We’ve been honoured to witness some incredible moments and goalscoring exploits from the Premier League’s top strikers since the division’s formation in 1992.

The top six sides can all boast legendary hitmen who scored hatfuls season after season, while some forwards hopped from one club to another to continue their scoring streaks.

Here we take a look the most clinical finishers in Premier League history, in descending order.

Last updated January 12 2020

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31. Ruud van Nistelrooy & Yakubu (Tied)

95 Goals

We kick off our list with The Ruud Devil himself – Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman joined ​Manchester United in 2001 from PSV Eindhoven and immediately set about making himself a legend at Old Trafford.

Displaying an uncanny ability to remain calm in the penalty area and in one-on-one situations, Van Nistelrooy scored 23 goals in his debut season with the Red Devils. He finished with 95 in the league before he left for Real Madrid.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni, known as Yakubu, is the top-scoring Nigerian in Premier League history.

‘The Yak’ played for ​Everton, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Blackburn during his time in the league, scoring in double digits for each club. 

He bagged the most for Portsmouth, scoring 29 in 67 top flight matches.​

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29. Emmanuel Adebayor & Jamie Vardy (Tied)

97 Goals

Adebayor often played the villain during his time in England, a role he seemed to cherish as he managed to piss off almost every fan base in the league – see the above photo for proof.

That didn’t stop him from scoring some excellent goals though, as he comes joint 29th overall.

No Vardy, no party, right?

Jamie burst on to the scene during the 2014/15 season as an electric forward before his performances the following campaign propelled Leicester to a shock Premier League title triumph.

He remains at the peak of his powers under Brendan Rodgers and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

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28. Matthew Le Tissier

100 Goals

Le Tissier is a club legend at ​Southampton, and with good reason. Not only did the Englishman spend his entire Premier League career with the Saints, he’s also their record goalscorer in the league with 100 goals – and it’s not even close.

James Beattie is second with 68 goals.​

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27. Didier Drogba

104 Goals

Regardless of whether you loved him or hated him, Drogba knew how to put the ball in the back of the net.

​Chelsea relied greatly on Drogba’s goals as he helped them win four Premier League titles during his time there, while he also won four FA Cups, three League Cups and one UEFA Champions League.​

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26. Darren Bent

106 Goals

In his prime, Darren Bent was a prolific striker.

Bent played for seven different teams in the Premier League, scoring 32 during his two seasons at Sunderland.​

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25. Paul Scholes

107 Goals

Scholes spent his entire professional career at Manchester United, working his way up from the academy to accumulate 499 appearances in the Premier League – and racked up 107 goals in the process.

He is one of few midfielders to have scored 100 or more goals in the English top flight.​

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24. Peter Crouch

108 Goals

At 6’7, one would expect Crouch to have scored a large number of his goals with his head.

In fact, Crouch holds a Guinness World Record for the most headed goals in the Premier League with 53 – seven more than Alan Shearer in second.​ 

So yeah, he did score a lot of goals with his head. All clear? Good.

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23. Ryan Giggs

109 Goals

One of the few other high-scoring midfielders in Premier League history was Scholes’ teammate Ryan Giggs, who also spent his whole career with the Red Devils.

Just as impressive as Giggs’ goalscoring tally are his appearance and assist numbers in the league – 632 and 162 respectively.​

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22. Emile Heskey

110 Goals​

Heskey never scored more than 14 goals in a season, but thanks to his longevity and his ability to find the net for the five clubs he played for – Leicester City, ​Liverpool, Birmingham, Wigan and Aston Villa – the big striker accumulated his impressive tally over 19 seasons in the Premier League.

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21. Dion Dublin

111 Goals

Dublin had his most successful season in the league when he bagged 18 goals for Coventry City during the 1997/98 campaign, winning the Golden Boot in the process.

He also enjoyed spells with Manchester United and Aston Villa, as well as earning a few caps for England.​

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19. Romelu Lukaku and Ian Wright (Tied)

113 Goals

He may have left United for Inter last summer, but there’s no denying Lukaku was a fabulous forward during his time in the Premier League.

Lukaku joined the Red Devils in 2017 after spending the previous four seasons with Everton, where he scored 68 goals. Lukaku’s tally is boosted from a stint at West Brom, though he never scored for Chelsea.

Before ‘Wrighty’ was a TV and radio pundit covering the beautiful game, he endeared himself to ​Arsenal fans by scoring 104 league goals for the club, helping them win the 1997/98 title.

He spent six seasons with the Gunners before moving on to West Ham to close out his career, scoring nine goals for the Hammers.​

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18. Steven Gerrard

120 Goals

Gerrard is a name synonymous with Liverpool, the club he helped win the Champions League, UEFA Cup, two FA Cups and three League Cups. He was also named as the best player in Europe in 2005 and the English Footballer of the Year in 2009.

Though he never added the Premier League title to his CV, Gerrard did rack up 504 appearances and 92 assists to go along with his 120 goals in the league for the Reds.​

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17. Dwight Yorke

123 Goals

The greatest ever player from Trinidad and Tobago, Yorke won the Premier League in three consecutive seasons with Manchester United.

Yorke’s first season with United was his most successful as he won the Golden Boot with 18 goals in the league, was named Player of the Season and also lifted the FA Cup and Champions League trophy as part of the famous squad that won the treble under Alex Ferguson.

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16. Nicolas Anelka

125 Goals

Anelka was never a stranger to controversy throughout his career, whether it was refusing to train, disrespectful goal celebrations or publicly criticising coaches and teammates.

