IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer

The IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

IFFHS World's Best Man International Goal Scorer
SportAssociation football
Awarded forBest international goal scorer of the calendar year
Presented byInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award1991
Editions33
First winnerFrance Jean-Pierre Papin
Most winsPortugal Cristiano Ronaldo (5 awards)
Most recentBelgium Romelu Lukaku (22 goals in 2023)
Websitewww.iffhs.com
French striker Jean-Pierre Papin was the first ever winner of the award, in 1991.

Only international goals from 1 January to 31 December in international matches, Olympic tournaments, FIFA Club World Cup, official matches between the topical continental club champions, and the continental club competitions of FIFA, AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA, as well as, the continental Super Cup matches of the six confederations are taken into consideration. If the number of goals is equal, the player who scored more goals in international matches is ranked higher.[1][2]

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most wins (5), and most goals in a calendar year (32 in 2017). Dennis Bergkamp, Raí and César Obando won the award with the fewest goals (12 in 1992). Neymar and Gabriel Batistuta are the players with the most runner-up appearances (2). Cristiano Ronaldo is the player with most third-place finishes (3). Ali Daei, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Romelo Lukaku are the only players who have won the award more than once. Ronaldo and Messi are the only players to win the award in successive seasons, with Ronaldo achieving this twice. Ali Ashfaq scored the most goals without winning (23 goals in 2013). Real Madrid and Barcelona are tied for the clubs with the most wins (5).

In 2012, the IFFHS awarded the World's Best Goal Scorer of the First Decade, considering the years 2001 to 2010.[3]

