Goal-scoring is the toughest job in football. Players train day in and day out just to make a difference in the score sheet. The goals scored at the international level carries a great amount of significance. Let us look at the list of the top 10 highest international goalscorers in football history

Top 10 highest international goalscorers:

1. Ali Daei (109)

The Iranian is the top scorer at the international level with 109 goals. He debuted for the Iran national team in 1993. Ali made 149 appearances for his national team with an average of 0.73 goals per match. His last cap for Iran was in 21st June 2006.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (103)

One of the modern-day greats features at no. 2 in this list. The Portuguese superstar has scored 103 goals in 174 appearances for his National team. He is also the most capped player in Portugal's history with an average of 0.59 goals. Cristiano earned his first cap for Portugal in 2003 when he was just 18 years old. His last cap was as recent as 4th June. The 36-year old aims to end his career on the top of this list. He just needs 7 goals to outscore the Iranian. With Euro and World cup just around the corner, the milestone is in touching distance of the Portuguese.

3. Mokhtar Dahari (89)

At no. 3 in this list features the Malaysian international Mokhtar Dahari with 89 goals. He played at the international level from 1972 to 1985. During these 13 years, Dahari made 142 appearances for his national team and scored an average of 0.62 goals per match.

4. Ferenc Puskás (84)

The Hungarian international is next on the list with 84 goals. He was part of the Hungarian international team for 11 years from 1945 to 1956. Puskás was a prolific striker with an incredible goalscoring average of 0.99. He scored 84 goals in just 85 appearances which boosted his average. The FIFA award for the most beautiful goal of the year is named in his honour (FIFA Puskás Award).

5. Godfrey Chitalu (79)

At no. 5 in this list is Godfrey Chitalu, the Zambian international with 79 goals. He is widely regarded as the greatest Zambian player of all time. The Zambian forward was part of the national team for 12 years (1968-80) and made 111 appearances for them. He averaged 0.71 goals per match.

6. Hussein Saeed (78)

The Iraqi international has scored 78 goals in 137 appearances for his national team. He played at the international level for 14 years from 1976-90. He had an average goalscoring figure of 0.57 per match.

7. Pelé (77)

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pelé is a Brazilian former professional who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA. He is the all-time highest goal scorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games with an average of 0.84 goals per game. Pelé is also the only player to win three World cups in the history of the game.

8. Kunishige Kamamoto (75)

The Japanese international played for his national team for 13 years from 1964-77. In this time he made 76 appearances and scored 75 goals. He has an unthinkable goal scoring average of 0.99 per game.

9. Bashar Abdullah (75)

The Kuwaiti footballer features at no. 9 in the list of highest international goalscorers. He is behind Kunishige Kamamoto because of goal scoring average per game and appearances. Bashar made 134 appearances and scored 75 goals. He had a goalscoring average of 0.56. He represented the Kuwait national team for 22 years from 1996 to 2018.

10. Sunil Chhetri (74)

The Indian legend has recently surpassed Leo Messi to be the 2nd highest active international goalscorer in the world. Sunil Chhetri has carried the Indian National football team on his back for quite a long time now. He has scored 74 goals in 117* appearances for the blues till now. He debut for India in 2005 and his recent cap for India was on 7th june where he scored a Brace in the World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh.

Also Read: Sunil Chhetri Shines as India defeat Bangladesh 2-0

Players in Bold are still active at International Level.
The data is accurate as of 8th June 2021.

Over the years, many footballers have accumulated huge numbers of goals and assists in every season, putting up all-round performances for both their club and country.

The all-time football greats such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are always present in almost every football stats like these, proving the sheer dominance they created over the years. 

However, there are many former players as well, who have racked up plenty of goals and assists to lead their respective teams to coveted success, but we often miss their names. 

Sportz Point attempts to delve into football facts which include the world-class footballers who accumulated the most goal contributions in a single season since the year 2000.

Most Goal Contributions in a single season since 2000

10. Roy Makaay | 51 in 2004-05 

Former Dutch international Roy Makaay registered 51 goal contributions in 48 matches for his club and country in the 2004-05 season.

