box midfielder! No midfielder has more Premier League goals. Lampard has more goals from outside the box than anybody as well. He is arguably Chelsea’s greatest player, and he is the club’s top goal scorer. Kind of middling as a manager, though.

The highest-scoring non-Englishman, and non-European, in Premier League history. Aguero’s run was truly remarkable, arguably underrated. The Argentine was a star for Atletico Madrid before joining Manchester City. In 10 seasons, he tallied a whopping 184 goals. Six times he hit the 20-goal mark. Sadly, upon moving to Barcelona a heart issue caused him to retire. Aguero was only 33 when he retired, and think of how much he accomplished.

Among the top five, Cole is the least notable name, the one you may forget about (or maybe not heard of, depending on your age). It doesn’t help that he played for seven teams, and he only scored one goal for England. As a Premier League player, though, Cole was remarkable. His best years came with Manchester United, where he was part of the treble team. Oh, and he scored 34 goals in 40 games for Newcastle in the 1993-94 season, so there’s that. Cole picked up 187 goals.

We enter the 200-goal club! For a while there, some thought Rooney had a chance to challenge for the record for Premier League goals. He did retire with 53 goals for England, which was the record at the time. Rooney’s best years came with Manchester United, but in a way it feels nice he hit the 200-goal mark with Everton, his first club. It was clear Rooney had lost a step, and the record was not in the offing, and the English striker ended his career playing for D.C. United and then Derby County.

Meet the man who passed Rooney for the most goals for England. Also, the man who passed Rooney for second in Premier League goals. Somewhat surprisingly, it took Kane a few seasons to find his footing with Spurs, given that he became the club’s greatest player. Once he hit his groove, nobody scored like Kane. He had six 20-goal seasons, including two with 30 goals. Kane easily could have ended up topping this list, but then he decided to join Bayern Munich, where he is still scoring goals with gusto. While he’s just entered his thirties, unless Kane returns to England soon, he will retire as the runner-up.

Kane has 213 Premier League goals. Shearer has 260. Yeah, he’s the record holder by a comfortable margin. Shearer is a Blackburn legend. He had three 30-goal campaigns in four seasons. Oh, and he’s a Newcastle legend. He had four 20-goal seasons there. If that wasn’t enough, Shearer had 23 goals for Southampton prior to the Premier League’s debut. Nobody is going to claim that Shearer is the best Premier League player ever, but one thing is empirical: Nobody scored goals like he did.