Five players to have scored the most goals for a single club

Bengaluru, Feb 9: Record-breaker Lionel Messi recently added another feather to his cap by becoming the footballer to have scored the most number of goals for a single club beating legendary Pele's record for Santos where the iconic Brazilian forward scored a total of 643 goals during his career.

Over the years, the Argentine superstar has proven it time and again why he has all the numbers to lay claim to being the greatest ever player. In this article, we will take a look at the five legendary players who have scored the most goals for a single club.

5. Josef Bican (Slavia Prague) - 534 goals

One of the greatest strikers to have ever graced the game, Josef Bican does not quite get the recognition he deserves. His goalscroing record was truly incredible with the legendary striker averaging more than one goal per game. During his illustrious career, he played for the likes of Rapid Vienna, Admira, Slavia Prague, FC Vítkovice, FC Hradec Králové and Dynamo Prague but he spent 11 long years at Slavia Prague where he scored 534 goals in just 211 games.

4. Fernando Peyroteo (Sporting CP) - 544 goals

Another truly underrated gem of a striker, Fernando Peyroteo, was a one club man who only featured for Sporting CP in his career. The Portuguese striker had an astonishing goalscoring record in Sporting colours and led the club to multiple honours. He scored a total of 544 goals in just 334 appearances for the Portuguese giants and is still fondly remembered as one of the club's greatest players.

3. Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich) - 571 goals

Regarded as one of the most celebrated forwards of all time, Gerd Muller was aptly called "Der Bomber". He is still regarded as the greatest striker ever produced by Germany and played a pivotal role for both his club Bayern Munich as well as his country. Muller netted 571 goals for the Bavarians, leading them to numerous honours including the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Golden Boot award in 1970.

2. Pele (Santos) - 643 goals

Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time if not the absolute greatest, Pele almost spent the entirety of his career while playing for his boyhood club Santos. Pele netted a total of 643 goals in just 656 games, as per official statistics although there are some discrepancies over his actual goalscoring figures. Whatever might be his actual numbers, there in no doubt that the three-time World Cup winner with Brazil is one of the greatest to lace a pair of boots.

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 651 goals

There are not too many records left for Lionel Messi to break and even if there is, the Argentine maestro is just 33 years of age now and he might break those as well. The Barcelona superstar recently broke Pele's record of scoring most goals for a single club and now he has scored 651 goals for the Blaugrana in 757 games. Messi still seems to be at his best and who knows how many more he will score before finally hanging his boots.