Who are the English Premier League (EPL) top scorers of all time? Let’s explore the same from the read below!
The EPL is the top level of the English soccer league system, founded in 1992. Since its founding, it has become one of the toughest leagues in Europe.
Likewise, the Premier League also garners a lot of views. It is the most-watched sports league globally and is broadcasted in 212 territories to a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion.
It is also natural that the league has seen outstanding players scoring goals over the years. These top scorers keep the fans demanding more and raise the league’s stake. So who are the players that are very best at topping the goalscoring charts?
We have prepared a list of the EPL top scorers of all time, keeping this in mind. So, without any further delay, let us explore the list.
15 Best EPL Top Scorers Of All Time
The list has been prepared with the help of trusted sources around the internet like transfermarkt.com.
| Player Name | Goal Score |
| 15. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | 127 goals |
| 14. Jamie Vardy | 127 goals |
| 13. Robin Van Persie | 144 goals |
| 12. Teddy Sheringham | 146 goals |
| 11. Les Ferdinand | 149 goals |
| 10. Michael Owen | 150 goals |
| 9. Robbie Fowler | 162 goals |
| 8. Jermain Defoe | 163 goals |
| 7. Harry Kane | 170 goals |
| 6. Thierry Henry | 175 goals |
| 5. Frank Lampard | 177 goals |
| 4. Sergio Agüero | 184 goals |
| 3. Andy Cole | 187 goals |
| 2. Wayne Rooney | 208 goals |
| 1. Alan Shearer | 260 goals |
15. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
The first player on our list of the EPL top scorers of all time is Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, with 127 goals. He is a Surinamese-born Dutch former soccer player.
Hasselbaink was born in Suriname and later migrated to Zaandam, the Netherlands, in 1978. It was there when he first started playing football. He started his senior career with Telstar and AZ Alkmaar.
In 1995 Hasselbaink signed with Portuguese Primeira Divisão side Campomaiorense. Later before the 1997-98 season, he was signed by Leeds United for £2 million.
The following year after being signed by Leeds, Hasselbaink won the Premier League Golden Boot award. In addition, he established himself as one of the top goal scorers of EPL.
In 2000, he was signed by Chelsea for a club-record fee of £15 million. Again, he came out as the top scorer of the league and won his second Premier League Golden Boot. Hasselbaink played for various other teams during his professional career.
After the 2008 FA Cup Final, he retired from his professional playing career at the end of the season. Currently, he is working as the League One club Burton Albion manager.
14. Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy is the next player on our list with a goal score tied with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. He was born Jamie Richard Vardy Gill in Sheffield, England. He is a 37 year-old striker playing for EPL club Leicester City.
Vardy started playing soccer from a young age and was in the youth system at Sheffield Wednesday. After being released at age 16, he made his first-team debut with Stocksbridge Park Steels in 2007.
After three seasons with Steels in 2010, he signed with the Northern Premier League club FC Halifax Town. Vardy made a successful season debut and recorded 25 goals. As a result, he won the club’s “Players’ Player of the Year” award.
Ahead of the 2012-2013 season, Leicester City signed Vardy. Reportedly, he was signed by the City for £1 million. He made his debut for Leicester in the first round of the League Cup against Torquay United.
Vardy scored in eleven consecutive Premier League matches in the 2015-16 EPL season. This broke the records made by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Subsequently, he was voted for the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year. In addition, Vardy won the 2019-20 season Premier League Golden Boot and became the oldest player to win the award.
13. Robin Van Persie
40 year-old Robin Van Persie is a former Dutch professional soccer player who played the striker position. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation.Van Persie was in a youth squad of local side SBV Excelsiorlocal side SBV Excelsior since he was 5. After being released at 16, he was signed by the Feyenoord during the 2001-02 season.
His debut was a huge success. Moreover, Van Persie was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year. He stayed with the Feyenoord for five seasons.
In 2004, he was signed by English Club Arsenal for a contract worth £2.75 million. Van Persie won the 2004 FA Community Shield and the 2004–05 FA Cup. Similarly, in 2011 he scored a club record of 35 goals.
The following year, Van Persie signed with the rival team of Arsenal, Manchester United. In his first season with the United, he won the 2012–13 Premier League.
Additionally, he scored 26 goals becoming the league’s top scorer and winning his second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot. Van Persie is also the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands men’s national team.
12. Teddy Sheringham
Born as Edward Paul Sheringham in London, England, Teddy Sheringham was a former player who played as a forward and mostly as a second striker.
Sheringham began his professional playing career at 16 with Millwall Football Club. He is the club’s second all-time leading scorer, where he scored 111 goals.
For nine seasons, he stayed with Millwall and was later signed by Tottenham Hotspur. Finally, after five seasons, Sheringham joined Manchester United.
With Manchester, he won three Premiership titles, one FA Cup, one UEFA Champions League, an Intercontinental Cup, and an FA Charity Shield. Sheringham also played for Portsmouth, West Ham United, Colchester United, and Stevenage.
Sheringham is the oldest outfield player to appear in an EPL match and the oldest player to score in an EPL match.
