Messi, Pele, Muller: The top goalscorer in every decade from 1940s to 2010s | OneFootball

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest goalscorers the sport of football has ever seen.

Throughout the course of his illustrious career, the little magician has found the back of the net with frightening regularity.

In his legendary stint with Barcelona, Messi scored an astonishing 672 goals in all competitions, while he's also found the back of the net 80 times on international duty with Argentina.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar's numbers are beyond outrageous at this point and you wouldn't put it past him reaching a total of 1000 goals before hanging up his boots for good.

If he was able to replicate his scoring form from the 2010s in the 2020s, Messi would surpass four figures in no time at all.

That's because Messi rippled the back of the net on an absurd number of occasions in the previous decade.

One football fan on Reddit has highlighted that by putting together a graphic which details the top goalscorer in every decade from the 1940s onwards.

So, let's take a look at all the winners...

The top goalscorer in every decade from the 1940s to 2010s

1940s | Josef Bican (Slavia Prague, FC Vítkovice & Czechoslovakia) - 470 goals

1950s | Alfredo di Stefano (Millonarios, Real Madrid & Spain) - 301 goals

1960s | Pele (Santos & Brazil) - 403 goals

1970s | Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich, Fort Lauderdale Strikers & West Germany) - 452 goals

1980s | Hugo Sanchez (San Diego Sockers, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid & Mexico) - 315 goals

1990s | Romario (PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Flamengo, Valencia & Brazil) - 340 goals

2000s | Thierry Henry (Arsenal, Barcelona & France) - 313 goals

2010s | Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina) - 579 goals

Some of the biggest names in football history accompanied by jaw-dropping numbers. You just love to see it.

So, the graphic above begs the question; who will be the top goalscorer in the 2020s?

Well if he was younger, you'd be backing Robert Lewandowski all the way right now, but the Bayern goal-machine is 33 years of age.

As such, either Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland would probably be a far safer bet.

Lionel Messi: Can you get 20/20 on this quiz about his Barcelona career?

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At what age did Messi join Barcelona?

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