Makaay, who was Bayern Munich's one of the most crucial players that season, scored 34 goals and delivered 17 assists to top the charts.

• Total G+A: 51
• Season: 2004-05
• Club: Bayern Munich
• Matches: 48
• Goals: 34
• Assists: 17

9. Thierry Henry | 56 in 2002-03

Hailed as one of the greatest goalscorers ever in football, Thierry Henry made 56 goal contributions in the 2002-03 season while playing for Arsenal.

The French striker netted 32 goals and provided 24 assists in 55 appearances across the season. Henry went on to prove himself as one of the most important puzzle pieces for Arsenal's golden period.

Interestingly, Henry made 20 assists in the Premier League that season, which is by far the highest number of assists provided in a single PL season, being the first player ever to register 20 assists.

• Total G+A: 56
• Season: 2002-03
• Club: Arsenal
• Matches: 55
• Goals: 32
• Assists: 24

8. Henrik Larsson | 61 in 2003-04

Henrik Larsson brought himself into contention with elite footballers in the 2003-04 season, when he accumulated 61 goal contributions for the Scottish side Celtic FC.

Larsson, the former Swedish international put up 41 goals and made 20 assists in 58 appearances across all competitions that season.

• Total G+A: 61
• Season: 2003-04
• Club: Celtic
• Matches: 58
• Goals: 41
• Assists: 20

7. Erling Haaland | 61 in 2022-23

Erling Haaland is currently one of the most feared strikers in world football. In a blockbuster move, the Norwegian forward signed for Manchester City ahead in the summer of 2022. 

Proving his worth, Haaland fired 52 goals and provided 9 assists in 53 appearances across competitions that season. The current City marksman also won the 2022-23 UEFA Best Footballer award for his monstrous performance.

• Total G+A: 61
• Season: 2022-23
• Club: Manchester City
• Matches: 53
• Goals: 52
• Assists: 9

6. Jardel | 63 in 2001-02

Mário de Jardel Almeida Ribeiro, who was commonly referred to as Jardel, cracked the headlines for making 63 goal contributions in 41 matches while playing for the Portuguese side Sporting CP.

The former Brazilian striker netted 55 goals and delivered 8 assists that season. Jardel also won the Portuguese Footballer of the Year award in 2002, despite being a foreign footballer.

• Total G+A: 63
• Season: 2001-02
• Club: Sporting CP
• Matches: 41
• Goals: 55
• Assists: 8

5. Kylian Mbappe | 64 in 2021-22

Kylian Mbappe shone like a diamond even after playing with stalwarts such as Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. at Paris Saint-Germain in the 2021-22 season.

The French superstar accumulated 64 goal contributions in 46 games that season, studded with 39 goals and 25 assists across all competitions.

• Total G+A: 64
• Season: 2021-22
• Club: Paris Saint-Germain
• Matches: 46
• Goals: 39
• Assists: 25

4. Robert Lewandowski | 65 in 2019-20

Robert Lewandowski was indeed a cheat-code for Bayern Munich in their historic sextuple-winning 2019-20 season.

Despite playing in the COVID-affected season, the Polish striker accumulated 65 goal contributions for the German side, netting 55 goals along with 10 assists in 47 appearances.

• Total G+A: 65
• Season: 2019-20
• Club: Bayern Munich
• Matches: 47
• Goals: 55
• Assists: 10

3. Cristiano Ronaldo | 68 in 2013-14

Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly the greatest goalscorer who ever donned the shirt for Real Madrid, whereas he is also considered the Greatest of all-time by many.

The Portuguese sensation racked up a staggering 68 goal contributions for Los Blancos in the 2013-14 season. Ronaldo netted 51 goals and provided 17 assists in 47 games.

• Total G+A: 68
• Season: 2013-14
• Club: Real Madrid
• Matches: 47
• Goals: 51
• Assists: 17

2. Luis Suarez | 83 in 2015-16

Luis Suarez registered a huge tally of 83 goal contributions in the 2015-16 season, while playing for FC Barcelona.

