From Jimmy Greaves to Kevin Keegan, Gary Lineker to Harry Kane, England has a proud history of producing top-quality goalscorers. And since the advent of the Premier League, a wide variety of world-class foreign forwards have also arrived in the UK and made immense contributions to the football landscape, bagging hundreds of goals in the English top flight and becoming adored by fans across the land.
In this article, we'll be exploring the best-ever forwards to have played in the English top division since the creation of the Premier League. We'll briefly dive into how the league was structured in the first place and who the best EPL forwards are today, before running through a comprehensive list of the top 10 Premier League goalscorers of all time. There are some glorious players in that illustrious club.
When we view statistics and graphics relating to record-breaking runs of form at the highest level of English football, it often solely revolves around the Premier League. Viewed by many as the pinnacle of world football, with the best coaches and the most talented players, the EPL has developed a huge reputation across the globe over the last three decades. But English football existed before the Premier League. The competition was only founded in 1992, over a century on from the birth of professional association football in England. The Premier League is the latest chapter in this story, and it has already marked a huge change in how the beautiful game is played in its country of origin.
The Premier League was founded in 1992 when the member clubs of the First Division (the old English top flight) decided to break away from the English Football League structure that they had previously been operating under. Their argument was that they could generate far more money from being in a new separate top division, rebranded the Premier League, as it meant that they didn't have to share broadcasting revenue with clubs in the divisions below them. Backed by huge clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, the first ever Premier League season took place in 1992/93, and the new format has grown exponentially in the 30 years since. Today, it's the most popular soccer league in the world, broadcast in over 200 countries from Brazil to Nigeria to Australia, and everywhere in between.
As we move into the 2024/25 season, fans will be full of excitement about the prospect of seeing their favourite forwards return to domestic action again after the summer break. The Premier League today is packed with attacking talent, from pacey attack-minded wingers looking to cut in and shoot on goal, to strong centre forwards who cause serious problems for defenders with their physical prowess and hold-up play.
The favourites to win next season's Premier League Golden Boot — the prize given to the league's top scorer each season — represent a variety of different types of player. There are lethal, dominant physical specimens like Darwin Nunez, whose blistering pace, relentless energy and shooting ability make him one of the top forwards in the league, to Manchester City's Erling Haaland, whose super intelligent movement in the box and ice-cold finishing have secured him two consecutive Golden Boot Awards since his arrival in the league in 2022.
But Haaland and most of his cohorts still have a long way to go before they can rival the division's highest-ever scorers. Keep reading for a run-down of the top Premier League goalscorers in the history of the league.
The only player on this list to currently be playing in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah has built himself a reputation as a true Liverpool great since joining the club in 2017. He cost the club a record £36.9m and has undeniably been worth every penny, scoring 157 league goals and 69 assists and playing a pivotal role in the club's ascendancy under Jurgen Klopp. As well as winning the Champions League, the Premier League and multiple domestic cups during his time on Merseyside, Salah has also won a seriously impressive three Golden Boot awards.
Former Spurs, Portsmouth, and Sunderland bagsman Jermain Defoe isn't always discussed in the same conversations as some of the heavy hitters in this list, but his record speaks for itself. Before retiring in 2022, Defoe scored 162 goals in 496 Premier League games, many of these for less glamorous mid-table sides who relied heavily on his prowess in the penalty area. A sharp, speedy striker with clever movement and excellent finishing skills, he provided thousands of fans up and down the country with magical moments during his many years at the top of the English game.
The fact that 1990s Premier League icon Robbie Fowler is nicknamed 'God' by Liverpool supporters tells you all you need to know about his bond with the Anfield faithful. Racking up 163 goals over eight years to become Liverpool's second-highest Premier League goalscorer of all time, Fowler's performances for the Merseyside outfit earned him 26 caps for England and a hero's status in his corner of the UK.
Thierry Henry is considered by many to be the greatest player to ever grace the Premier League, and he's got the stats to back it up, having scored a total of 175 goals in the division and also notched 74 assists (all this in a total of just 258 appearances). Under the guidance of legendary boss and fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger, Henry was a key part of two title-winning teams with Arsenal, and he won a record four Golden Boots during his time with the Gunners. But it wasn't just about goals — Henry's mazy dribbling, his trickery, his lightning pace and his general grace on the pitch means he will long be remembered as a Premier League great by Arsenal fans and neutrals alike.
A box to box midielder in the truest sense of the word, former England star Frank Lampard was a constant presence in the Premier League during the 2000s and early 2010s, his dynamism, physicality, vision and finishing ability making him an unstoppable force for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho. One of the most decorated players in the league's history, he won three titles, a Champions League, a Europa League, four FA Cups and two League Cups during his time at Chelsea, notching a total of 177 league goals, and all from central midfield. Impressive stuff.
Former Argentina international Sergio Aguero gave us arguably the most iconic moment in recent Premier League history, when he burst into the box and fired the ball home against QPR in the dying moments of the 2011/12 season to hand Manchester City their first ever title. It was the most dramatic of title wins, and this moment fired the diminutive striker on to even more glory; in total, he racked up a massive 184 goals during his 11 seasons in the English top flight with City.
Andrew Cole is a striker who perhaps deserves more credit than he often gets. A lethal presence up top for clubs such as Manchester United, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers during the 1990s and 2000s, Cole scored an extraordinary 187 Premier League goals without converting a single one of them from the penalty spot, something that separates him from the vast majority of players on this list. Playing under Sir Alex Ferguson at United, he basked in glory again and again, winning five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League trophy that gave the Red Devils their famous treble at the end of the 1998/99 campaign.
Wayne Rooney was another player who benefited from the brilliance of Ferguson; his long stint at Manchester United was full of trophy wins, including three successive titles from 2006/07 to 2008/09, a Champions League slap bang in the middle of that spell, an FA Cup in 2015/16 plus a huge collection of individuals awards including the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2009/10. He's widely viewed as one of the greatest English players of all time, and his 208 goals kept him second in the Premier League all-time leading goalscorers chart until very recently, when another ice-cold finisher overtook him…
When England captain Harry Kane was banging in goals for Tottenham Hotspur, many thought he was looking in good shape to break the all-time goalscoring record for the Premier League. In total, he has won three Premier League Golden Boot awards and his 30 goals for Spurs in 2022/23 would have been enough to secure a fourth if it weren't for Erling Haaland's prolific start to life in Manchester. However, Kane's move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich last summer put a pause on his goal tally at 213. As he hunts for some silverware in Germany, he remains 48 goals off the top spot; feasibly, he could storm his way to the top in two strong seasons if he does come back to the English top flight, but that remains to be seen.
As long as Harry Kane is in Germany, Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer is at the top of the Premier League all-time leading goalscorers list. And really, his 260 league goals for the Toon, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton will be incredibly difficult for anyone to beat. It's an outstanding record that demonstrates his razor-sharp finishing over a period of well over a decade, with his career arguably peaking with the 1994/95 Premier League title triumph with Blackburn Rovers. The fact that Shearer went on to retire with his boyhood club while racking up a record division goal tally that seems almost impossible to beat will be a source of real pride for the former England No. 9.
If you'd like to find out more about how the Premier League slots into the broader picture of English football, check out our guide to the English football pyramid.