The English Premier League is widely considered as the greatest league in the world by many players, managers and pundits due to the sheer unpredictability of the league. This was shown by Leicester City’s incredible miracle last season where they actually won the league with 5000/1 odds at the start of the season. And Manchester United have won the competition the most times after winning the title 13 times in its 25-year history.
Some of the best players to grace the planet have shown what they can do in the Premier League and many have failed under the enormous pressure, but others have thrived. A lot of these great players have been strikers and many have left their legacy with a number of brilliant of goals. In this article, you will see the 10 players who have scored the most goals in the Premier League.
10. Teddy Sheringham
146 goals (Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Portsmouth, West Ham United)Teddy Sheringham will be most known for his spells at White Hart Lane with Tottenham and at Old Trafford for his 91st minute equaliser in the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich that helped bring the famous trophy back to Manchester. He made 166 appearances for Tottenham and scored 76 Premier League goals, where he has certainly achieved hero status. In his 104 games for Man United, he scored 31 goals.
9. Les Ferdinand
149 goals (QPR, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers)
To call Les Ferdinand a journeyman would be an understatement but his ability to play for 6 different Premier League and score goals at every single team. His most goals came during his time in London for the blue and white of QPR where he managed to score 60 goals in three season before securing a move to Newcastle. It was on Tyneside where he forged a great partnership with Alan Shearer and his 29 goals in his first season for the club brought them within touching distance of the title.
8. Michael Owen
150 goals (Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City)
A career ruined by injury after injury that could’ve been so much more. The only Englishman to win the Ballon D’or as he won it in 2001 at only 21, he could’ve gone on to be one of the greatest. He is certainly known for his time at Liverpool where he scored 118 Premier League goals for them and his love for the Anfield faithful is very clear. He secured a big move to Real Madrid after his great start at Liverpool but a spell ridden with injuries brought him back to England with Newcastle.
7. Jermain Defoe
157 goals (West Ham United, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland) – Still playing
One of only two players on the list still playing today and at the age of 34 still going strong. A player who is recognised by many as severely underrated and many feel he should’ve represented England on many more occasions. His two spells at Tottenham have given him legend status at White Hart Lane while he is desperately trying to keep Sunderland in the Premier League at the moment. With 90 goals for Spurs, it’s certainly his most successful club.
6. Robbie Fowler
163 goals (Liverpool, Leeds United, Manchester City)
Another striker popular in front of the Kop, the club where Robbie Fowler enjoyed so much success. With 120 goals in his first spell with his boyhood club, he put himself on the radar across the world for his brilliant goal scoring ability. He moved to Leeds after 8 years at Anfield and scored a handful goals in his only full season before going onto Man City where he spent 4 seasons and scored 20 goals.
5. Thierry Henry
175 goals (Arsenal)
The only player on this list to only ever represent one Premier League club and what a hero he became at Arsenal where he led the Gunners to two league titles before a big move to Barcelona. His incredible knack in front of goal made him Arsenal’s highest ever goal scorer and earned him the captain’s armband. His move to Highbury started slowly and many Arsenal fans actually doubted his ability, how wrong they were!
4. Frank Lampard
177 goals (West Ham United, Chelsea, Manchester City)
The highest scoring midfielder in Premier League history and widely considered as one of the very best to ever grace the English game. A fantastic all-round midfielder who began out at West Ham before securing a transfer across London to Chelsea, where he showed just how good he was. With 429 appearances, he is definitely one of Stamford Bridge’s greatest legends with a ridiculous instinct in and around the box! A season-long spell with Man City didn’t even bother the Chelsea fans.
3. Andy Cole
187 goals (Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth)
Often referred to as ‘Cole the goal’ is all you need to know about one of English football’s greatest ever strikers. Another striker who didn’t receive enough call-ups for the national team after incredible goal scoring spells with Newcastle and Man United. Any player with that many goals in one league should be seen as one of the greatest and there’s absolutely no doubt that Andy Cole fits that to a tee. He scored 55 for Newcastle and 93 for Man United.
2. Wayne Rooney
195 goals (Everton, Manchester United) – Still playing
For a player that has been heavily criticised in recent years, he has been excellent from such a young age. There’s no amount of words that sum just how good of a servant he has been to Manchester United and although he may be on the way out soon, his work should be appreciated for years to come. His 250 goals in all competitions for United make him their highest ever scorer and he is the player with the most goals for one Premier League with 180, an incredible feat for a player that receives so much criticism.
1. Alan Shearer
260 goals (Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United)
Possibly the greatest finisher to ever play football and definitely the greatest Premier League goal scorer of all-time. He is the only footballer to have scored over 200 Premier League goals and the only player to score over 100 with two different clubs. His lofted-arm celebration is one of the most iconic in English football and was used after almost every single one of his career goals. A truly brilliant striker and it will take a long time for anyone to come near that impressive goal scoring record. Harry Kane has been mentioned as the player with the most potential to beat Shearer’s long-standing record.
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