The former Uruguay international is one of the greatest footballers to ever don the Blaugrana shirt. In 2015-16, Suarez fired an outstanding 59 goals and also provided 24 assists in 53 appearances.

• Total G+A: 83
• Season: 2015-16
• Club: FC Barcelona
• Matches: 53
• Goals: 59
• Assists: 24

1. Lionel Messi | 105 in 2011-12

Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer ever, reached an inhuman number of goal contributions while playing for FC Barcelona in the 2011-12 season.

The Argentine legend registered 105 goal contributions, studded with an unbelievable 73 goals while also delivering 32 assists in 60 appearances.

• Total G+A: 105
• Season: 2011-12
• Club: FC Barcelona
• Matches: 60
• Goals: 73
• Assists: 32

Many great players have taken the football pitch and left the fans in awe. However, only a few players have gone on to win various trophies in their careers. In this special article, we will take a look at an elite list of players who have won the most trophies in football as a player. 

Argentine football star Lionel Messi is the player with most trophies in football history. In his career so far, with club and country, he has won 46 major trophies. Moreover, he is one of the very few players to win FIFA World Cup. Ballon d'Or, and UEFA Champions League in his career. 

But, yes, the below list only counts the major trophies won with teams and only only individual awards. We wanted to be clear with that at the start. With this list of "11 players who have won the most trophies in football history," we will able to judge which player has been a part of a winning team mostly. 

Though, it is not always the case that when you win a trophy, you have a big role to play in that. But, in this list, all the players listed always had big contributions to their team's success. So, without further a due, let's checkout the list. 

Top 11 players with the most trophies in football:

11. Vitor Baia (34 trophies)

Vitor Baia spent most of his career with FC Porto except playing two years for Barcelona. Baia started his career with FC Porto in 1988 and left the club to join Barcelona in 1996. 

Before retiring in 2007, he played for Barcelona in two stints and won the La Liga in 1997-98 season. His most success came his boyhood club FC Porto, where he won the Liga Portugal 10 times.

However, the biggest achievement was to win the UEFA Champions League in 2004 with the Dragons. Under the visionary eyes of Jose Mourinho, they created one of the greatest underdog success stories in European football.

In a total, Baia won 25 trophies with the Porto while adding the rest to his collection of glories for Barcelona. Unfortunately, he was not able to add any trophy while playing for Portugal.

10. Kenny Dalglish (34 trophies)

Scottish legend Sir Kenny Dalglish is Liverpool's one of the most legendary players. Apart from playing 13 years for the Reds, he played for Celtic for 8 years at the start of his career.

For Liverpool FC, he won a club record 8 Premier League titles along with three Champions League titles. He had won 7 English Super Cups and 2 FA Cup titles as well.

While playing for Celtic, he became the Scottish Champion four times.

9. Angel di Maria (35 trophies)

One of the most underrated players in modern football history, Di Maria always had to shine under the shadows of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Di Maria played alongside Lionel Messi for Argentina and then shared club dressing room with Cristiano at Real Madrid.

With his latest trophy for Benfica in the Portuguese Super Cup, he now has won 35 trophies in his career. Di Maria won five Ligue 1 titles with PSG and won his only Champions League title with Real Madrid.

Read Also | Football facts: 10 players who have played most games with Lionel Messi

However, just like Lionel Messi, his international success bloomed late in his career. He won the Copa America twice in 2021 and 2024. But, his major success was to win the FIFA World Cup 2022, where he scored an important in the final.

Di Maria retired from international football after the 2024 Copa America final.

8. Cristiano Ronaldo (35 trophies)

Arguably one of the greatest players in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo has 35 trophies in his cabinet at the moment. The Portuguese legend won his latest trophy for Al-Nassr FC as he helped them win the United Arab Club Champions Cup 2023.

Ronaldo, who started his club career with Sporting CP, won the Portuguese Super Cup with the club in 2003. That was the start to a historical career which gave football fans joy for over two decades.

Read Also: Top 10: Most Free-kick Goals In Football History (Updated)

The Portuguese legend flourished under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He then joined Real Madrid where he won four of his five UEFA Champions League titles. Ronaldo has won a title for every club he has played for so far.

However, one of his biggest achievements as a player was to win the UEFA Euro Cup with Portugal in 2016. Beside scoring over 900 career goals, Ronaldo's success for every team is what makes him a legend.

7. Ryan Giggs (37 trophies)

Ryan Giggs played all his life for one football club; Manchester United. In his 24-year career at the club, he won a total of 37 trophies, a record for the club.

Not only that, with 13 Premier League titles, he is league's most successful player ever. With the Red Devils, he also went on to win two UEFA Champions League title.

For United, he played 963 games and has 168 goals and 265 assists, another record for United.

6. Sergio Busquets (38 Trophies)

Sergio Busquets, the FC Barcelona and Spain legend is one of the most underrated players ever to play. The central defender was part of one of the greatest international team which won 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2010 Euros for Spain.

Read Also: Barcelona team that won "EVERYTHING" in 2009: Busquets to leave as the last man of that team

The former Barcelona captain won 9 La Liga titles. Not only that, he won 7 Spanish Cups and Spanish Super Cups as well for the Catalan club.

However, his biggest achievement in club football was to win three UCL titles for Barcelona. His latest trophy is the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners with Inter Miami CF.

5. Maxwell (38 trophies)

Maxwell, the Brazilian left back might be the only unknown player on this list. The defender achieved most of his success playing for PSG in France.

However, he found success with FC Barcelona as well. But, joined PSG to find more chances as well.

Maxwell's first trophy was with Cruzeiro, winning the Brazilian Cup in 2000. Soon the joined Ajax, wining two Dutch League titles.

His move to Barcelona via Inter Milan and FC Empoli saw him winning the UEFA Champions League title in 2011. But his most success came with PSG, winning the Ligue 1 four times in a row from 2013 to 2016.

Read Also: Messi vs Ronaldo: The hat-trick battle

4. Gerard Pique (39 trophies)

Another player from that legendary Spanish and Barcelona team, who features in this list. Although known for his career at FC Barcelona, Gerard Pique had success with Manchester United as well.

It might be quite revealing for many that, he played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, against whom he had some tough battles later.

Read Also | Reliving Barcelona's Golden Era: A Tribute to Footballing Brilliance

Pique won 9 La Liga titles for Barcelona to go with 3 UCL titles for the club. But before reaching there he had won the Premier League and Champions League for United in the 2007-08 season.

He was also an integral part of the Spanish team which won the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and UEFA Euro in 2012.

3. Andres Iniesta (39 trophies)

Probably the best midfielder of the modern era, Andres Iniesta with 41 trophies is the third most successful footballer ever.

Another important player of that iconic Spanish and Barcelona team, Iniesta found success early in his career. He won his first major trophy with Spain U-17 team winning the U-17 Euros in 2000. He followed that up with the U-19 Euro title next year.

His Barcelona career started in 2002 which continued till 2018. In those 17 year at Barcelona, he won 32 trophies. Post that, he joined Japanese club Viseel Kobe where he won three trophies as well.

Read Also | Andres Iniesta: Who has won the most trophies for FC Barcelona?

Along with all club level success, Iniesta's greatest achievement was to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup alongside lifting the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cup. His goal in the 2010 World Cup final to hand Spain their first-ever World Cup, is regarded as one of the greatest World Cup moments.

Iniesta called it a day in 2024 after spending a year at the Emirates Club. 

2. Dani Alves (43 trophies)

Before Lionel Messi took over as the player with most trophies in football history, it was Dani Alves who had the record. The defender won 23 trophies in eight years at Barcelona.

Dani Alves won six La Liga and three Champions League titles with Barcelona. He then won 19 more titles while playing for Juventus, PSG, and Sao Paulo. He won domestic titles in Italy, France, Brazil and Spain as, which makes him one of the greatest of his era.

