10 Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time | German Football League Ranking

August 7, 2021 By Sourav

The Fußball-Bundesliga, known commonly as just Bundesliga, is the top flight league of professional soccer in Germany. This league has the highest average stadium attendance among all leagues all over the world. It is the primary football league in Germany and is currently contested by 18 teams. Over the years, Bayern Munich proves itself as the most successful club in Bundesliga. And undoubtedly, all the clubs in the league houses several great players and young talents since the very beginning. So, let’s have a look at the 10 Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time.

Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time

Bundesliga earned its place as the second most popular football league in Europe according to the UEFA's league coefficient ranking in 2018. The league started in 1963 after its foundation in the previous year. Deutscher Fußball-Bund founded the league, but now Deutsche Fußball Liga runs the Bundesliga. The German league has gained popularity all over the globe since the starting of the twenty-first century and is now being broadcasted on television in over 200 countries.

It has a promotion and relegation system with the 2.Bundesliga. All the Bundesliga clubs participate in the DFB-Pokal annual knockout tournament and the winner of the league qualifies for the DFL-Supercup.

10. Dieter Müller

Bundesliga Goals: 177
Total Bundesliga matches: 303
Scoring Average: 0.58
Clubs: 1. FC Saarbrücken, 1. FC Köln and VfB Stuttgart

Retire German forward Dieter Müller holds the record for most goals scored in a single Bundesliga match. He achieved that feat while scoring 6 goals against Werder Bremen at the Müngersdorfer Stadion on 17^th August 1977.

He scored 177 total goals in Bundesliga in his active career between 1972 and 1989. Dieter played for several teams in his career such as FC Köln and VfB Stuttgart and achieved tenth place in the list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time.

He played 248 matches while scoring 159 goals for 1. FC Köln from 1973 to 1981. He then joined the VfB Stuttgart squad and scored 14 goals in 30 matches in the 1981-82 season. Shortly after, he moved to 1. FC Saarbrücken and scored the last 4 goals in his career.

Besides his club football career, Dieter Müller also played 12 international matches for Germany while scoring 9 goals. Before his senior debut, he also played for the West Germany Amateur and B team between 1973 and 1981. After his retirement, Dieter also managed the Kickers Offenbach squad in 2000.

9. Klaus Allofs

Bundesliga Goals: 177
Total Bundesliga matches: 424
Scoring Average: 0.42
Clubs: Werder Bremen, 1. FC Köln and Fortuna Düsseldorf

Retired German striker Klaus Allofs achieved the Bundesliga top scorer award twice in his active career between 1975 and 1993. He scored a total of 177 Bundesliga goals and achieved eight place in the Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time list.

He played 169 matches while scoring 71 goals for Fortuna Düsseldorf from 1975 to 1981. Then he joined 1. FC Köln and scored 88 goals in 177 matches between 1981 and 1987.

During the last segment of his career, Allofs scored 18 times in 78 matches that he played for Werder Bremen from 1990 to 1993. Besides Bundesliga, he also played for Frech clubs Olympique de Marseille and FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Besides his club success, Allofs played 56 matches for West Germany while scoring 17 goals between 1978 and 1988. He represented the nation in FIFA World Cup once and the European Championships twice. After his retirement, he also managed the Fortuna Düsseldorf in the 1998-99 season.

8. Stefan Kuntz

Bundesliga Goals: 179
Total Bundesliga matches: 449
Scoring Average: 0.40
Clubs: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Bochum and KFC Uerdingen 05

Retired German striker Stefan Kuntz achieved the Bundesliga top scorer award twice in his career, first in 1986 and then again in 1994. He scored 179 goals in his active career between 1980 and 2005.

With his amazing record in the league, he holds the eighth spot in our list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time. He scored 41 goals in 100 matches from 1983 to 1986 and then again scored 6 goals in 20 matches in the 1998-99 season for VfL Bochum.

