Alan Shearer (260) currently holds the record for most goals scored in Premier League history, whilst Harry Kane is on course to break said record if he remains in the English top-flight for the rest of his career.
Sergio Aguero, meanwhile, is the highest-scoring foreign player in the Premier League with an impressive 184 goals.
But who is the best goalscorer in the league’s history? To find this out, 101greatgoals will be looking at the players with the best goals-per-minute ratio to decide. Obviously, if someone has played one game and scored one goal they will not be included in this list despite them technically having a great GPM ratio.
10. Alan Shearer – 147 mins per goal (260)
As already mentioned, Alan Shearer is the top goalscorer in Premier League history and his 112 goals in 138 league games for Blackburn, which included a Premier League title win, was quite impressive. Shearer then moved home to Newcastle and despite the Magpies struggling in his first three seasons there, he still hit plenty of goals. Shearer also has the joint-record for most goals in a single PL campaign, netting 34 times when the league still had 42 matches.
9. Edin Dzeko – 142 mins per goal (50)
8. Robin van Persie – 140 mins per goal (144)
Van Persie began his Premier League career at Arsenal and went on to net over 100 times for the Gunners in all competitions. His most impressive campaign came in 2011/12 when he scored 30 league goals. This earned him a transfer to Manchester United the following season where he went on to almost singlehandedly win the Red Devils the league title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final campaign.
7. Luis Suarez – 139 mins per goal (69)
On his day, Suarez was one of the best goalscorers the Premier League has had the pleasure of witnessing. He netted 83 times in the league for Liverpool, including 31 goals in 2013/14 where he almost single-handedly dragged an average Liverpool side to their first PL title.
6. Mohamed Salah – 134.8 minutes per goal (127)
Another Liverpool star but one who has tasted Premier League glory. Salah’s GPM ratio will continue to fluctuate as he is still playing in the Premier League, but there is no doubting his goalscoring ability. The Egyptian also currently has the record for most goals (32) scored in a single Premier League campaign since the number of matches was reduced from 42 to 38.
5. Ruud van Nistelrooy – 128 mins per goal (95)
95 goals in 150 league games for Manchester United is a phenomenal record. However, despite all the goals, Van Nistelrooy only won one league title during his stint with the Red Devils. This was because Van Nistelrooy had the misfortune of playing at a time when Arsenal went invincible and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were able to concede just 15 goals in one campaign.
4. Harry Kane – 127.7 minutes per goal (199)
Like Salah, Harry Kane’s GPM will continue to change as he remains a Tottenham player. But the Englishman is on course to surpass Shearer in the goalscoring charts and do so with a better GPM ratio.
3. Thierry Henry – 122 mins per goal (175)
Sitting 7th on the all-time Premier League goalscorers list, Thierry Henry is one of the finest players to grace the pitch. The Frenchman’s GPM was slightly damaged by his second spell with Arsenal in 2011 but in his prime, he was a serious player. Henry’s best PL season came in 20003/04 when he netted 30 as Arsenal became the first and only team to remain undefeated across a full season.
2. Sergio Aguero – 108 mins per goal (184)
Arguably the best foreign player in Premier League history, Sergio Aguero dominated the top-flight with Manchester City, including in 2017/18 when City set the record for most points in a single season (100). The Argentine also has the record for most PL hat-tricks (12) and the joint-most goals scored in a Premier League match (5).
1. Erling Haaland – 62.04 minutes per goal (25)
Erling Haaland’s inclusion on this list may cause some debate. But given the rate he is currently scoring at, even a drop-off would still see him with a better GPM ratio than anyone else on this list.
In his one season at City he has already obliterated numerous records, including becoming the quickest player to reach three and four Premier League hat-tricks. Haaland scored three hat-tricks in his first eight games for City, smashing the record previously held by Michael Owen who needed 48 matches to achieve the feet.
At the same time, Haaland became the first player in history to score three successive home hat-tricks for any club. The Norwegian then netted his 4th hat-trick after 19 games, again shattering a record which was held by Ruud van Nistelrooy (65 games). And with the season not yet over, Haaland needs one more hat-trick to tie with Shearer for most hat-tricks in a single campaign (5).
