Ranking the 10 players with the best goal-to-game ratio in football history
Goalscoring aficionados like Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez and Robert Lewandowski are world-class strikers who are quite capable of putting the ball into the back of the net with magical consistency. Their goalscoring ethic has singlehandedly pushed their respective clubs into the finals of major competitions in world football. There are times when these strikers seem virtually unstoppable.
However, many of these brilliant goalscorers can barely mark their names on a particular football statistic: the goal-to-game ratio. This statistic boils all the goalscoring down to one single calculation: how many goals on average has a player scored per game throughout the course of their career?
Romelu Lukaku has a better goals-per-game ratio at the international level than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi 🤯 https://t.co/DlnNZ3m5Zu
After Lionel Messi's sublime debut goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Manchester City in their previous Champions League outing, his goalscoring tally comes to 718 goals in 889 games for both club and country. This amazing achievement is one of the best ever in modern football, only shadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo's 771 goals in 1030 games for both club and country.
As brilliant as Messi's achievements are, his goal-to-game ratio is 0.8 goals per game. This doesn't come close to some of the best goal-to-game ratios in the history of football. Ronaldo's ratio is only slightly lower than Messi's (0.75 goals per game). Though the two sportsmen are the best goalscorers we've seen this century, they can hardly compete with some players in history who averaged over a goal per game.
Ronaldo's goals per game:
Before turning 30: 0.64
Since turning 30: 0.92
🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/NT43PXbWGz
So, who are these players with the best ever goal-to-game ratio in football history? Let's take a look at the top ten, starting with Eusebio, whose 0.9 goals per game only just beat Messi's by a 0.1 difference.
#10 Eusebio: 0.9 goals per game | Benfica, Portugal
Long before Cristiano Ronaldo's appearance in world football, Portugal had a world-class goalscorer in the prolific and enigmatic Eusebio. Given the nickname "Black Panther," he was notable for his skillful style of play, athletic quickness, and pace. But what took Portugal - and the rest of Europe - by storm was Eusebio's capacity to score goals.
The legend scored 41 goals for Portugal in just 64 games and was key in pushing Portugal to a third-placed World Cup finish in 1966. His club record, however, is beyond sublime: 473 goals in 440 games in the 15 seasons he spent playing at Benfica.
If he had finished his career at Benfica, Eusebio would have picked up well over 1 goal per game. However, the legendary Portuguese star eventually left and played for seven more clubs and his goalscoring capacity also reduced with age.
#9 Pele: 0.91 goals per game | Santos, Brazil
Much controversy lies around exactly how many goals Pele has scored, as well as how many games he's played in. Often reported to have 1281 goals in 1363 games, these numbers include unofficial games as well.
According to the Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation, the Brazilian legend officially scored 775 goals in 840 official club games. Adding to his stats for Brazil, Pele has an official 852 goals in 932 games for both club and country.
Known for his exceptional style of play and clinical accuracy in front of goal, Pele is seen as one of the greatest football players in the history of the sport. He singlehandedly drove Brazil to two back-to-back World Cup wins, and a third win later in his career. With numerous individual and team accolades to his name, it's no surprise that Pele is on this list.