He scored 32 goals in 94 matches for Bayer 05 Uerdingen between 1986 and 1986. Then he moved to 1. FC Kaiserslautern and scored 75 times in 170 matches between 1989 and 1995.

Besides his club success, he also represented the German squad from 1993 to 1997, while scoring 6 goals in 25 international matches. He held the chairman position of 1. FC Kaiserslautern club from 2008 to 2015. Stefan currently coaches the U-21 side of Germany since 2016.

7. Ulf Kirsten

Bundesliga Goals: 182
Total Bundesliga matches: 350
Scoring Average: 0.52
Clubs: Bayer Leverkusen

Retire German striker Ulf Kirsten, nicknamed ‘Der Schwatte’, earned prominence after appearing in more than 100 matches combined for East Germany and the German mainland.

Measuring just 5’8”, he scored a total of 182 goals in the Bundesliga in his career between 1990 and 2003. Kirsten, with his amazing scoring record, has achieved the seventh place in the list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time.

He scored 182 times in 350 matches that he played for Bayer Leverkusen till 2003. He received the EFFIFU award for being the most efficient Bundesliga striker in the 1999-2000 season.

In the international circuit, he played 49 matches while scoring 14 times for East Germany between 1985 and 1990. He then went on to play 51 matches while scoring 20 international goals for Germany from 1990 to 2000. Upon his retirement, he also managed the Bayer 04 Leverkusen senior and reserve team.

6. Claudio Pizarro

Bundesliga Goals: 197
Total Bundesliga matches: 472
Scoring Average: 0.42
Clubs: Werder Bremen, 1. FC Köln and Bayern München

Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro currently plays for the Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln besides regularly appearing for the Peru national side. He scored 194 total goals in Bundesliga till now and holds the fifth spot on the Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time list.

He played for Werder Bremen between 1999 and 2001 while scoring 29 times in 56 matches. Pizarro then joined one of the richest football clubs Bayern Munich and scored 71 goals in 174 matches from 2001 to 2007.

He again scored 16 goals in 50 matches in his second stint with Bayern between 2012 and 2015. In 2017, he joined 1. FC Köln and played 9 matches till now. Besides his club career, he also scored 20 goals in 85 international matches that he played for the Peruvian national side between 1999 and 2016.

As an interesting trivia, he scored the fastest goal by any individual Peruvian player ever. He achieved that feat while scoring just 18 seconds after the starting whistle against Mexico on 23^rd August 2003.

5. Manfred Burgsmüller

Bundesliga Goals: 213
Total Bundesliga matches: 447
Scoring Average: 0.48
Clubs: Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Nürnberg and Rot-Weiss Essen

Retired German footballer Manfred Burgsmüller, nicknamed ‘Manni’, mostly played as a striker in his active football career. He earned his place among the German football legends and holds the fourth place in the Bundesliga Top Scorers All-Time ranking.

He scored a total of 213 goals in 447 matches that he ever played in the Bundesliga between 1968 and 1990. Burgsmüller scored 80 goals in 101 matches for Bayer Uerdingen from 1971 to 1974. He then joined Borussia Dortmund and scored 135 goals in 224 matches between 1976 and 1983.

Finally, he scored 34 goals in 115 matches for the Werder Bremen squad between 1985 and 1990. In the international scenario, he played 8 matches for the West Germany B team between 1975 and 1978.

And even after his success in the German league, Burgsmüller earned just 3 caps for the West Germany senior squad. He also played as a kicker in American football after his retirement from professional soccer.

4. Jupp Heynckes

Bundesliga Goals: 220
Total Bundesliga matches: 369
Scoring Average: 0.60
Clubs: Hannover 96 and Borussia Mönchengladbach

Retired German forward Josef “Jupp” Heynckes currently manages the Bayern Munich squad and earned his place among the most successful football managers. He played 369 matches while scoring 220 goals in his active Bundesliga career between 1963 and 1978.

