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England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Frame’s Ligue 1, and Germany’s Bundesliga are the five biggest leagues in Europe. The top five leagues house the continent's best teams, have a global fanbase and offer astronomical wages to their stars. The path to becoming a global sensation undeniably goes through the highest echelon of European football.
Every goalscorer worth his salt dreams of making it big in the top five European leagues, but thanks to the breakneck competition, only a few manage to stand out. Today, we will take a look at five goalscorers who have cemented their names in history by scoring for fun in the most competitive league and cup competitions in Europe.
Below are the five players who have scored the most goals in the history of the top five European leagues:
Special note: Stats from domestic leagues as well as all cup competitions (domestic and continental) have been taken into account.
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic — 391 goals
One of the most colorful personalities in football, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played for not one, not two, but six teams belonging to the top five European leagues. The Swede, who is currently recovering from knee surgery, has scored 391 goals and claimed 170 assists in 647 games.
Juventus were the first team belonging to the top five European leagues that Ibrahimovic played for. Between 2004 and 2006, he played 92 games for them, scoring 26 goals and providing 21 assists. A three-season stint at Inter Milan followed, during which he scored 66 goals and provided 30 assists in 117 games.
Temporarily closing his chapter in Italy, Ibrahimovic moved to Barcelona in 2009. He spent a year there, scoring 22 goals and providing 13 assists in 46 matches across competitions.
Ibrahimovic spent five years at AC Milan over two spells (2010–2012; 2019–2022), scoring 92 times and providing 35 assists in 159 games. In the interval between two Milan spells, he spent four seasons at Paris Saint-Germain followed by two more at Manchester United.
At PSG, he scored 156 goals and provided 61 assists in 180 games (2012–2016), while at United, he scored 29 goals and provided 10 assists in 53 games (2016–2018).
Ibrahimovic has thus far won five Serie A titles (three Inter, two Milan), one La Liga title, four Ligue 1 titles, and a Europa League trophy (United) in his illustrious career.
#4 Karim Benzema — 402 goals
Real Madrid skipper Karim Benzema has scored 402 goals in the top five European leagues so far in his career. Before making it big at Real Madrid, Benzema enjoyed a breakout spell at Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyon.
Lyon graduate Benzema spent four seasons with the senior team between 2005 and 2009, scoring 66 times and claiming 27 assists in 148 games across competitions. In 2009, Real Madrid lapped up the Frenchman, paying €35 million for his services. Since the switch, Benzema has established himself as an icon in Real Madrid's history.
Playing 626 games, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner has scored 336 goals and provided 162 assists, winning five Champions League trophies and four La Liga titles amongst other honors.
#3 Robert Lewandowski — 470 goals
Robert Lewandowski, who has scored an impressive 470 goals in 587 games across the top five European leagues, is one of the most efficient goalscorers in the world. His average of 0.8 goals per game is even better than Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Lionel Messi’s return.
The Poland international first grabbed eyeballs during his four-year spell with Borussia Dortmund. He scored 103 goals and provided 42 assists in 183 appearances across competitions, winning two Bundesliga titles with them. In 2014, he moved to Bayern Munich and spent eight wildly successful seasons there.
Lewandowski scored 344 goals and provided 72 assists in 375 games for the Bavarians, winning the Champions League once and eight consecutive Bundesliga titles.
Joining Barcelona last summer, Lewandowski has already emerged as their most impactful player. He has featured in 25 games for the Blaugrana in all competitions, scoring 23 times and providing five assists.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo — 696 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the second-highest goalscorer in the history of the top five European leagues, with the Portuguese accumulating 696 goals in 918 games across competitions.
Cristiano Ronaldo has played for some of the most respected teams in Europe. He started at Manchester United, became a goal machine at Real Madrid, and eventually rocked Italian football with Juventus. Over two spells at United, Ronaldo scored 145 goals and provided 64 assists in 346 games across competitions. He won three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy at United.
He moved to Real Madrid in 2009 and enjoyed nine trophy-laden years there. He scored a stunning 450 goals and provided 131 assists in 438 games in all competitions, winning four Champions League trophies and two La Liga titles. Then came the three-year spell at Juventus, during which he scored 101 goals and provided 22 assists in 134 games, winning Serie A twice.
Currently plying his trade at Al-Nassr, Ronaldo is searching for his first competitive goal in Saudi Arabia.
#1 Lionel Messi — 697 goals
Legendary goalscorer and visionary playmaker Lionel Messi recently claimed another astonishing record. Scoring in PSG’s 3-1 win over Montpellier on February 1, Messi took his continental goal tally to 697 in 835 games, becoming the all-time top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues. In addition to scoring a staggering 697 goals, Messi has also claimed a whopping 333 assists across all competitions in Europe.
Before joining PSG as a free agent in the summer of 2021, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner served Barcelona’s senior team for 17 long years. He scored 672 goals and provided 303 assists for them in 778 games across competitions, winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies, amongst other honors.
At PSG, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has thus far taken part in 57 games across competitions, scoring 25 times and providing 29 assists.
