Premier League all-time top 10 goalscorers: Mohamed Salah closing in on top spot

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Here is a countdown of the top 10 goalscorers in Premier League history, with legends from Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal all featuring prominently on the list.

The Premier League has been blessed with some of the most deadly finishers in the world since its first season in 1992/93.

From Brian Deane’s first goal in Premier League history to the end of the 2024/25 season, a total of 29,917 goals have been scored across 29 seasons.

While Erling Haaland of Manchester City holds the current record for most goals in a season with 36, he does not yet feature in the all-time top 10 goalscorers in the competition’s history.

As Mohamed Salah looks to close the gap on first place with Liverpool in the 2025/26 season, here are the top 10 goalscorers in the history of the Premier League.

10. Jermain Defoe

• Premier League Appearances – 496
• Premier League Goals – 162

Former England striker Jermain Defoe is 10th on the list of the leading goalscorers in the history of the Premier League, having plundered 162 goals in 496 appearances.

Defoe broke into the Premier League with West Ham, making his debut in the 2000/01 season and becoming a regular the following year, scoring 10 goals in 35 games.

He left for his first spell at Tottenham in the 03/04 season but struggled to find his best form, scoring 61 goals in 212 Premier League appearances. A move to Portsmouth in 2007 rekindled his career, scoring 20 goals in 50 games and playing a crucial role in their 2008 FA Cup triumph.

He returned to Spurs, scoring 48 goals in 137 games to establish himself as a firm fan favourite, before enjoying a prolific spell at Sunderland, scoring 34 goals in 87 Premier League appearances. Defoe added four more goals in a final spell at Bournemouth to claim his place in the history of the competition.

9. Robbie Fowler

• Premier League Appearances: 379
• Premier League Goals: 163

Robbie Fowler, or God as the Liverpool fans nicknamed him, was one of the brightest talents in the early years of the Premier League.

Emerging at a time when Liverpool fans were searching for a new hero after their golden period of success came to an end, Fowler was a member of the “Spice Boys”, the nickname given to the next generation of homegrown talent at the club.

Fowler was one of the most gifted finishers the Premier League has ever seen, as evidenced by his brilliant hat-trick against Arsenal in 1994, which was the fastest in the history of the competition at the time. His best year came in 95/96, when he scored 28 league goals in 38 games.

However, injuries slowed his progress, and Fowler’s returns diminished across spells with Leeds United and Manchester City. But he enjoyed a brief return to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season, before spells with Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers preceded a move to Australia.

The Kop legend ended his career with 163 goals in 379 appearances and a lingering sense of what could have been, had he sustained his dazzling early career form.

8. Thierry Henry

• Premier League Appearances: 258
• Premier League Goals: 175

No Arsenal fan truly knew what to expect when the club announced the signing of Thierry Henry in 1999. He joined from Juventus after one season in Serie A, where he scored just three goals in 16 games.

What they got was a new club legend who changed the mould of the Premier League striker. Henry scored an incredible 174 goals in 254 games in his first spell with the club as the Gunners consistently challenged for titles under Arsene Wenger.

Henry’s Premier League goals are a veritable highlights reel, arguably peaking with his incredible flick and volley on the half-turn against Manchester United in 2000.

He added one Premier League goal in an emotional return to the club on loan in the 2011/12 season, which is best remembered for his comeback goal against Leeds in the FA Cup. He remains a true Premier League legend.

7. Frank Lampard

• Premier League Appearances: 609
• Premier League Goals: 177

The out-and-out midfielder on the list, Frank Lampard, is a Chelsea legend who helped transform the club into serial title winners in the mid-2000s.

Lampard joined Chelsea in 2001, having established a reputation as one of the most talented midfielders in England at West Ham, where he scored 24 goals in 150 games.

He won three Premier League titles with Chelsea and helped himself to 147 goals in 429 Premier League appearances, with his trademark runs into the box from midfield before returning to the club for two spells as a manager.

However, Lampard’s final Premier League stint came with Manchester City, as he returned to the Premier League for a season-long loan from their sister club, New York City. He scored against Chelsea before adding his 177th Premier League goal in his final appearance for the club.

6. Sergio Aguero

• Premier League Appearances: 275
• Premier League Goals: 184

Few players have changed the course of their club’s history like Sergio Aguero, as his 23rd and final goal of his first Premier League season secured the title in the most dramatic way.

In hindsight, the £38 million transfer fee that Roberto Mancini sanctioned to bring Aguero to the Etihad is a bargain, as the Argentinian international consistently delivered during his time with the club.