Men's winners

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List of winners

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Year Rank Winner Club(s) Goals
1991 1st   Jean-Pierre Papin[4]   Marseille 16
2nd   Gabriel Batistuta   Boca Juniors
  Fiorentina
12
3rd   Darko Pančev   Red Star Belgrade 12
1992 1st   Dennis Bergkamp[5]   Ajax 12
2nd   Raí   São Paulo 12
3rd   César Obando   Motagua 12
1993 1st   Saeed Al-Owairan[6]   Al Shabab 18
2nd   Kazuyoshi Miura   Tokyo Verdy 16
3rd   Luís Roberto Alves   América 14
1994 1st   Hristo Stoichkov[7]   Barcelona 17
2nd   Hwang Sun-hong   Pohang Steelers 16
3rd   Romário   Barcelona 15
1995 1st   Jürgen Klinsmann[8]   Tottenham Hotspur
  Bayern Munich
17
2nd   Mário Jardel   Grêmio 16
3rd   Enzo Francescoli   River Plate 14
1996 1st   Ali Daei[9]   Persepolis
  Al Sadd
22
2nd   Natipong Sritong-In
  Hernán Crespo
  Thai Farmers Bank
  River Plate
16
3rd
1997 1st   Ronaldo[10]   Barcelona
  Inter Milan
22
2nd   Karim Bagheri   Persepolis
  Arminia Bielefeld
20
3rd   Romário
  Kazuyoshi Miura
  Flamengo
  Valencia
  Tokyo Verdy
19
1998 1st   Jasem Al-Huwaidi[11]   Al-Kuwait 20
2nd   Gabriel Batistuta   Fiorentina 14
3rd   Luis Hernández   Necaxa 13
1999 1st   Raúl[12]   Real Madrid 14
2nd   Rivaldo
  Alex
  Barcelona
  Palmeiras
13
3rd
2000 1st   Rivaldo[13]   Barcelona 21[note 1]
2nd   Romário   Vasco da Gama 21
3rd   Ali Daei   Hertha BSC 20
2001 1st   Hani Al-Dhabit[14]   Dhofar 22
2nd   Kiatisuk Senamuang
  Archie Thompson
  Raúl
  Warriors FC
  Marconi Stallions
  Real Madrid
16
3rd
2002 1st   Ruud van Nistelrooy[15]   Manchester United 14
2nd   Miroslav Klose
  Jon Dahl Tomasson
  1. FC Kaiserslautern
  Feyenoord
  Milan
13
3rd
2003 1st   Thierry Henry[16]   Arsenal 15[note 2]
2nd   David Trezeguet   Juventus 15
3rd   Raúl   Real Madrid 14
2004 1st   Ali Daei[17]   Saba Battery 17
2nd   Carlos Tevez   Boca Juniors 16
3rd   Adriano
  Didier Drogba
  Inter Milan
  Marseille
  Chelsea
15
2005 1st   Adriano[18]   Inter Milan 18
2nd   Wilmer Velásquez   Olimpia 15
3rd   Ronaldinho
  Emad Moteab
  Barcelona
  Al Ahly
14
2006 1st   Humberto Suazo[19]   Colo-Colo 17
2nd   Peter Crouch   Liverpool 16
3rd   Mohamed Aboutrika   Al Ahly 14
2007 1st   Trésor Mputu[20]   TP Mazembe 20
2nd   Salvador Cabañas   América 18
3rd   Juan Román Riquelme   Boca Juniors 17
2008 1st   Rico[21]   Al-Muharraq 19
2nd   Ahmad Ajab   Qadsia 15
3rd   Miroslav Klose   Bayern Munich 15
2009 1st   Shinji Okazaki[22]   Shimizu S-Pulse 15[note 3]
2nd   Didier Drogba   Chelsea 15
3rd   Abdelmalek Ziaya   ES Sétif 15
2010 1st   Bader Al-Mutawa[23]   Qadsia 17[note 4]
2nd   Samuel Eto'o   Inter Milan 17
3rd   David Villa   Barcelona 16
2011 1st   Lionel Messi[24]   Barcelona 19
2nd   Radamel Falcao   Porto
  Atlético Madrid
17
3rd   Hassan Abdel-Fattah
  Mario Gómez
  Al-Kuwait
  Bayern Munich
15
2012 1st   Lionel Messi[25]   Barcelona 25
2nd   Neymar   Santos 21
3rd   Cristiano Ronaldo   Real Madrid 18
2013 1st   Cristiano Ronaldo[26]   Real Madrid 25
2nd   Ali Ashfaq   New Radiant 23
3rd   Issam Jemâa   Al-Kuwait 20
2014 1st   Cristiano Ronaldo[27]   Real Madrid 20
2nd   Neymar   Barcelona 19
3rd   Lionel Messi   Barcelona 18
2015 1st   Robert Lewandowski[28]   Bayern Munich 22
2nd   Ahmed Khalil   Shabab Al-Ahli 20
3rd   Cristiano Ronaldo   Real Madrid 19
2016 1st   Cristiano Ronaldo[29]   Real Madrid 24
2nd   Lionel Messi   Barcelona 21
3rd   Edinson Cavani   Paris Saint-Germain 16
2017 1st   Cristiano Ronaldo[30]   Real Madrid 32
2nd   Kim Yu-song   April 25 16
3rd   Robert Lewandowski   Bayern Munich 15
2018 1st   Baghdad Bounedjah[31]   Al Sadd 20
2nd   Romelu Lukaku   Manchester United 15
3rd   Ayoub El Kaabi   RS Berkane 15
2019 1st   Cristiano Ronaldo[32]   Juventus 21
2nd   Ali Mabkhout   Al Jazira 19
3rd   Harry Kane   Tottenham Hotspur 19
2020 1st   Romelu Lukaku[33]   Inter Milan 16
2nd   Erling Haaland   Borussia Dortmund 14
3rd   Neymar   Paris Saint-Germain 11
2021 1st   Robert Lewandowski[34]   Bayern Munich 24
2nd   Harry Kane   Tottenham Hotspur 22
3rd   Cristiano Ronaldo   Juventus
  Manchester United
19
2022 1st   Lionel Messi[35]   Paris Saint-Germain 22
2nd   Kylian Mbappé   Paris Saint-Germain 21
3rd   Julián Álvarez   River Plate
  Manchester City
15
2023 1st   Romelu Lukaku[36]   Inter Milan
  Roma
22
2nd   Erling Haaland   Manchester City 18
3rd   Mehdi Taremi   Porto 14

Notes:

  1. ^ While Romário finished the year with as many goals as Rivaldo, the latter was crowned winner because of more international club goals.
  2. ^ While Trezeguet finished the year with as many goals as Henry, the latter was crowned winner because of more international club goals.
  3. ^ Since 2009, they awarded the player with the most goals for their national team in case of a tie. That year, Okazaki had scored more goals for his national team than Drogba.
  4. ^ While Eto'o finished the year with as many goals as Al-Mutawa, the latter was crowned winner because of more national team goals.

Statistics

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Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to score 30+ goals in a year.
 