He currently holds the third spot in our list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time. Heynckes scored 50 times in 82 matches for Borussia Mönchengladbach from 1963 to 1967. He then moved to Hannover 96 and scored 25 goals in 86 matches between 1967 and 1970.

For his second spell, he came back to Mönchengladbach and scored 168 more goals in 226 matches from 1970 to 1978. During his international career, he played 3 matches for the West Germany U-23 team in the 1966-67 season.

Following his promotion to the senior squad, Heynckes scored 14 goals in 39 matches for West Germany between 1967 and 1976. Besides his professional success, he also earned praises for his coaching stints with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

3. Klaus Fischer

Bundesliga Goals: 268
Total Bundesliga matches: 535
Scoring Average: 0.50
Clubs: TSV 1860 München, FC Schalke 04, VfL Bochum and 1. FC Köln

Retired German striker Klaus Fischer earned praises for his ability of Bicycle kicks and currently holds the second spot in the Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time list. He scored a total of 268 goals in 535 Bundesliga matches that he played between 1968 and 1988.

Sadly enough, he received a permanent ban due to the Bundesliga scandal in 1971 which was later reduced to a single-season ban. He scored 28 times in 60 matches for TSV 1860 München from 1968 to 1970. He then moved to FC Schalke 04 and scored 182 goals in 295 matches between 1970 and 1981.

In his appearances for 1. FC Köln between 1981 and 1984, Fischer scored 31 goals in 96 matches. Lastly, he scored 27 more in 84 matches for VfL Bochum till 1988.

Besides his club success, Fischer also played for the West Germany team between 1977 and 1982 and scored 32 goals in 45 matches. After his retirement, he managed several big teams such as VfL Bochum and FC Schalke 04.

2. Robert Lewandowski

Bundesliga Goals: 277
Total Bundesliga matches: 350
Scoring Average: 0.79
Clubs: Borussia Dortmund and Bayern München

Polish international Robert Lewandowski currently plays for the Bundesliga side Bayern Munich since 2014. Besides, he also captains the Poland national team in international matches. He scored a total of 190 goals till now and has achieved second place in the list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time.

He scored 74 goals in 131 matches that he played for Borussia Dortmund between 2010 and 2014. Lewandowski then joined Bayern Munich in 2014 and scored 203 goals in 2193 matches till now.

He established the fastest five-goal-haul record in a match against VfL Wolfsburg on 22nd September 2015. He achieved that feat while scoring 5 goals in a mere 9 minutes. In the international circle, Lewandowski scored 69 goals for the Polish team in 122 matches since 2008.

Besides, he also represented the U-21 squad of Poland and played 3 matches. His fans now believe that Lewandowski has the capability to become one of the greatest football players of all time.

1. Gerd Müller

Bundesliga Goals: 365
Total Bundesliga matches: 427
Scoring Average: 0.85
Clubs: Bayern MünchenGerd Müller, Der Bomber [Best Goals]

Retired German football legend Gerd Müller came into prominence through his amazing scoring ability and clinical finishing. Widely regarded as the greatest striker ever, he also holds the top spot in the list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time.

He started his career with 1861 Nördlingen in 1963 and scored 51 goals in just 31 matches. Then he moved to Bayern Munich and scored an unmatched 398 total goals in 453 matches between 1964 and 1979.

In the last segment of his professional career, Müller played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League from 1979 to 1981.

In his international career, Müller played 68 matches for the West Germany squad while scoring 62 goals between 1966 and 1974. After his retirement, he held the assistant manager post of the Bayern Munich reserve team from 1992 to 2014.

Final Words

Besides all the players listed above, many footballers also put their marks on the all-time scoring list of Bundesliga. Such as Hannes Löhr, who scored 166 goals in 381 Bundesliga matches for 1. FC Köln. Active players like Mario Gomez also have the chance of making their place among the top scorers of the German League. We hope you liked the updated list of Bundesliga Top Scorers All Time as of 2021, and don’t forget to send us your opinion about the ranking.