Ranking the 5 highest-scoring defenders in the 21st century

#3 John Terry - 41 goals

John Terry was the assistant coach at Aston Villa for three seasons.

John Terry is one of the most decorated English defenders of his generation, winning 17 titles with Chelsea. While he is widely remembered for his no-nonsense defending and aerial abilities, his leadership skills were his greatest strength as a player.

He scored at least once in his last 17 seasons at Chelsea, and also has six goals with the England national team. He featured in all 38 Premier League games in the 2014-15 campaign, scoring five goals and captaining the Blues to the league title.

It was his second-best attacking output in a single campaign. He scored a career-best six goals in the 2011-12 season.

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#2 Naldo - 46 goals

Naldo has taken up the assistant coach position at Schalke FC.

Naldo is probably a lesser-known name on our list, but he is a familiar name for devout Bundesliga fans. He spent 14 years in the German top flight. with three clubs.

The Brazilian, like most central defenders, possessed good strength and aerial ability. Standing at 1.98 meters, he was a menace in the box from set-pieces, and he also possessed the ability to score from direct free kicks.

He holds the record for most appearances in the Bundesliga by a Brazilian player (358). In those games, he scored 21 headed goals. Though roughly half of his goals were headers, his most memorable strike has to be the stunning right-footed screamer against Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr Derby.

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#1 Sergio Ramos - 75 goals

Sergio Ramos is one of the most successful defenders of all time.

Sergio Ramos is in a league of his own when it comes to goals. He is comfortably the highest-scoring defender of the century, with more goals expected from the Spaniard.

Though it took him roughly 207 days to open his account with his new club PSG, he has struggled with injuries recently. With his strike against Reims in Ligue 1, he has now found the back of the net in each of the last 17 seasons.

Ramos enjoyed a record-breaking 2019-20 campaign, scoring 11 goals (most by a defender in a La Liga campaign). Most of the strikes were crucial in the club's title run, as Madrid finished five points ahead of Barcelona.

With 23 goals, he is the eighth-highest goalscorer for Spain, alongside Alvaro Morata and the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano.