Greaves 366, Müller 365, Cristiano Ronaldo 364
Alexis Martín-Tamayo, known to friends and his audience as 'Mister Chip', has compiled, tidied up and revealed in all its splendour an eye-opening ranking: the highest goalscorers in Europe's big five leagues, that is: Spain, England, Italy, Germany and France. The standing of each of these five championships may have varied over time, but their constancy as uniquely tough competitions is, I think, something that rightly should be valued. And in this noteworthy ranking of goalscorers the leader is Jimmy Greaves (366 goals), followed by Gerd Müller (365). Just behind are Cristiano Ronaldo (364*), with Messi not far away (344).
Greaves was a goal-scoring machine
I'm a fan. Firstly because it revives the memory of Jimmy Greaves, a player who is beginning to be forgotten. So neat was Greaves at putting the ball in the back of the net, the celebrated English journalist Geoffrey Green said it was like "someone closing the door of a Rolls-Royce". Greaves did suffer though at the World Cup in '66. He was part of the starting line-up but was injured against France and saw a young Geoff Hurst take his place. Hurst played in the final, where he scored three goals, one of which of course never actually crossed the line. Greaves missed out on glory that day, but his 366 goals remain, shared between Chelsea, Milan, Tottenham (above all) and West Ham.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi racing towards Greaves' total
Not even the great Der Bomber Müller could beat Greaves' record. But now Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are coming galloping towards Europe's high goal scoring watermark. I'm fascinated by the subject, of course, because it's another challenge for both of them, and one which no doubt they'll both beat soon enough. The incredible race between the two (five Ballons d'Or for Messi, four for Cristiano Ronaldo) sees them scaling yet another peak. In these days where so much of the focus is on mean-spirited debates over football's most trivial controversies, I'd prefer to extol the grandeur of the rivalry between these two extraordinary players. Two players capable of breaking absolutely any record.
*Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 367 league goals, however three of these were at Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese league, which is not included in Europe's big five.