He retired from his professional playing career after the 2007-08 season. Sheringham is currently working as a manager for League Two club Stevenage and the Indian Super League team ATK.
11. Les Ferdinand
Les Ferdinand is a former English striker with the eleventh-highest score in EPL, which is 149 goals. Born on December 8, 1966, he started playing soccer in the non-league team, the Viking sports.
Ferdinand made his debut in the league with the Queens Park Rangers. The Queens signed him for £50,000 at age 20. He was also loaned to different teams while being signed by the Queens.
In 1995, Ferdinand was sold to the Newscastle for £6 million. Similarly, he played for Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Reading, and Watford.
Likewise, he was part of the Euro 96 and 1998 FIFA World Cup team member. Similarly, Ferdinand was capped 17 times for England.
After 2005-06, he took retirement from his professional playing career. Then Ferdinand started working as a television pundit and, later in 2008, re-joined Tottenham Hotspur as strikers coach.
Ferdinand is currently the Queens Park Rangers director.
Check out these amazing Florida Gators Shoes: Stylish Men and Women Sneakers!
10. Michael Owen
We have another former English striker on our number 10 EPL top scorers of all time. On December 14, 1979, Michael Owens was born in Chester, England.
Being the son of the former soccer player Terry Owens, he was influenced to play soccer from a young age. To his luck, Liverpool signed him at 17 in 1996.
The following year 1997, he scored his first Premier League goal. Consequently making Owen, the club’s youngest goalscorer. Moreover, he finished his first full season as a joint top scorer in the Premier League.
He scored 18 goals and shared the Premier League Golden Boot. From 1997 to 2004, Owen was Liverpool’s top goalscorer. He was with Liverpool until the 2004 season, during which he made 216 appearances and 118 goals in the Premier League.
Likewise, Owen played for Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Stoke City. However, he is regarded as one of the greatest Liverpool players.
Aside from being Premier League’s top goal scorer, Owen is also the youngest player to have reached 100 goals in the Premier League. He retired from his professional career at the end of the 2012-13 season.
9. Robbie Fowler
On our number 9 is Robbie Fowler. Born as Robert Bernard Fowler, he is a former English striker. Nicknamed “God” by his Anfield fans, he is Liverpool’s top scorer in Premier League.
Fowler began his professional playing career with Liverpool after signing with the club in 1992. However, he had signed to the club the previous year as a youth team player.
After successful seasons with Liverpool, Fowler signed with Leeds United in 2001. The other clubs that he has been part of are Manchester City, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers.
Similarly, he also played for North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory, and Thai side Muangthong United. Fowler also served as the player-manager for Muangthong United.
Likewise, he was also part of England’s team for Euro 1996, Euro 2000, and the 2002 World Cup. Fowler was capped 26 times for England.
8. Jermain Defoe
Defoe is on our number 8 with a total goal score of 163. Born Jermain Colin Defoe, this English player plays the striker position for Rangers.
In 1997, when Defoe was 14, he joined the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall. Then, just two years later, he decided to turn professional and signed to West Ham United.
Soon after joining West Ham in 1999-2000, Defoe became a member of the Under-19 team who won the Premier Academy League title. He quickly climbed the ranks, establishing himself in the line-up.
Defoe played for teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland, AFC Bournemouth, and Rangers during his professional career. Jermain was also part of the England national team.
Defoe was the 20th player to score a century of Premier League goals. He achieved this feat in 2011 and is the sixth-highest goalscorer in Tottenham’s history. Likewise, he also holds a record for the most goals scored as a substitute in Premier League.
7. Harry Kane
Harry is considered one of the best strikers globally and is one of the prolific goalscorers. Born as Harry Edward Kane, he is a 30 year-old striker for Tottenham Hotspur and captain of the England national team.
Kane went to the youth academy before making his debut in the senior team of Tottenham Hotspur in 2009. His first one was Ridgeway Rovers, and he then joined Arsenal youth academy when he was eight.
He returned to Rovers, joined Watford, and finally made it to Tottenham Hotspur. However, only after Mauricio Pochettino became the head coach of Hotspur in 2014 did Kane’s involvement begin to increase.
Then in his first full season with Hotspur, he scored 31 goals across all competitions. Similarly, Kane was also the Premier Leagues’ second-highest goalscorer and even named PFA Young Player of the Year.
As of 2021, he is Tottenham’s second-highest all-time goalscorer in official competitions. Likewise, Kane is also the league’s 2020-21 season’s top goalscorer and top assist provider. He also led England to second place at UEFA Euro 2020.
6. Thierry Henry
On our number 6 of the best EPL top scorers of all time is Thierry Henry. Henry has a total goal score of 175 in the Premier League. Born in Les Ulis, France, this former French striker is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the Premier League.
Thierry is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time. He made his professional debut in 1994, playing for Monaco. Later, the Serie A champions Juventus signed him; however, he signed with EPL club Arsenal due to conflict of interest.
With Arsenal, Henry signed a contract worth £11 million in 1999. This step was the turning point of his life, and soon, he became a prolific striker of Arsenal.
