The prestigious FIFA World Cup will see its 22nd edition tournament being held on 21st November 2022. With all the 32 teams now decided and tickets almost sold, Qatar is all ready to host this mega event.
It has been 91 years since the inaugural tournament in 1930. Since then the sport has come a long way and we have seen many new players emerge out of the blue and become legends. Although the different variety of formats have seen different players take the crown.
The two mighty players of the current generation Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have built a legacy that we will not forget anytime soon. They have gained success in every format and have seen themselves at the top almost everywhere. But when it comes to the FIFA World Cup these two legends are nowhere to be seen on the leaderboards.
The top 10 players with the most goals in World Cup history mostly belong to the 20th-century football generation. The new generation doesn’t even come close enough to their contribution to the game and their nation.
Great players like Pele and Ronaldo(Brazil) make it to the top 5 of the same table with 14 and 19 goals respectively. Ronaldo(Brazil) sits at the second position in the overall list. Even an esteemed player like Diego Maradona couldn’t make up to the top 20 of the list. He sits in 28th place with 8 goals in 21 matches.
Now the actual question arises: If not these great players, then which player has the most goals in World Cup history?
Which player has the most goals in World Cup history?
The top scorer for the German national football team, Miroslav Klose is also the top scorer in the FIFA World Cup history. He has played 24 World Cup matches and has scored a total of 16 goals with 0.67 goals per game average.
The player in the third place also serves the same nation. Gerd Muller from Germany has scored 14 goals in 13 appearances making him one of the most efficient goalscorers with 1.08 goals per game.
| Players | No. of Goals |
| Miroslav Klose | 16 |
| Ronaldo | 15 |
| Gerd Müller | 14 |
| Just Fontaine | 13 |
| Pele | 12 |
Where do Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi stand on that list?
Cristiano Ronaldo has played in four FIFA World Cups for his country Portugal. In these four tournaments, he appeared in 17 total matches while scoring 7 goals at it. The stats average a 0.41 goals per game and Ronaldo sits at the 30th position on the leaderboards.
However, his arch-rival Lionel Messi who plays for Argentina is seen even further down in the list. He has also played in four editions of the FIFA World Cup. Messi played a total of 19 matches and has scored just 6 goals in those. His stats average 0.32 goals per game. Messi finds himself at the 37th position on the leaderboards.
Read Next:
Top 10 players with the most assists in La Liga history
Top 10 most handsome black footballers of all time featuring Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba
Who is Trent Alexander-Arnold’s girlfriend? Know more about Hannah Atkins