Humberto Suazo is the only Chilean to win the award.
 
Brazil striker Ronaldo was the first South American to win the award in 1997.
Winners (1991–present)
Player Wins Years
  Cristiano Ronaldo 5 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
  Lionel Messi 3 2011, 2012, 2022
  Ali Daei 2 1996, 2004
  Robert Lewandowski 2015, 2021
  Romelu Lukaku 2020, 2023
  Jean-Pierre Papin 1 1991
  Dennis Bergkamp 1992
  Saeed Al-Owairan 1993
  Hristo Stoichkov 1994
  Jürgen Klinsmann 1995
  Ronaldo 1997
  Jasem Al-Huwaidi 1998
  Raúl 1999
  Rivaldo 2000
  Hani Al-Dhabit 2001
  Ruud van Nistelrooy 2002
  Thierry Henry 2003
  Adriano 2005
  Humberto Suazo 2006
  Trésor Mputu 2007
  Rico 2008
  Shinji Okazaki 2009
  Bader Al-Mutawa 2010
  Baghdad Bounedjah 2018
Most international goals in a year
Rank Player Year Goals
1   Cristiano Ronaldo 2017 32
2   Lionel Messi 2012 25
  Cristiano Ronaldo 2013
4   Cristiano Ronaldo 2016 24
  Robert Lewandowski 2021
Winners by club
Club Total Players
  Real Madrid 5 2
  Barcelona 4 3
  Inter Milan 3 3
  Bayern Munich 3 2
  Al Sadd 2 2
  Ajax 1 1
  Al-Kuwait 1 1
  Al-Muharraq 1 1
  Al Shabab 1 1
  Arsenal 1 1
  Colo-Colo 1 1
  Dhofar 1 1
  Juventus 1 1
  Qadsia 1 1
  Manchester United 1 1
  Marseille 1 1
  Motagua 1 1
  Paris Saint-Germain 1 1
  Saba Battery 1 1
  São Paulo 1 1
  Shimizu S-Pulse 1 1
  Tottenham Hotspur 1 1
  TP Mazembe 1 1
  AS Roma 1 1
Winners by nationality
Nationality Total Players
  Brazil 5 5
  Portugal 5 1
  Argentina 3 1
  France 2 2
  Kuwait 2 2
  Netherlands 2 2
  Iran 2 1
  Poland 2 1
  Belgium 2 1
  Algeria 1 1
  Bulgaria 1 1
  Chile 1 1
  DR Congo 1 1
  Germany 1 1
  Honduras 1 1
  Japan 1 1
  Oman 1 1
  Saudi Arabia 1 1

The World's Best Top International Goal Scorer of the First Decade (2001–2010)

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Miroslav Klose scored the most international goals for his country during the decade, with 58.

The awards were part of the IFFHS World Football Gala 2012 which took place in Barcelona in May 2012.[37]

For the final list of 15 players, international goals scored from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010 were taken into consideration.[3]

Top 15 goal scorers
Rank Player Nation Club(s) Goals for country Goals for club(s) Total goals
1 Ruud van Nistelrooy   Netherlands   Manchester United
  Real Madrid
  Hamburger SV
33 53 86
2 Thierry Henry   France   Arsenal
  Barcelona
43 42 85
3 Didier Drogba   Ivory Coast   Marseille
  Chelsea
45 38 83
4 Miroslav Klose   Germany   1. FC Kaiserslautern
  Werder Bremen
  Bayern Munich
58 23 81
5 Samuel Eto'o   Cameroon   Mallorca
  Barcelona
  Inter Milan
44 35 79
6 Flávio Amado   Angola   Petro Atlético
  Al Ahly
  Al Shabab
32 41 73
7 Dimitar Berbatov   Bulgaria   Bayer Leverkusen
  Tottenham Hotspur
  Manchester United
46 25 71
8 Raúl   Spain   Real Madrid
  Schalke 04
26 45 71
9 David Villa   Spain   Zaragoza
  Valencia
  Barcelona
44 24 68
10 Andriy Shevchenko   Ukraine   Milan
  Chelsea
  Dynamo Kyiv
32 36 68
11 Alexander Frei    Switzerland   Servette
  Rennes
  Basel
42 21 63
12 Henrik Larsson   Sweden   Celtic
  Barcelona
  Manchester United
  Helsingborgs IF
25 36 61
13 Jon Dahl Tomasson   Denmark   Feyenoord
  Milan
  VfB Stuttgart
  Villarreal
43 16 59
14 Jared Borgetti   Mexico   Santos Laguna
  Pachuca
  Bolton Wanderers
  Al-Ittihad
  Morelia
41 17 58
15 Adriano   Brazil   Parma
  Inter Milan
  São Paulo
  Flamengo
27 31 58

