IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer

The IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 2020, and retroactively for the years 2011 to 2019, to the world's top goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

All international goals and all competitive goals for clubs playing in their country's top level division scored from 1 January to 31 December are taken into consideration.

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most wins (5) while Lionel Messi holds the record for most goals in a calendar year (91 in 2012). Robert Lewandowski won the award with the fewest goals (47 in 2020).

Ronaldo (5), Messi (2) and Lewandowski (2) are the only players who have won the award more than once.

Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Al Nassr) is the only player to win the award with multiple clubs. Meanwhile, Al Nassr is the only club with multiple winners (Abderrazak Hamdallah in 2019 & Ronaldo in 2023).

In 2021, the IFFHS awarded the World's Best Goal Scorer of the first and second decade of the 21st century, considering the years 2001 to 2010 and 2011 to 2020.

The World's Best Top Goal Scorer of the First Decade (2001–2010)
The final list includes the 32 players who scored 200 or more goals in top-tier national leagues, national cups, continental and international competitions with both club and national teams in the period of time from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010.

The World's Best Top Goal Scorer of the Second Decade (2011–2020)


The final list includes the 41 players who scored 200 or more goals in top-tier national leagues, national cups, continental and international competitions with both club and national teams in the period of time from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.

The results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 4 January 2021.

All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking

 * Bold indicates players currently active.
 * * indicates player has scored at least 500 goals for a single club.