10 Greatest European Attackers in Football History [Ranked]

After making the move to Manchester United for £25.6 million in 2004, Rooney went on to become one of the finest forwards in English and European football history by becoming his club and country’s top goalscorer of all time (until Harry Kane recently overthrew him at international level). His dexterity to score goals with both feet, coupled with his supreme technical ability to drop deeper into a midfield role in the latter stages of his playing days, is a testament to just how exceptional he was. He is also one of only two English players, alongside teammate Michael Carrick, to win the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, League Cup, Europa League, and Club World Cup.

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9 Jimmy Greaves

England

Jimmy Greaves is often left out of the argument when discussing the greatest strikers, mainly due to the generation he played in, as well as a severe case of recency bias. However, his statistics are difficult to overlook. Many may know him as the striker Harry Kane eclipsed to become Tottenham’s record goalscorer, but what they might not know is that the forward has the best goals-to-game ratio for England in men’s international football.

He scored 44 goals in 57 England caps, whilst his record of six hat-tricks also stands as a Three Lions’ record. After being on the receiving end of a nasty tackle in the final group game of the 1966 World Cup, Greaves still played an instrumental role in football coming home, despite missing the remainder of the tournament. Meanwhile, he also won the Serie A with AC Milan, as well as two FA Cup triumphs with Tottenham in 1962 and 1967. Although Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League goals with 283 since the competition’s rebranding in 1992, Greaves is the highest scorer in England’s first tier of football with 357.

8 Thierry Henry

France

Often considered the best Premier League player of all time, Thierry Henry had a knack for scoring goals, and did so for fun during his days at Arsenal and Barcelona. The Frenchman was an electric entertainer, and although his talismanic abilities make up a large reason for his position in the top 10 greatest European Attackers of all time, the way he played the game with such grace and freedom of the pitch has to be considered, too.

Yet, the very fact he scored 24 or more league goals in five successive seasons in the 2000s, is one hell of a statistic. He played a vital role in the Gunners’ invincible season, and went on to win the treble with Barcelona in 2009. But perhaps it is with his nation that he shines most profoundly. He was named French Player of the Year a record five times, securing the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship across 123 caps.

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7 Eusebio

Portugal

The ‘Black Panther’, as Eusebio was affectionately known, played for nine clubs and scored a total of 623 goals across his career, but he is best remembered for petrifying defences in the red of Benfica. For the Eagles, he netted an astonishing 473 goals in just 440 games, helping the side to 11 Portuguese titles and the 1961/62 European Cup – before Bela Guttman’s so-called curse stopped them winning the competition since then.

Surprisingly, however, he was unable to win anything with Portugal. His closest shave with any silverware for a team that also boasted the likes of Mario Coluna came in 1966, a year after he won the 1965 version of the Ballon d’Or. In this tournament, Eusebio cemented himself as one of the best footballers of all time by winning the Golden Boot and firing his nation to a bronze medal finish – their best-ever finish.

6 Marco Van Basten

The Netherlands

Playing one half of his career with Ajax, and the other with AC Milan, Marco Van Basten enjoyed a glittering career, although it was brought to an ill-fated end at just 28-years-old (retiring at 31 but not having played for three years during recovery) following a devastating ankle injury. Nevertheless, he still managed to hit the back of the net 277 times with an additional 82 assists in his club career, leaving him not far shy of a goal contribution per game on average.

As a result of this phenomenal goal-getting record, Van Basten is in elite company of just four other players to have won the Ballon d’Or on three occasions. With the Netherlands, the “Swan Of Utrecht” – named for his elegance and intelligent attacking play and penchant for scoring acrobatic goals – was pivotal to his nation’s 1988 European Championships triumph. He scored a total of five goals, including a hat trick against England in the first round, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a spectacular volley from an acute angle in the 2–0 final against the Soviet Union, during which he also provided the assist for Gullit’s opening goal.