Women's winners

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IFFHS World's Best Woman International Goal Scorer
SportAssociation football
Awarded forBest international goal scorer of the calendar year
Presented byInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award2021
Editions3
First winner  Ellen White
Most wins  Sam Kerr
  Ellen White
  Barbra Banda
(1 award each)
Most recent  Barbra Banda (1st award)
Websitewww.iffhs.com

List of winners

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Year Rank Winner Club(s) Goals
2021 1st   Ellen White[38]   Manchester City 21
2nd   Vivianne Miedema   Arsenal 17
3rd   Lea Schüller   Bayern Munich 17
2022 1st   Sam Kerr[39]   Chelsea 17
2nd   Beth Mead   Arsenal 15
3rd   Ewa Pajor   VfL Wolfsburg 15
2023 1st   Barbra Banda[40]   Shanghai Shengli 15
2nd   Salma Paralluelo   Barcelona 14
3rd   Sam Kerr   Chelsea 13

Statistics

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Winners (2021–present)
Player Wins Years
  Ellen White 1 2021
  Sam Kerr 1 2022
  Barbra Banda 1 2023
Most goals in a year
Rank Player Year Goals
1   Ellen White 2021 21
2   Sam Kerr 2022 17
  Vivianne Miedema 2021
  Lea Schüller 2021
5   Beth Mead 2022 15
  Ewa Pajor 2022
  Barbra Banda 2022
Wins by club
Club Total Players
  Chelsea 1 1
  Manchester City 1 1
  Shanghai Shengli 1 1
Wins by nationality
Nationality Total Players
  Australia 1 1
  England 1 1
  Zambia 1 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The World's Best Top Goal Scorer 2013". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  2. ^ "The World's Best Goal Scorers of the First Decade (2001-2010)". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b "The World's Best Goal Scorers of the First Decade (2001-2010)". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  4. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1991". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  5. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1992". 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  6. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1993". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  7. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1994". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  8. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1995". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  9. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1996". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  10. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1997". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  11. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1998". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  12. ^ "IFFHS Awards 1999". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  13. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2000". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  14. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2001". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  15. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2002". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  16. ^ "IFFHS AWARDS 2003". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  17. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2004". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  18. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2005". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  19. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2006". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  20. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2007". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  21. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2008". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  22. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2009". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  23. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2010". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  24. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2011". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  25. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2012". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  26. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2013". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
    "The World's Best Top Goal Scorer 2013". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  27. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2014". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
    "The World's Best Top Goal Scorer 2014". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  28. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2015". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
    "The World's Best Top Goal Scorer 2015". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  29. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2016". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
    "The World's Best Top Goal Scorer 2016 : Cristiano Ronald". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  30. ^ "IFFHS Awards 2017". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
  31. ^ "The World's Best International Top Goal Scorer 2018: Baghdad Bounedjah is the Winner". IFFHS. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  32. ^ "The World's Best Top Goal Scorer (International Goals): Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugual / FC Juventus)". IFFHS. 1 January 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  33. ^ "The World's Best International Goal Scorer 2020 - Romelu Lukaku". IFFHS. 31 December 2020. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021.
  34. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD INTERNATIONAL GOALSCORER 2021". IFFHS. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  35. ^ "IFFHS AWARDS 2022 - MEN'S WORLD BEST INTERNATIONAL GOAL SCORER 2022". IFFHS. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  36. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S WORLD BEST INTERNATIONAL GOAL SCORER 2023". IFFHS. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  37. ^ "Van Nistelrooy is named best goal scorer of the last decade by the IFFHS". Malaga. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020.
  38. ^ "IFFHS". IFFHS. 30 December 2021. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  39. ^ "IFFHS AWARDS 2022 - WOMEN'S WORLD BEST INTERNATIONAL GOAL SCORER 2022". IFFHS. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  40. ^ "IFFHS WOMEN'S WORLD BEST INTERNATIONAL GOAL SCORER 2023". IFFHS. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
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