Premier League All-Time Top Scorers: Shearer Leads with 260
Alan Shearer leads with 260 Premier League goals. See the official top 10, the competition cutoff and why goal totals differ from scoring rates.
Alan Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time top scorer with 260 goals, ahead of Harry Kane on 213 and Wayne Rooney on 208. Mohamed Salah ranks fourth with 193, according to the Premier League’s official all-time statistics, checked on 6 October 2026.
This is a count of goals in Premier League matches—not all goals scored by players who have appeared in the competition, and not the entire history of England’s top division.
Premier League all-time scoring table
| Rank | Player | Premier League goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Shearer | 260 |
| 2 | Harry Kane | 213 |
| 3 | Wayne Rooney | 208 |
| 4 | Mohamed Salah | 193 |
| 5 | Andrew Cole | 187 |
| 6 | Sergio Agüero | 184 |
| 7 | Frank Lampard | 177 |
| 8 | Thierry Henry | 175 |
| 9 | Robbie Fowler | 163 |
| 10 | Jermain Defoe | 162 |
Source and update date: Official Premier League goals leaderboard, with “All Seasons” selected, checked 6 October 2026. The same top 10 and totals appear in USA TODAY’s August 2026 ranking. Andrew Cole is also commonly listed as Andy Cole.
Shearer’s advantage over Kane is 47 goals. His 260 came across Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United; the Premier League records 148 at Newcastle, leaving 112 at Blackburn. That Newcastle league tally should not be confused with his 206 goals for the club in all competitions, a separate record described in the league’s profile of his career.
What does “all-time” include?
Here, “all-time” means since the Premier League began in 1992/93. Its inaugural matches were played on 15 August 1992, as the competition’s official history explains.
The table combines each player’s Premier League goals across clubs and seasons. It excludes goals in:
- The old First Division before 1992/93.
- The FA Cup, League Cup and European competitions.
- Other domestic leagues and international matches.
Shearer illustrates why that boundary matters. His senior career began at Southampton in 1988, before he moved to Blackburn in 1992. Those earlier Southampton goals are outside this Premier League total, even though they belong to his wider career. The dates are recorded in the Premier League’s career account.
Most goals is not the same as the highest scoring rate
A career goal total has no denominator: it simply adds goals. It rewards sustained scoring and time spent in the competition. Goals per appearance asks a different question by dividing goals by matches played.
Using the official career figures:
- Shearer: 260 goals ÷ 441 appearances = 0.59 goals per appearance.
- Agüero: 184 goals ÷ 275 appearances = 0.67 goals per appearance.
The inputs come from the official profiles of Shearer and Agüero. Shearer leads on total goals; Agüero has the higher rate in this comparison.
Even that rate has a limit. A ten-minute substitute appearance and a full match each count as one appearance. Goals per 90 minutes adjusts for playing time, but neither measure fully accounts for role, team strength or the chances a player receives.
Historical coverage also matters. The Premier League’s data guide lists goals and appearances from 1992/93, but shots and minutes played from 2006/07, and expected goals from 2012/13. Its published data therefore cannot support a like-for-like, whole-career xG comparison of every player in this table.
For the record-holder question, total goals gives the answer. For a broader assessment of scoring ability, our evidence-based shortlist of soccer’s best shooters explains how volume, rate and role change the comparison.