Here are the four top snipers in football history.
The game of football (or soccer in the USA) is a big event for all fans of that sport. It’s not just a game of emotion, but often a spiritual one.
People are crazy about football. Men, women, boys, girls, young and old — nothing separates them from loving the game. That’s the reason why football is the most watched sport in the world.
Football is a game where the team wins by scoring goals and, over the years, some players have performed at an elite level in scoring.
Let’s look at the top goal scorers at the age of 31–the year players reach their prime.
#4 Diego Maradona
Maradona played for Argentina and won a World Cup for his country. He also played for many clubs–Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, and Sevilla. He had a total of 590 appearances in his career for country and club. By age 31, he scored 349 goals, fourth most of all-time.
Maradona was the Ambassador of FIFA in this year’s World Cup. Despite boorish behavior, he’s seen as a legend by one and all.
Pele (left) and Maradona (photo, Worldsoccer.com)
#3 Pele
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele, started playing for Santos at 15 and got onto Brazil’s squad at 16. He is the only player to lift three World Cups. He’s also the all-time top scorer for Brazil with 77 goals.
Pele is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time. He had a total of 694 appearances for his two clubs, Santos and New York Cosmos, and scored a massive 650 goals in those appearances.
At age 31, Pele had scored 535 goals to rank third on the list.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
The name says it all. In the news constantly these days, just a few weeks ago he became a surprise transfer to Juventus, a move that cost the team €100 million. That’s a lot of money to pay for a 33-year-old player.
Ronaldo began his career with Sporting CP and later moved to Machester United, where he made a name for himself. Real Madrid bought him in 2009 and he became a football legend there.
Ronaldo has scored 450 goals in 438 matches, which is about 1.03 goals per contest.
At the age of 31 had scored a total 553 goals in his career, which is the second most all time.
#1 Lionel Messi
Messi is seen as one of the greatest players of all time. The 31-year-old joined Barcelona in 2005 and previously played for Barcelona C and Barcelona B.
Messi with his five awards (photo, Pulse)
Messi is well-known for his positioning, quick reactions, ability to run through defenders, and score at a high level. Messi has played 637 matches for Barcelona, scoring 552 goals with the team.
He has won five Ballon d’Or awards–the MVP of football–during that time.
At the age of 31, Messi has scored the most number of goals by any player in both International and club career combined, 617.