Aguero passed the golden 20-goal mark in a season on six occasions for the Citizens, with his most prolific season being the 2014/15 season when he scored 26 goals.

Aguero ended his stay with City in the 2020/21 season with four goals in 12 games, before ending his career with Barcelona. However, he ended his time in the Premier League as it began, lifting the title after another season of triumph.

5. Mohamed Salah

• Premier League Appearances: 304
• Premier League Goals: 187

As the only active player in the top 10, Mohamed Salah has the opportunity to climb the ranking as Liverpool look to defend their Premier League title in the 2025/26 season.

Salah’s Premier League career appeared likely to have a different ending in 2015, when he left Chelsea after managing just two goals in 13 appearances in his first taste of the competition.

But Salah came roaring back following his move to Anfield as he reached new heights, first under Jurgen Klopp, and subsequently under Arne Slot.

Salah scored 32 goals in his first season with the Reds, and has passed 20 goals on four occasions subsequently, including 29 goals in Liverpool’s most recent title-winning campaign.

Having signed a new two-year deal to remain with the club, Salah has the chance to climb the all-time goalscoring charts even further, as he sits just one place behind the next name on the list.

4. Andrew Cole

• Premier League Appearances: 414
• Premier League Goals: 187

Arguably the most underrated name on the list, Andrew Cole was a prolific force in the early years of the Premier League and throughout the 1990s.

Cole scored an incredible 34 goals in 40 appearances in his first Premier League season at Newcastle United, which earned him a career-defining move to Old Trafford, where he would form a crucial part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering side.

The prolific forward scored 93 goals in 195 games at Man Utd, and his instinctive partnership with Dwight Yorke was at the heart of their treble-winning success in 1999.

After leaving the Red Devils, Cole enjoyed spells with Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Man City and Portsmouth before finally ending his Premier League career with Sunderland with a total of 187 Premier League goals.

3. Wayne Rooney

• Premier League Appearances: 491
• Premier League Goals: 208

“Ladies and gentlemen, introducing 16-year-old Wayne Rooney”.

Clive Tyldsley shouted these immortal words when Wayne Rooney scored his first Premier League goal, a wonder strike from distance to claim a famous Everton win over Arsenal.

Rooney blazed onto the scene as a prodigiously talented teenager with Everton, scoring 15 goals in 67 games, but he wrote his name into history with Manchester United as he helped the club enter another period of dominance.

After joining United in the 2004/05 season, Rooney became one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League, scoring 183 goals in 393 Premier League appearances. His forward partnership with Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest the league has ever seen.

After drifting into a deeper-lying role at the end of his career, Rooney’s goals tapered off at the end of his time with United, and he returned to Everton, scoring 10 goals in his final Premier League season.

But at his best, no striker played like Rooney, as he brought the joy of street football to the very top level.

2. Harry Kane

• Premier League Appearances: 320
• Premier League Goals: 213

Although Salah is the only active Premier League player on the list, Harry Kane could still take the top spot if he ever returns to the English top flight.

Kane looked to be a shoo-in to take the record for most Premier League goals as he became a deadly force with Tottenham Hotspur.

The future England number nine enjoyed a nomadic start to his career, as he spent time away from Spurs on a succession of loan deals. However, his 21 goals in the 2014/15 season saw him stake a permanent claim to a starting role.

Kane passed 20 goals in a season on six occasions, with his final season at the club matching his most prolific in 2017/18 with 30 goals.

A high-profile switch to Bayern Munich paused his hopes of breaking the all-time scoring record. But, at 32 years old, he could still return for one final assault on the summit.

1. Alan Shearer

• Premier League Appearances: 441
• Premier League Goals: 260

For fans of a certain age, if you ask them to imagine a Premier League striker, Alan Shearer will immediately come to mind.

His one-armed celebration is one of the defining images of the opening decade of the Premier League, as Shearer terrorised defenders across the country.

Having started out at Southampton, before moving to Blackburn Rovers and winning the Premier League, Shearer finally secured his move back to his hometown club, Newcastle United, for a British record fee of £18 million.

Shearer was a deadly finisher in the box and also capable of scoring rasping long-range efforts. He evolved his game after a serious knee injury and was a key part of Newcastle’s resurgence in the early 00s under Sir Bobby Robson.

With 260 Premier League goals, Shearer’s record has stood the test of time. With Salah still 76 goals behind and Kane in Munich, his record appears to be secure for some time yet.

Goalscoring records taken from data on Premierleague.com.