Additionally, he is also Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer. Playing under Arsenal, Henry won Premier League Golden Boot for a record four times, two FA Cups, and two Premier League titles.
In 2007, Henry was transferred to Barcelona. From 2010 to 2014, New York Red Bulls signed him. Along with playing for the clubs, he played for the France national team. He became the country’s record goalscorer in 2007.
Henry retired from a professional playing career in 2014. After retiring, he transitioned into a coaching career and worked as an assistant coach for the Belgium national team.
5. Frank Lampard
The next player on our list is former English player Frank Lampard. 45 year-old Lampard is associated with Premier League club Chelsea. Frank is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation and Chelsea’s greatest player.
Lampard started his playing career after joining West Ham United’s youth team in 1994. After a year, he signed a professional contract with the club.
In 2001, Chelsea signed Lampard for an £11 million worth contract. He made the debut game for the team in a game against Newcastle United. Lampard stayed with Chelsea for thirteen seasons before signing with Manchester City.
Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer. After leaving Chelsea, he also played New York City FC and England national team.
Lampard is the league’s only midfielder to have scored 150 or more goals. Likewise, from 2000 to 2010, he statistically became the Premier League Player of the Decade. He is also the league’s fourth-ranking in assists.
Lampard won three Premier League titles during his playing career, became Premier League Player of the Month 4 times, Premier League Player of the Season, and Premier League’s top assist provider three times.
4. Sergio Agüero
We have a former Argentine striker on our list next. Sergio Agüero is a 35 year-old player known for his decade-long association with Manchester City.
Agüero is considered one of the greatest strikers of his generation and is one of the greatest players in the Premier League history. He began playing for the Argentine Independiente at the age of 15.
Agüero was the youngest player to play in the Argentine Primera División and broke the 27-year-old record of Diego Maradona.
In 2011, he signed with the Premier League club Manchester City for £35 million. During his time with the City, Agüero won five league titles and has the record of the most league goals scored by a player for any single club.
Likewise, he won the Premier League Golden Boots, was the PFA Team of the Year twice, and has the record twelve times for the most Premier League hat-tricks. Agüero is also Manchester’s all-time top goalscorer.
Agüero was also part of Argentina’s national team. He is the country’s third-highest all-time top goalscorer.
3. Andy Cole
On our number 3 with 187 goals in the EPL is Andy Cole. Born on October 15, 1971, Cole is a former striker and mostly associated with Manchester United.
Cole began his career in 1988 as a youth player for Arsenal. Throughout the 1992-93 season, his name was frequently linked with the Premier League clubs.
As a result, he was one of the hottest prospects of England. In 1993, Newcastle United signed him for the club’s record-breaking fee of £1.75 million.
Likewise, in 1995, Newcastle sold Cole to Manchester United in an incredible deal worth £7 million. The amount at the time became the British record transfer fee. He stayed with Manchester until 2001.
Aside from being the third highest scorer of EPL, Cole also holds EPL record for most goals scored in a 42-game season, fastest player to score 50 goals, and he was the first player to top the Premier League’s goalscoring charts.
Additional to these EPL records, between 1995 and 2001, Cole was capped 15 times for the England national team.
2. Wayne Rooney
We have come to the end of our list for the best EPL top scorers of all time. On our number two is Wayne Rooney, one of the best players of his generation and record goalscorer of England national team.
38 year-old Rooney started playing for the Liverpool Schoolboys before joining Everton at age nine. In 2002, he was part of Everton’s first-team squad.In 2004, he signed for Manchester United for a five-year contract worth £27 million. The amount was the highest ever paid for a player under age 20. Rooney stayed with Manchester until 2017, during which he became the record goal scorer of the club.
His Premier League goals are the second-most scored by a player for any club. Likewise, he also has the third-highest number of assists in the Premier League.
Rooney also played for teams like D.C. United, Derby County, and England national teams. When he first made his senior international debut for England in 2003, he was England’s youngest ever goalscorer.
Currently, Rooney is the manager of the Derby Country, for which he previously worked as Interim player-manager.
1. Alan Shearer
We have made it top of our list of best EPL top scorers of all time. In our number one is Alan Shearer, a former English striker with the highest record of 260 goals on the EPL scoreboard.
Shearer used to play football during his school days. Often he would play in the position of a midfielder. In 1986 he joined Southampton’s youth team, and after two years with the team, he was promoted to the first team.
In 1988, Shearer made his professional debut. Then as he progressed in his career, he played for teams like Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, and England national team. Newcastle signed him for a then-world record £15 million contract.
With the Blackburn Rovers, Shearer established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers in Europe. He also won the 1994-95 Premier League and two consecutive Premier League Golden Boots while playing for the Rover.
Aside from his Premier League success, Shearer has represented England in international football. Alan retired from his professional playing career at the end of the 2005-06 season. After retirement, he has worked as a television pundit for the BBC.
Shearer is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premier League history.
Conclusion
EPL is one of the toughest and most competitive soccer leagues globally. Maybe because it is so competitive, the soccer fans worldwide love the league. The players on the list are the very best of the league and are top scorers on the EPL goalscoring charts.
