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Cristiano Ronaldo and the top 10 international goalscorers of all time
8 Jun 2026 15:20 BST |
4 min read
Analysis
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest scorer in the history of international football with 143 goals for Portugal.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward has 143 goals in 227 caps for Portugal, before the 2026 World Cup, and he overtook Iran legend Ali Daei, who scored 109 times in 149 appearances between 1993 and 2006, to claim top spot.
Some may struggle to enjoy the international break but there’s no doubt that Ronaldo absolutely adores it. With just about every domestic trophy in his back pocket, the Portugal international continues to add to his remarkable goalscoring record for his country.
Below, FootballTransfers runs through the 10 highest goalscorers in international football history.
Who has scored the most international goals in football history?
| Player | Nation | Goals (Caps) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 143 (227) |
| 2. Lionel Messi | Argentina | 116 (198) |
| 3. Ali Daei | Iran | 108 (148) |
| 4. Sunil Chhetri | India | 95 (157) |
| 5. Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 90 (126) |
| 6. Mokhtar Dahari | Malaysia | 89 (142) |
| = Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 89 (167) |
| 8. Ali Mabkhout | UAE | 85 (115) |
| 9. Ferenc Puskas | Hungary | 84 (85) |
| 10. Harry Kane | England | 79 (113) |
International football’s record scorers are a mix of some of the most illustrious players in the history of the sport along with others who have been at the lower reaches of the international game.
Illustrating this is the presence of Iran's Ali Daei, Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari, India’s Sunil Chhetri and UAE’s Ali Mabkhout in the top 10.
More familiar names, however, such as Hungary great Ferenc Puskas and modern legends Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane also feature in this list.
Ronaldo sits in first place with 143 goals in 227 games, while his great rival Lionel Messi has scored 116 goals in 198 caps for Argentina and is the second-highest goalscorer in international football history.
Daei is third on the list with 108 goals - 13 strikes ahead of Chhetri in fourth. Lukaku has risen to fifth place thanks to his exploits for Belgium, narrowly ahead of Dahari, Lewandowski, Mabkhout and Puskas.
England superstar Harry Kane completes the top 10 with 79 goals in 113 caps, although he is likely to add to his tally at the 2026 World Cup.
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