Read Also: All the FIFA World Cup winners and runners-up since 1930

The defender won six major titles with his national team, Brazil. He started his Brazil career by winning the U-20 FIFA World Cup in 2003. Alves then won two Copa America titles in 2007 and 2019. He concluded his international career by winning the Olympic gold in 2021.

Despite the recent off-field controversies, with 43 trophies in his cabinet, Dani Alves is one of the greatest ever to play the game.

1. Lionel Messi (46 trophies)

Leo Messi is the player with the most trophies in football history. With his latest triumph at the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners, the magician from Argentina won his 46th trophy in his career.

Messi won back-to-back four international trophies with Argentina within three years. He won the Copa America 2021 and then went on to win the Finalissima 2022. Then he capped off his greatest achievement by winning FIFA World Cup 2022.

The Argentine maestro has also won the Olympic Gold Medal with his country in 2008. His latest international success came in Copa America 2024.

In club football history, Messi is the most successful player with 41 club trophies to his name. He started his career with his boyhood club Barcelona and played 18 seasons for the club, scoring a record 672 goals.

Read Also | Top 10 La Masia Graduates who ruled football

The 8-time Ballon d'Or winner won four Champions League titles with Barcelona. Alongside European success, he won 10 La Liga titles as well, most for Barcelona. He has also won Spanish Cup seven times.

After his great stint at Barcelona, Messi went to the French League to play for PSG. However, he was unable to bring the UCL to the French giant, he won the French League with them. In addition, he won the French Super Cup for the season 2022-23 with PSG.

Football, the biggest and most watched sport in the world has given us an enormous amount of iconic moments to live for. From the era of Pele and Maradona to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and now Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, football stars have been able to create moments on and off the field which will stay with the fans for their lifetime. In our special football facts article, we look into some of those iconic football moments till now. 

Maradona's "Hand of God" 

If you talk about iconic football moments, this has to be one of the most iconic and controversial moments in football history. The Argentine maestro Diego Maradona used his hand to score a goal in the all-important quarter-final match against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Azteca in Mexico. 

In the sixth minute of the game, a long ball by English midfielder Steve Hodge came towards the English goal and Maradona, the lone Argentine player inside the box jumped in the air to get the ball. While jumping in the air, Maradona had his left arm outstretched and the fist close to his head. English goalkeeper Peter Shilton also jumped in the air to get the ball. 

But the ball hit Maradona's fist and went straight into the goal to give Argentina the 1-0 and eventually won the match by 2-1. Scoring a goal with the hand is illegal but the referee did not have a clear view and after a discussion with the linesman, gave the goal to Argentina. 

Post the goal, when Maradona was asked if the goal was illegal, he said, "A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God" and the goal was named "Hand of God" after that. However, later the late great footballer acknowledged the fact the goal was illegal. 

Argentina went on to win the FIFA World Cup that year and Mexican photographer Alejandro Ojeda Carbajal clicked the iconic moment for generation next to have a look at that iconic and controversial moment.

Read Also | 11 Iconic Football Celebrations and Reasons Behind Them 

The Miracle of Istanbul

The Miracle of Istanbul is one of the most iconic incidents in Liverpool FC's history and perhaps in modern football's history. In the 2005 UEFA Champions League final at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Liverpool FC and AC Milan faced each other as Liverpool looked for their fifth European title and AC Milan looked for their seventh title.

Liverpool were appearing in a Champions League final first time since 1985 and Milan were playing their second final in three years. Obviously, Milan was touted to be the favourites and they proved everyone right with captain Paolo Maldini scoring within the first minute of the match. Hernan Crespo then scored in the 39th and 44th minute to give Milan a huge 3-0 in the first half.

Down and out Liverpool needed to do something 'miraculous' to make a comeback in the match and they did so. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard first scored for them in the 54th minute with a cracking header. Vladimir Smicer scored two minutes later with a long-range shot from outside the box. In the 60th minute, Xabi Alonso scored after his penalty was partially saved by goalkeeper Dida.

