Cristiano Ronaldo has just netted a goal that places him in third position on football’s all-time leading scorers list, moving ahead of an unsung hero from English soccer who played for Arsenal, Crystal Palace, and Fulham.
The 40-year-old forward scored the 935th goal of his professional career in Al-Nassr’s 4-1 AFC Champions League thrashing of Yokohama FM, which takes him one beyond the official tally set by former Gunners striker Ronnie Rooke.
One statistical organization—the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS)—considers Ronaldo to be soccer’s all-time leading scorer. However, another entity, the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF), employs a distinct approach and ranks him in third place.
Who was Ronnie Rooke?
You might (or might not) recall Rooke’s name being mentioned during Jamie Vardy’s victory in the Premier League Golden Boot season of 2019-20.
Vardy had become the oldest player to end up top scorer in England’s top flight since a 37-year-old Rooke scored 33 league goals for Arsenal all the way back in 1948.
The forward still maintains Arsenal’s record for scoring the most goals during a post-war league season, with that particular tally propelling the team to their initial championship win following the end of World War II. Notably, he netted four times in an impressive 8-0 victory over Grimsby Town on the last matchday.
However, his highly successful two-and-a-half-year tenure at Highbury merely constituted a brief episode in Rooke’s illustrious career. His journey began in 1931 with his local team Guildford City and he proceeded to net goals copiously for clubs like Woking, Crystal Palace, and Fulham prior to joining Arsenal.
Despite departing from Arsenal, he kept performing impressively even as he reached his forties. He went back to play for Crystal Palace and concluded his professional journey near his hometown with spells at Bedford Town, Haywards Heath Town, Addlestone, and a second term with Bedford.
A quick perusal of his Wikipedia displays a breakdown of his league goals, in which he averaged a near goal-a-game average over the course of 30 years – but that total comes to just 400.
But the
RSSSF
includes a full breakdown of his total 934 career goals in 1030 matches in all competitions, from the top flight to non-league.
In addition to Rooke’s 70 goals in 94 appearances for Arsenal, he also tallied an impressive 291 goals during his ten-year tenure at Fulham, along with 101 goals for Bedford Town and numerous others across various clubs.
Who can Ronaldo surpass next?
“Guys, let’s enjoy the moment, the present,” Ronaldo said after scoring a brace in Al-Nassr’s 3-1 victory over Al Hilal in the Riyadh derby last month.
“I’m not following 1,000 [goals]. If it’s yes, perfect. If it’s not, it’s not.”
The veteran had previously made no secret of his ambition to make it to 1000 goals before he hangs up his boots, which is certainly possible amid reports that
a new two-year contract extensio
n
is imminent.
Should Ronaldo reach 1000 goals, he will be acknowledged as the undisputed leading scorer in football history by both the RSSSF and IFFHS.
The next target for Ronaldo is Slavia Prague legend Josef Bican. The former Czechoslovakian international holds the record.
highest number of goals scored in one season
, recorded 950 goals throughout his career according to the RSSSF.
It’s improbable that Ronaldo will break Bican’s record by the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. However, should he maintain his present scoring pace, he could achieve this feat during the following campaign.
The name at the top of the list is relatively unknown German forward Erwin Helmchen, who played between 1924 and 1951 in the pre-professional era, before the formation of the Bundesliga.
According to the RSSSF, Helmchen’s overall goal count stands at 989 from merely 582 appearances, with the bulk of these goals scored during his time at PSV Chemnitz.