But when it came to banging in the goals, Anelka excelled. He scored ten goals or more in seven seasons during his time in the league, winning the Golden Boot in the 2008/09 season with 19 goals.​

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15. Robbie Keane

​126 Goals

The sole Irishman on this list, Keane currently acts as the assistant manager for both national side and Middlesbrough.

But it was in the Premier League where Keane made his name, playing for five different clubs as he racked up 126 goals. He also has one of the most iconic celebrations in Premier League history.

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14. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

127 Goals

Hasselbaink introduced himself to the league with a bang during the 1997/98 season, scoring 16 goals with ​Leeds. He scored 18 the next season, then 23 with Chelsea, winning the Golden Boot each time.​

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13. Harry Kane

136 Goals

Tottenham’s frontman ‘only’ managed 17 goals last season – though he was hampered with injury throughout the year. It’s much the same story this season, with Kane out until April with a torn hamstring, stuck on 11 for the term.

Assuming he stays at Spurs and he can avoid any more major injuries in the latter stages of his career – though that’s a very big hypothetical – expect the England captain to move higher up this list of legendary strikers.

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12. Robin van Persie

144 Goals

With a flair for the spectacular – just check out his volley against Charlton – Van Persie became the top-scoring Dutchman in Premier League history off the back of some marvellous goals.

He won the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons, netting 30 for Arsenal in the 2011/12 season and 26 for Manchester United in the subsequent campaign.​

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11. Teddy Sheringham 

146 Goals

As well as being the 11th highest scorer in Premier League history, Sheringham holds the honour of being the competition’s oldest ever goalscorer.

Sheringham, at 40 years and 268 days old, scored for ​West Ham in a 2-1 defeat to Portsmouth at Upton Park on 26 December 2006.​

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10. Les Ferdinand

​149 Goals

Ferdinand played 14 seasons in the Premier League, six of them with Tottenham where he scored 33 goals. His best season came at Newcastle in the 1995/96 season, scoring 25 times.

Ferdinand also bagged the 10,000th goal in Premier League history when he netted for Spurs against Fulham in December 2001.

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9. Michael Owen

150 Goals

At 5’8, Owen was never the most imposing striker on the pitch. But he relied on his pace to win two Golden Boots in his career, to go along with a Player of the Season award in 1998 after scoring 18 goals for his boyhood club Liverpool.

He went on to win the league with Manchester United in 2011, and also played for Newcastle and Stoke.​

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8. Jermain Defoe

162 Goals

Quick trivia: Who has the most Premier League goals in one half in a single game, is tied for the most goals in a single Premier League match, and has the most league goals as a substitute?

Obviously it’s Defoe, who scored five in the first half for Tottenham against Wigan in 2009 as Spurs won 9-1, simultaneously grabbing two records in the process. He also netted 24 goals as a substitute.​

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7. Robbie Fowler

163 Goals

Fowler made his Liverpool debut in 1993, aged 18. He’d go on to play 11 seasons for the Reds, scoring 128 goals in 266 appearances.

He enjoyed his best scoring season during the 1995/96 campaign, when he finished with 28 goals.​

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6. Thierry Henry

175 Goals

When you think of Thierry Henry, you recall the blistering pace and exquisite finishing which saw the Frenchman win four consecutive Golden Boots from 2001 to 2006.

But the Arsenal legend, who won the league twice with the Gunners, also holds the record for the most assists in a season – 20.​

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4. Frank Lampard & Sergio Aguero (Tied)

​177 Goals

Did you know that Lampard holds the record for the most goals scored from outside the box in the Premier League era (41)?

‘Super Frank’ was a master of arriving late into the box and slotting home. He was so efficient in that regard that many considered Lampard a striker who happened to play in midfield, and one can argue that he paved the way for a new generation of attacking midfielders in the league.

Aguero has never scored fewer than 12 goals in the league, surpassing 20 goals in six separate seasons.

Arguably his most famous goal came against QPR in 2012 as the Argentine scored in stoppage time to give Manchester City the title on goal difference. He’s also one of five players to have scored five goals in one Premier League match.

He passed Henry during City’s 6-1 blitz of Villa in January 2020.

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3. Andy Cole

187 Goals

A five-time Premier League champion, Cole was the first player to score 30 goals or a more in a single season.

Cole’s 34 goals in the 1993/94 season came when there were still 22 teams in the league, meaning he had 42 matches to get to that mark, but it doesn’t make it any less impressive. Cole is also one of five players to have scored five goals in a single match.​

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2. Wayne Rooney

208 Goals

One of only two men to breach the 200-goal barrier in the Premier League, Rooney banged in goals on a regular basis for Everton, Manchester United and then Everton again before moving to MLS. Rooney made his senior debut with the Toffees in 2002 when he was just 16, but was sold to Manchester United for £25.6m in 2004.

From 2004 to 2017, Rooney would score 183 league goals, setting the record for most league goals at a single club. Sadly for him, his final tally wasn’t even close to catching the next man..​.

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1. Alan Shearer

260 Goals

That’s because Alan Shearer is 52 – yes, 52 – goals ahead of Rooney. Shearer’s list of records in the Premier League is extensive.

Most goals in a season: 34 (tied with Andy Cole)

Most goals in a single match: 5 (tied with five others)

Most goals scored from inside the box: 227

Most penalties scored: 56

Shearer spent 14 seasons in the league, winning the title with Blackburn in 1995. He retired in 2006 with his hometown club Newcastle as the highest scorer in Premier League history.​

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