With the game being 3-3 after the full and extra time, the game went to penalties. Serginho missed the first penalty for Milan. Hamann scored for Liverpool to give them the lead. Andrea Pirlo then missed the second penalty for Milan and Djibril Cissé gave Liverpool a 2-0 lead. 

Tomasson then scored his penalty for Milan but John Arne Riise missed his one for Liverpool and Milan came back with Kaka scoring in the next shot. Vladimir Smicer then scored his penalty and Jerzy Dudek saved Andriy Shevchenko's penalty to hand Liverpool their fifth Champions League title. 

Zinedine Zidane's Headbutt

Another iconic moment in modern football history took place during the 2006 FIFA World Cup when France captain Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italian defender Marco Materazzi. The Les Blues captain received the red card which then became the last footballing action from the French legend. 

So what happened that day? The World Cup final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin went into extra time after Zidane himself gave France the lead in the seventh minute and Marco Materazzi equalising for Italy in the 19th minute of the game. Throughout the game, both Zidane and Marco Materazzi came close to each other. 

In the 110th minute of the match, after Materazzi touched Zidane during a ball play and Gennaro Gattuso cleared the ball, both players shared words between themselves. Everything looked part of the game but what came seconds later shocked the entire world.

The 1998 World Cup winner planted his golden boots firmly on the ground and lowered his head to headbutt the Italian defender, who was sent tumbling across the turf. With most of the players and the match referee Horacio Elizondo not witnessing the incident, the referee had to discuss everything with the assisting referee before showing a red card to the French captain.

Zidane without even a word to argue with the referee, left the field head bowed. Italy went on to win the match by 5-3 in the penalties. 

Later in 2020 in the Spanish publication AS, Materazzi revealed what he had said to Zidane which resulted in the headbutt. He said, “There had been a bit of contact between us in the area. He had scored France's goal in the first half and our coach (Marcello Lippi) told me to mark him. After that first brush between us, I apologised but he reacted badly.

“After the third clash, I frowned and he retorted: 'I'll give you my shirt later'. I replied that I'd rather have his sister than his shirt.

“My words were stupid but did not deserve that reaction. In any neighbourhood of Rome, Naples, Turin, Milan Paris, I hear much more serious things.

“I talked about his sister not his mother, like I have read in some newspapers. My mother died while I was a teenager, I would never insult his.”

Zidane never spilt a word about the incident until 2022 when he said Telefoot, “I’m not at all proud of what I did but it’s part of my past.”

Pele’s 1000th Goal

From the recent incidents of football let me now take you to a glorious past when a certain player named Pele scored the 1000th goal of his professional career and became the first and still the only footballer to achieve the feat.

Pele, the once-in-a-lifetime player from Brazil popularised football all over the world during and after his playing days. The three-time World Cup winner with Brazil holds an enormous number of records while playing for Santos and his national team.

Read Also | Highest goal scorer in international football history 

Due to the hazardous nature of the football schedule during his time, there was never an exact count of how many goals the Brazilian no. 10 scored. However, on November 19, 1969, during a game between Santos and Vasco da Gama fans of both teams gave him a standing ovation after he scored in the game. That goal was considered the 1000th goal of his professional career. 

At that time, Pele was not even 30, which proved at what rate the great man scored. Although there will be always a question mark on how many goals he actually scored since there is no official record to support that, Pele in 2015 claimed that he scored 1283 goals in his career. 

The Undefeated Invincibles

Now from a goal or moment, we will talk about a whole football season that has been etched in Premier League and football history for eternity. Arsene Wenger's Arsenal FC went unbeaten in the 2003/04 season to create history. In the 38 games in the league, they won 26, drawn 12 and lost none.

Read Also | The Invincibles: 8 times a football team won their league undefeated

After winning a domestic double in the 2002/03 season. manager Arsene Wenger told his team that they were capable of going unbeaten in the season. And, the players made that happen. However, that was not a smooth ride for the team as they came back from setbacks to win or draw games.