5 Ferenc Puskas

Hungary

So good that they named an award after him. Ferenc Puskas is, again, like most players featured in this list, one of the best footballers of all time, and there aren’t many that are held in higher regard than him in an outright goal-scoring sense. He scored an incredible 709 times in 718 appearances for the teams he represented during his career, including Real Madrid, where he won five La Liga titles and lifted three European Cups, and Hungary, where he excelled as the leading orchestrator in his nation’s best-ever lineup, better known by their nickname ‘the Magical Magyars’.

As a forward who could blur the lines between midfield and attack with his phantom-like runs all over the final third of the pitch, Puskas incredibly scored 84 goals in 85 international appearances, helping Hungary achieve gold medals in the 1952 Summer Olympics, before then reaching the 1954 World Cup final to become one of the greatest nearly men in football folklore, losing out to West Germany via a poised 3-2 defeat.

4 Gerd Muller

Germany

Gerd Muller is somewhat surprisingly the only German international on the list but makes the top three thanks to a distinguished career. The striker won the European Championships with Germany in 1972 and lifted the World Cup with his country just two years later in a career as enviable as anyone else’s.

“Der Bomber” (a pretty self-explanatory nickname) is Bayern Munich’s all-time leading goalscorer with 568 during his time with the German giants, winning three European Cups, four league titles and four German Cups in the process. Having also won the Ballon d’Or in 1970, as well as Footballer of the Year in 1967 and 1969, Muller holds his own as one of the greatest attackers in the history of the European game.

Gerd Muller Key Statistics
Career Appearances	778
Career Goals	722
Career Assists	102
Number of Trophies Won	15

3 Alfredo Di Stefano

Spain

Just the words ‘super’ and ‘Ballon d’Or’ being put together sounds prestigious. In some ways, it sounds like a fantastical, made-up award. But some might be surprised to learn that it’s an actual thing, and the only owner of such an accolade is Alfredo Di Stefano. Awarded in 1989 for the best player in the previous three decades, the rarest honour of them all has to go some way in helping the former Argentina and Spain international to seamlessly fit into the top three European attackers of all time.

But if it isn’t, then let his goals and other trophies do the rest of the talking. With Real Madrid, he won eight La Liga titles and five successive European Cups, while his tally of 308 in just 396 appearances for the club ranks him as Los Blancos’ fourth-highest all-time scorer, having been eclipsed in the 21st century by Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Raul. This, in turn, has led him to be known also as one of the greatest players for one of the greatest European clubs.

Alfredo Di Stefano Key Statistics
Career Appearances	706
Career Goals	509
Career Assists	N/A
Number of Trophies Won	22

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2 Johan Cruyff

The Netherlands

Johan Cruyff not only played football; he philosophised it. The most prominent exponent of the revolutionary Total Football system, Cruyff won trophy after trophy with Ajax and Barcelona during the ’70s – most notably three European Cups in a row with the former. He also captained the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 World Cup and a bronze finish at the 1976 European Championships.

In his 713 career appearances, Hendrik Johannes Cruyff transcended the sport, becoming a legendary figure both on and off the pitch. He scored a total of 400 goals and provided 358 assists, making a compelling case for being considered the greatest footballer of all time, apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as evidenced when he won three Ballon d’Or awards between 1971 and 1974.

Johan Cruyff Key Statistics
Career Appearances	612
Career Goals	400
Career Assists	358
Number of Trophies Won	20

1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal

From starting his career as a spellbinding winger with elusive dribbling skills, to evolving into the most lethal striker in world football, Cristiano Ronaldo was obviously always going to be number one in this article. He’s won the Champions League five times, been awarded the Ballon d’Or on five occasions, and also has international recognition following Portugal’s 2016 European Championships crowning.

Remarkably, too, he’s still playing, and has a chance to add to his indomitable legacy after being named in Portugal’s 26-man squad for EURO 2024. But after finishing as the top scorer in 20 different competitions across his career, it’s difficult to see where things could be any better for Ronaldo, who is, beyond doubt, in the top tier of the beautiful game’s greatest-ever players.

Cristiano Ronaldo Key Statistics
Career Appearances	1013
Career Goals	759
Career Assists	238
Number of Trophies Won	33

Stats via Transfermrkt (correct as of 17/06/2024)