Alan Shearer holds the record for the highest Premier League goals, while Mohamed Salah is the top-scoring African in Premier League history with 186 goals

Key takeaways:

  • Alan Shearer holds the all-time Premier League scoring record with 260 goals.
  • Harry Kane is the second-highest scorer with 213 goals, closing in on Shearer.
  • Wayne Rooney is third with 208 goals, having spent most of his career at Manchester United.
  • Mohamed Salah is the highest-scoring African in Premier League history with 186 goals and still counting.
  • Only 1 goal separates Andrew Cole (187) and Salah (186), showing how tightly contested the rankings are.
  • The gap between the top scorer (Shearer) and the 10th (Defoe) is nearly 100 goals.
  • Of the top 10 scorers, 8 are retired, while Kane and Salah are the only active players still adding to their totals.

The Premier League's all-time top scorers list is a testament to enduring excellence, with the top 10 players netting a combined 1,915 goals as of 2025. Alan Shearer remains unmatched with 260 goals, a record that still stands despite fierce competition over the years. Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney follow closely with 213 and 208 goals respectively, cementing their places as generational goal machines.

Notably, the diversity of eras represented—from Shearer in the ‘90s to Salah’s ongoing dominance—shows how goal-scoring legends span across generations. For many fans, these names spark vivid memories of iconic moments, from Rooney’s overhead kick in the Manchester derby to Aguero’s last-minute title winner in 2012.

Salah’s current presence on the list, with 186 goals, highlights how active players continue to reshape history in real time. His rise, along with Kane’s climb toward the top, keeps the record books alive with excitement and anticipation.

Source:

Premierleague.com

Period:

2025
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Tags
Related Insights

With 87 assists, Egyptian star Mohamed Salah is 75 assists away from Ryan Giggs, the top on the list
  • Ryan Giggs remains the all-time Premier League assist leader with 162 assists.
  • Kevin De Bruyne is second with 119 assists and is still actively playing.
  • Egyptian star, Mohamed Salah, needs 75 more assists to match Ryan Giggs’ record of 162.
  • Despite being known primarily as a goal scorer, Salah has quietly built a strong assist record.
  • Cesc Fàbregas holds third place with 111 assists, most of which came during his time at Arsenal and Chelsea.
  • Wayne Rooney ranks fourth with 103 assists, in addition to being third on the goal-scoring chart.
  • Seven of the top ten assist leaders have also been known for regularly scoring goals themselves.

Osimhen rises to 2nd, surpasses Odegbami after Rwanda clash, scoring 26 goals in 40 games
  • Rashidi Yekini remains Nigeria’s all-time top scorer with 40 goals in 58 appearances — a record that has stood for over two decades.
  • Victor Osimhen now ranks 2nd, overtaking Segun Odegbami by scoring 26 goals in just 40 matches.
  • Segun Odegbami, now 3rd, recorded 23 goals in 46 appearances during his time with the national team.
  • Among the top scorers, Osimhen has the best goals-per-game ratio, scoring 0.65 goals per game, compared to Yekini’s 0.69 and Odegbami’s 0.50.

Nigeria’s Paralympic Journey: From 3 medals in 1992 to accumulating 87 medals by 2024
Since its debut at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, Nigeria has become one of the most successful African nations in the Paralympic Games, winning an average of ten medals per edition.
Nigeria’s Paralympic team has secured medals in every participation since their debut.

Kenya and South Africa hold 46% of Africa's total Summer Olympic medals
Kenya and South Africa dominate Africa's Olympic success, with 46% of the continent's total medals in Summer Games history. Kenya tops the list with 124 medals, while South Africa follows with 95. Ethiopia, Egypt, and Nigeria trail with fewer wins.

Team Nigeria’s largest-ever Olympic squad leaves Paris 2024 without a medal
Team Nigeria made history with its largest Olympic squad ever at Paris 2024, featuring 88 athletes. Despite the high participation, the team left without a medal, sparking discussions on the effectiveness of sports programmes and athlete support. Peak performance was in 1996, but recent Games show a trend towards greater participation

POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form

A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved