THE BEST STRIKERS IN FOOTBALL HISTORY

 Strikers are arguably the most valuable players in a side. They win games with their goals and can instantly turn a contest on its head, which is one of the many reasons why they are the most sought-after players in football.

From towering aerial artists to scrappy workaholics, the game's greatest strikers have taken on every shape and size. To avoid simply ranking the top goalscorers of all time, this list has been created using key criteria, including an important factor; their primary position was a striker.

For this reason, the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not included due to playing more games in a different position. Out of the 20 players to feature on this list, only three are currently playing now, with one of them being Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski who continues to defy his age by scoring a bucketload of goals in La Liga and the Champions League. Here are the best players to have ever lined up through the middle.

Ranking factors

• Number of goals scored
• Number of trophies won
• Personal achievements e.g. Ballon d'Or
• Striker as their primary position

The Greatest Strikers in Football History (Club stats only)
Rank	Name	Teams	Trophies	Appearances	Goals
1	Pele	Santos, New York Cosmos, Brazil	14	858	786
2	Ferenc Puskas	Budapest Honved, Real Madrid Hungary, Spain	16	718	709
3	Gerd Muller	1861 Nordlingen, Bayern Munich, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, West Germany	15	778	722
4	Romario	Vasco de Gama, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Flamengo, Valencia, Fluminense, Al Sadd, Miami FC, Adelaide United, America RJ, Brazil	12	886	745
5	Eusebio	Sporting Lourenco Marques, Benfica, Boston Minutemen, Monterrey, Toronto Metros-Croatia, Beira-Mar, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, Uniao de Tomar, New Jersey Americans, Buffalo Stallions, Portugal	17	641	623
6	Alfredo Di Stefano	River Plate, Huracan, Millonarios, Real Madrid, Espanyol, Spain, Argentina	22	706	509
7	Ronaldo	Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Corinthians, Brazil	18	616	414
8	Thierry Henry	Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona, New York Red Bulls, France	20	936	417
9	Jimmy Greaves	Chelsea, AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Brentford, Chelmsford City, Barnet, Woodford Town, England	7	764	513
10	Wayne Rooney	Everton, Manchester United, Derby County, DC United	16	884	366
11	Marco van Basten	Ajax, AC Milan, Netherlands	19	437	304
12	Gabriel Batistuta	Newell's Old Boys, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Fiorentina, Roma, Inter Milan, Al-Arabi	10	527	300
13	Robert Lewandowski	Delta Warsaw, Legia Warsaw, Znicz Pruszkow, Lech Poznan, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Poland	30	800	596
14	Alan Shearer	Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, England	3	704	363
15	Luis Suarez	Nacional, Groningen, Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Gremio, Inter Miami	25	805	496
16	Fernando Peyroteo	Sporting CP	11	369	598
17	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	Malmo FF, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, LA Galaxy	32	827	496
18	Karim Benzema	Lyon, Real Madrid, Al-Ittihad	33	840	447
19	Sandor Kocsis	Kobanyai, Ferencvaros, Honved, Young Fellows Zurich, Barcelona	11	538	556
20	Dixie Dean	Tranmere Rovers, Everton, Notts County, Sligo Rovers, Hurst	8	612	568

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