Theirry Henry was their strongest force at the front with the French striker scoring 30 goals in the season, while Robert Pires netted 14 times. However, it was players like captain Patrick Viera, Dennis Bergkamp, Gilberto Silva, Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure who carried the team on their backs. 

Arsenal 2003-04 Invincible squad

Leicester City’s Premier League Triumph

From the Invincible's story, we move to one of the greatest underdog stories in football history. Leicester City winning the Premier League title in the 2015-16 season is football's most inspiring story you will hear and tell in your life.

Before winning the Premier League, they were nearly relegated in season before and two seasons ago, they were playing in the Championship. Who on earth would have given the bets for the Foxes to win the league that season? Well, it was, the fearlessness and beliefs of Claudio Ranieri's boys that turned the grass into golds and underdogs into champions.

Ranieri created a solid 4-4-2 formation at the start of the season to form a team that can beat anyone in the counterattack and then defend with solid shape and discipline. They are still the team to win the Premier League with the lowest average possession figure of 42.43%. 

Jamie Verdy with 24 goals and 6 assists was the star for the Foxes alongside Riyad Mahrez, who scored 17 goals and assisted 11 times in that season. N'Golo Kante's stunning debut season saw making him 175 tackles and 156 interceptions, which were the most in the league that season.

Leicester City won 23 games. drawn 12 and lost only 3 games to earn a club record 81 points en route clinching their first and only Premier League title. 

Leicester City' squad in the 2015-16 Premier League

The Most Expensive Transfer in History

Football, the sport is what it is because of the amount of revenue it has been generating over the last few decades and professional players earning a hefty amount for showing their skills week in and week out. 

Footballers attracting "A huge amount of money" has been one of the reasons why players are now ready to leave their favourite clubs or leagues and play somewhere they can more money.

Neymar Jr, the Brazilian attracted people's eyes from his early days in Santos. He then was signed by FC Barcelona and played alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to create one of the most fearsome trios in football history. However, after spending four seasons with the Catalonian club, Neymar made a move to the French club Paris St. Germain (PSG) where he earned a record transfer fee of €222 million in August 2017.

Neymar's move to PSG from Barcelona for €222 million is still the most expensive transfer in football history as of August 2024.

The Messi-Ronaldo Era

Well, if you are writing about major football facts and you do not mention Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, you should either end up in jail or accept some huge punishments from the football fans. 

I waited till the last to mention these two greats because if we mentioned their moments created with goals, trophies or seasons, the list would have ended up being 10000 words long. That's why and rightly so, we mentioned the whole Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era as a significant football moment in the history of football.

Read Also | 10 players who have won the most trophies in football history 

Since 2006, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo won a total of 77 trophies (Messi 44, Ronaldo 33). They scored fifty-plus goals in a season a record 13 times in their career (Messi 6 times, Ronaldo 7 times). They are the only two players to score over 800 official goals each in their careers for club and country.

They both have scored more than 100 goals in their international careers. Moreover, they dominated the Ballon d'Or winners list by not letting anyone other than themselves win the award from 2008 to 2017. The record was finally broken by Luka Modric of Croatia when he won the 2018 Ballon d'Or to announce "the end of an era".

Read Also | Ballon d'Or 2024: Most Ballon d'Or wins by Clubs 

Both legends together won the European Golden Shoe award ten times (Messi 6 times, Ronaldo 4 times). Messi, the Barcelona legend is the top scorer in La Liga history while Ronaldo is the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history.

With both the players going beyond the prime, football is now back to normal where players scoring 30-40 goals are getting considered as the best in the world, again.

Numerous goal-scoring records were made by some world-class players and broken as well. One such record is scoring in consecutive league games. Lionel Messi scored in 21 consecutive La Liga matches in the 2012-13 season and still holds the record of keeping the longest goal-scoring streak in any European league. No other footballer in world football has ever come close to breaking this sensational record and it is safe to say that none will be for at least five or six years. In our latest article on football facts, we bring you a list of seven players who hold the record of keeping the longest goal-scoring streak in consecutive league games. 

Read Also: Football facts: 10 players who have played most games with Cristiano Ronaldo

Football facts: Longest goal-scoring streak in consecutive league games

1. Lionel Messi - 21 games - 2012/13 for FC Barcelona in La Liga

Lionel Messi broke the records of Josef Bican, Gerd Muller, and Toeder Peterek in the 2012/13 season, scoring in 21 consecutive La Liga games. During those 21 games, he scored 33 goals, which is a record in itself. Messi scored 46 league goals that season in 32 appearances and provided 12 assists. He missed three games between that run due to a hamstring injury but came back and continued his riot. Messi even scored four goals against Osasuna in January 2013. The run continued until May, and it ended when he failed to score against Atletico Madrid. It is an unbelievable record and he is still top of this list even after 11 years which proves how great of a player the world football has witnessed.

2. Josef Bican - 16 games - 1939/40 for SK Slavia Prague in Czech First League

Bican is widely regarded as the greatest goalscorer in the history of the sport. He is also the greatest player to have ever pulled on the Austrian international jersey. Later on, he applied for Czech citizenship when he started to play for Slavia Prague. The legendary striker Josef Bican established the longest goal-scoring streak record during the season 1939-40 playing for Slavia Prague in the Gauliga Bohemia and Moravia (Czech league under the German occupation during World War II). He matched Toeder's record, scoring in 16 consecutive league games for Slavia Prague. He also scored 5 back-to-back hattricks in the league which is a separate record in itself. 

3. Gerd Muller - 16 games - 1969/70 for FC Bayern Munich in Bundesliga

The Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller was the greatest goal-scorer of his time. He scored in 16 consecutive Bundesliga games during the 1969/70 season. After he scored in eight consecutive games, he was out of the squad for a week. But, he returned and scored in another eight consecutive matches to create history. He ended the season, scoring 38 goals in 33 appearances and providing 9 assists.

4. Toeder Peterek - 16 games - 1937/38 for Ruch Chorzow in Ekstraklasa

Toeder Peterek made history during the 1937/38 season when he was with Ruch Chorzow, as he scored in 16 matches in a row. Then Josef Bican went on to match the record in the 1939/40 season. Toeder is regarded as a very ambitious, success-oriented player, who would never give up. Peterek's 16-game goal-scoring streak remained a record until Lionel Messi broke it by a huge margin during the 2012/13 season. 

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5. Robert lewandowski - 15 games - 2020/21 for FC Bayern Munich in Bundesliga

The world-class Polish striker scored 48 goals in all competitions during the 2020/21 season and 41 of those came only in the Bundesliga. He scored in 15 consecutive league games and ended the season on high, winning the league title with his side. Robert Lewandowski was on fire in the 2020-21 Bundesliga season and he broke Gerd Muller’s record of 40 goals. The Polish striker scored those 41 Bundesliga goals in just 29 appearances. Lewa scored a hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund and finished the season with 4 hat-tricks.

6. Tor Henning Hamre - 15 games - 2003 for FC Flora in Meistriliiga

The Norwegian scored in 15 consecutive league matches during the 2003 season with FC Flora. Hamre scored 21 goals in 15 games without taking a break and etched his name in the history books. He even scored 7 goals during his side’s 17-0 win over Kuressaare. He ended the season with an impressive 39 goals and won the Meistriliiga top scorer award, and he was even in contention for the ESM Golden Boot. There is no doubt why he is on this list.

7. Stan Mortensen - 15 games - 1950/51 for Blackpool FC in English Football League Division One

During the 1950/51 season, the Blackpool legend Stan Mortensen scored in 15 consecutive First Division matches. He missed two matches through injury in the middle of that but came back to continue the streak. Stan's best goal-scoring season in front of goal came in 1950/51. He netted 35 times in all competitions, finishing top goalscorer in the English First Division as Blackpool finished third in the table. He also holds the record of the first Englishman to score at a World Cup when he scored against Chile in 1950.