There has been dozens of excellent strikers throughout Premier League History since its inception in 1992/93. However, 10 of them stand out above the rest when it comes to goal scoring efficiency. This list features the best 10 strikers in league history according to their goals-per-game ratio. In addition, they must have scored at least 100 career goals in the division to prove their consistency.
There are several current strikers such as Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Romelu Lukaku, Daniel Sturridge, Christian Benteke Alexis Sanchez and Javier Hernandez, who may one day join these 10 greats. But at the moment, just two current players have managed to make the top 10. Of course, this means they may climb the list or slip down it depending how deadly they are in front of the net this season.
10. Robbie Fowler
Former Liverpool, great Robbie Fowler’s career pro lasted from 1993 to 2012 as the Englishman played for Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester City, Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers in the UK before heading to Australia. Fowler scored 163 Premier League goals in 379 appearances for a ratio of .43 goals per game with 128 of them coming for Liverpool. For some reason the forward didn’t get much of a chance with England as he played just 26 times for his homeland and netted seven times. But he still managed to play at the 1996 and 2000 European Championships as well as the 2002 World Cup. Fowler was nicknamed God by the Anfield faithful and he’s ranked number six on the Premier league’s all-time scoring list.
9. Wayne Rooney
Manchester United/Everton and England legend Wayne Rooney has been in the headlines recently for several reasons. The all-time England and Man United scorer returned to Everton on a free transfer this summer and has scored a goal in each of his first two league games. Rooney’s second goal of the season was his 200th in Premier League history which ranks second all-time behind Alan shearer’s 260. Rooney also announced his retirement from international football after scoring 53 times in 119 appearances. As of August 24, 2017, he was scoring at a rate of .43 goals per game with 200 of them in 462 and just 20 of them coming on penalties. Since the 31-year-old’s still playing he may move up or down this list.
8 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Former Dutch international striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink starred in the Premier League with Leeds United, Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic from 1997 to 2007. However, he’s best known for his four years at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea even though he won the 1998/99 Golden Boot with Leeds by scoring just 18 goals. Hasselbaink definitely knew where the net was as he banged in 127 goals in 288 games in England’s top flight for a ratio of .44 goals per match. However, he was another lethal striker who didn’t really play that much internationally. Hasselbaink earned just 29 caps for Holland, but still scored nine times for his country. He also played for Atletico Madrid in 1999/2000 and scored 33 times in 43 appearances. He returned to England the next season and won the Golden Boot again, this time with Chelsea, by scoring 23 goals. He ranks 12th all-time on the Premier league scoring list.
7. Andy Cole
Former English international striker Andy Cole started his Premier League Career with Arsenal by playing just one game and soon moved to Newcastle United in 1993/94. He scored 34 goals in 40 games in his first full Premier League campaign to win the Golden Boot. He spent another year in the northeast before moving to Old Trafford in 1994/95. He stayed with United till 2001/02 and then moved to Blackburn, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland. Cole played in 414 top-division games and scored 187 times to rank number three on the all-time Premier League scoring list. Cole scored at a rate of .45 goals per game during his career. He played just 15 times for his homeland though and scored only once as England wasted his scoring talent.
6. Michael Owen
Michael Owen was another prolific English international striker who managed to score at a fantastic pace, until running into injury problems that is. Owen became a Premier League scoring sensation while playing on Merseyside with Liverpool. Owen scored 118 goals for the Reds in 216 league contests and finished his top-flight career with 150 in 326 appearances for a ratio of .46 goals per game. Owen shared the Golden Boot in 1997/98 and again the next season. He also played with Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke in England and spent a year with Real Madrid in Spain. He was the youngest player to reach the 100-goal plateau in the Premier league and his 150 goals rank eighth on the all-time scoring list. Internationally, he made his England debut in 1998 and became the squad’s youngest ever player and goalscorer at that time. Owen would go on to score 40 times for England in 89 games.
5. Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie is the second Dutch international striker to make the list as he played in 280 Premier league matches with Arsenal and Manchester United between 2004 and 2015. The smooth finisher netted 144 times in those outings which translates to .51 goals per game. Van Persie also managed to win the Golden Boot in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons by scoring 30 times for Arsenal and 26 goals for Manchester United. The 34-year-old currently plays in Turkey with Fenerbahce, but his international career appears to be slowly winding down. He debuted for the Dutch national senior side in 2005 and is currently the team’s all-time leading scorer with 50 goals to his name in 101 appearances. He still knows how to find the back of the net as van Persie scored 36 times in his first 82 games with Fenerbahce. His 144 Premier League goals rank 11th all-time.
4. Ian Wright
Former English international striker Ian Wright never won the Premier League Golden Boot award, but he was still one of the nation’s most dangerous strikers. Wright played from 1985 to 2000 in the UK with Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley. However, he was in his prime while playing for Arsenal from 1991 to 1998. Wright’s Premier League career consisted of 213 games and 113 goals, which gives him a ratio of .53 goals per game. However, his grand total was 387 goals in 581 club league matches and he’s the second-highest scorer ever for Arsenal and ranks third-best for Crystal Palace. Wright was another excellent scorer who was basically wasted by England as he earned just 33 caps, scoring nine times in those games.
3. Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer still holds the all-time English Premier League scoring record with 260 goals in 441 games. This English international was a scoring machine who won three straight Golden Boot awards from 1994 to 1997. Shearer scored at a rate of .59 goals per game during his time in England’s top flight with Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle from 1988 to 2006. However, he scored at an even higher rate of .67 goals per game when you take his entire career into consideration as he netted 422 times in all competitions. Shearer is also the all-time leading scorer at Newcastle with 206 goals and holds the record for hat tricks in the Premier League with 11. He also proved he could score on the international scene as Shearer slammed home 30 goals in 63 games for England between 1992 and 2000.
2. Sergio Aguero
Argentine international striker Sergio Aguero is another player on this list who’s currently active so could move up or down on it. Aguero still plies his trade with Manchester City and as of August 24th had 123 goals in 183 appearances for a ratio of .67 goals per contest. He also won the 2014/15 Golden Boot award in 2014/15 with 26 goals in 31 games. The 29-year-old joined Man City in 2011 after playing with Independiente from 2003 to 2006 and then Atletico Madrid between 2006 and 2011. He was the youngest player ever in Argentina’s top division as he debuted at the age of 15 years and 35 days, breaking the old mark set by Diego Maradona. Aguero has also played 82 times for his homeland and has 33 goals to his name. His career club total currently stands at 293 goals in 543 games.
1. Thierry Henry
The most lethal scorer ever in the English Premier League to reach at least 100 goals so far has been former French international striker Thierry Henry. He scored 175 times in 258 outings for a ratio of .68 goals per game. Henry ranks fifth all-time in Premier League scoring and is number one for a non-British player. He also holds the league record with four Golden Boots to his name, which came in 2001/02 and from 2003 to 2006. Henry played his entire Premier League career with Arsenal from 1999 to 2007 before leaving to play with Barcelona and then the New York Red Bulls. Henry’s early career was spent with Monaco and then Juventus. In addition, Henry is France’s all-time leading scorer with 51 goals in 123 appearances for the national squad.
