With football seeing a number of world-class players gracing the game over the decades, the moniker of King of football has kept on changing with each era. However, if there was one player to be labelled the same it would be Brazilian legend Pele. With 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, Pele is undoubtedly the king of football.
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Though Pele sits second on the list of players with the most goals in football history with 765 official goals to his name, it doesn’t take into account his heroics in friendly matches. But, the legend never lets us forget that with his Instagram bio reading, “Leading Goal Scorer of All Time (1,283)”. The list of most goals is led by Cristiano Ronaldo with 803 career goals.
What separates Pele from legends like Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and others is his success at the international level. Apart from possessing unparalleled individual talent and goal-scoring ability, Pele has also been a FIFA World Cup winner three times in 1970, 1962, 1958.
Following is the goal tally of Pele for various clubs according to the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF).
King of football Pele’s Goal Records
| Team | Matches | Goals |
| Santos FC | 660 | 643 |
| New York Cosmos | 64 | 37 |
| Brazil | 92 | 77 |
| Military Team | 4 | 4 |
| Selection São Paulo | 15 | 12 |
| Other Selections | 5 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 840 | 775 |
As far as the popular proverb of “Kings are not born, they are made…” goes, Pele is undoubtedly the king of football all time. Coming from a humble background, the player had to overcome many adversities to become a football legend. However, what puts him on the pedestal is his adherence to the Samba playing style while charting his course in football folklore.
Who was the king of football in the world in 2021?
The king of football in 2021 was Bundesliga star Robert Lewandowski who ended the calendar year with 69 goals in 59 matches across all competitions. His heroics saw Bayern Munich end their league campaign as the winners. The Bavarians also went on to win the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup on the back of Lewandowski’s prolific goal-scoring prowess. However, they had to end their UEFA Champions League 2020-21 campaign as the quarter-finalist.
This was also the season when Lewandowski scored 41 goals in 29 league games to break Bundesliga legend Gerd Muller‘s record of most goals in a season.
Who was the king of football 2020?
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski was undoubtedly the king of football 2020 for the sheer number of goals that he had scored. The Polish international had ended the calendar year with 54 goals on 58 games as Bayern Munchen went on to win the Bundesliga as well as the UEFA Champions League. Below are his stats for the 2019-20 season.
Robert Lewandowski stats 2019-20
| Competition | Matches | Goals |
| Champions League | 10 | 15 |
| DFB-Pokal | 5 | 6 |
| Bundesliga | 31 | 34 |
| DFL-Supercup | 1 | – |
Who is the king of football skills?
Despite having a close competition with Premier League club Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi is widely believed to have more footwork in his arsenal. Leo Messi is definitely the king of football skills. While Ronaldo is a world-class goal scorer sitting at the top of lists like Champions League top-scorer, players with most international goals, and most career goals on history, Messi leads the lists of most assists in football, most goals in a season and is popular across the world for his unparalleled dribbling skills and close ball control.
Who is the king of football 2022?
Lionel Messi is the king of football in 2022 after his stupendous previous season where he ended with 41 goals and 17 assists and then went on to leave Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for the 2021-22 season. Messi went on to win his seventh Balon d’Or as well after he led the Argentina national team to their 15th Copa America title.
Lionel Messi stats 2020-21 season
| Competitions | Games | Goals | Assists |
| LaLiga | 35 | 30 | 11 |
| Copa del Rey | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Champions League | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Supercopa | 1 | – | – |
Who is the king of football 2017?
The king of football 2017 was definitely Cristiano Ronaldo for the brilliant season he had with Real Madrid. The Portuguese international went on to score 42 goals in 46 games for Real Madrid across all competitions as Los Blancos won almost everything. Not only did they defend their UEFA Champions League title successfully but also went on to win the La Liga, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Cup.
Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane was also a strong contender for being the king of the season after he ended 2017 with 56 goals in 52 games, but Spurs couldn’t capitalise on this stupendous form to win any silverware.
Cristiano Ronaldo stats 2016-17 season
| Competitions | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Champions League | 13 | 12 | 6 |
| LaLiga | 29 | 25 | 6 |
| Copa del Rey | 2 | 1 | – |
| Club World Cup | 2 | 4 | – |
Who is the king of football 2019?
FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi was the king of football 2019 after yet another prolific season with the Catalan club as they ended up winning the La Liga and Supercopa de Espana. Lionel Messi had scored 51 goals and provided 20 assists in 50 games at the club acr0ss all competitions to end the season as Barcelona’s top scorer.
Lionel Messi stats 2018-19 season
| Competitions | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Copa del Rey | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| LaLiga | 34 | 36 | 14 |
| Champions League | 10 | 12 | 3 |
| Supercopa | 1 | – | 2 |
Who is the king of football 2018?
The crown for the king of football 2018 should undoubtedly be given to former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. Under the guidance of manager Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid went on to win their third consecutive UEFA Champions League title and Ronaldo was in peak form. He scored 15 goals in 13 Champions League games and ended up taking his goal tally to 44 in 44 games across all club competitions.
Cristiano Ronaldo stats 2017-18 season
| Competition | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Champions League | 13 | 15 | 3 |
| LaLiga | 27 | 26 | 5 |
| Club World Cup | 2 | 2 | – |
| Supercopa | 1 | 1 | – |
| UEFA Super Cup | 1 | – | – |
