The 8 players in football history with the most goals after turning 30: Messi, Ronaldo…

Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid stars are among the eight players in football history with the most goals after turning 30.

While most footballers start to wind down by the time they reach 30, others manage to prolong their careers for another 10 or so years.

Using figures gathered by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, here are the eight players with the most goals after turning 30.

Note: While Alf Quill did score 271 goals after turning 30, he has not been included in this list as the IFFHS states that most of his goals came in ‘regional competitions of modest quality’.

=7. Josef Bican – 265 goals

The Slavia Prague legend scored over 800 career goals in total, with 265 of them coming after he turned 30.

Impressively, Bican had the most prolific season of his entire career when he was 30 years old as he scored a whopping 76 goals throughout the 1943–44 campaign.

Of the 265 goals that he scored after turning 30, 261 of them came at club level while the remaining four were scored on the international stage.

=7. Alfredo Di Stefano – 265 goals

Just like Bican, Di Stefano also bagged 265 goals after turning 30.

Coincidentally, the Real Madrid legend also enjoyed his most prolific season after turning 30 as he scored 43 goals in the 1956-57 campaign.

The Argentine and Spanish international eventually called it quits on his playing career in 1966, just a few months shy of his 40th birthday.

Even during his twilight years, he was a nuisance in the opposition’s box as his goals helped keep Espanyol up in La Liga for two consecutive seasons.

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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Real Madrid’s top ‘not Cristiano Ronaldo’ scorer every season since 2000?

6. Lionel Messi – 285 goals

In even in his later years, Messi has maintained his exceptional scoring record. Since turning 30 in June 2017, Messi has averaged 0.75 goals per game which is some going.

His record is even more impressive when you consider that he’s tended to drop into a deeper role throughout his later years.

When you also factor in Messi’s 148 assists since turning 30, he’s averaged a goal contribution every 74.6 minutes in his twilight years.

5. Robert Lewandowski – 300 goals

Still going strong at the highest level for Barcelona today, Lewandowski doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon.

Impressively, the 36-year-old has scored 30 or more goals in five of his last six seasons and during 2024-25 he’s currently averaging 1.1 goals per game.

With the Polish international in such prolific form right now, it won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that Barcelona have scored more goals than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 341 goals

When it comes to longevity, few players can hold a candle to Ibrahimovic’s career record. After turning 30 in 2011, the Swede went on to play for another 12 years before he retired in 2023.

During that time he scored a total of 341 goals for club and country. Of the goals that he scored in his post-30 years, 45.7% of them came during his spell with PSG.

Capable of scoring all types of goals, Ibrahimovic was truly one of a kind.

QUIZ: Can you name every club that Zlatan Ibrahimovic played for in his career?

3. Aleksandar Duric – 430 goals

The Singapore international scored the bulk of his career goals after turning 30 in August 2000.

Interestingly, as it took him several attempts to gain Singaporean citizenship, he didn’t make his international debut until 2007 when he was already 37 years old.

However, despite not starting his international career until his later years, Duric still managed to score 27 goals in 59 appearances for Singapore between 2007 and 2012.

At club level, he was even more prolific as he scored 403 goals for various Asian sides after celebrating his 30th birthday.

2. Romario – 441 goals

The Brazilian is undoubtedly one of the best goalscorers of his generation and he became even more prolific after turning 30.

Romario enjoyed his best-ever scoring season in 2000 for Vasco da Gama as bagged 66 goals across all competitions at the age of 34.

Of the goals that he scored in his later years, the majority of them came during his time in Brazil, particularly for Flamengo and Vasco da Gama.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 453 goals

The goalscoring numbers that Ronaldo has maintained since turning 30 have been absolutely absurd.

In total, he’s scored 453 goals in 537 games, averaging a strike every 101.32 minutes for club and country. For context, prior to turning 30, Ronaldo averaged a goal every 122.2 minutes.

Across his entire career, he’s scored 916 goals, meaning that 49.5% of his total career goals have been scored after he turned 30.

With the rate he’s been scoring for Al-Nassr, we can see him hitting the 1000-goal tally in no time.