<P> In top - level football, 27 players have scored 500 or more goals over the course of their career, according to research by the Rec. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation . Only players who were active in top division football for all or most of their careers are considered . The ranking below takes into account goals scored in official matches played with national teams at all age levels and clubs in all divisions . </P> <Dl> <Dt> Key </Dt> </Dl> <P> Unverified data is excluded from players' data; goal and match totals may be higher . Players in bold are currently active; data is accurate as of 8 April 2018 . </P>

Who was the first football player to scored more than 1000 goals