Top 10 African highest goal scorers of all time: Where do Salah and Drogba rank?

African players have long been known for their physical strength and scoring ability, and many have made a global impact. In this article, livescorecz.net updates the Top 10 African highest goal scorers of all time.

Top 10 African highest goal scorers of all time

This list includes African players with the most career goals in official matches, regardless of competition or level.

10. Hossam Hassan (Egypt) - 303 goals in 647 games

Ranked 10th is an Egyptian football legend who held the national team scoring record for many years before being surpassed by Mohamed Salah. Most of his career was spent at Al Ahly, where he won numerous domestic and continental titles. He claimed around 40 major and minor trophies and even won the Africa Cup of Nations at the age of 40 in 2006.

9. Youssef El Arabi (Morocco) - 310 goals in 578 games

A legend of Moroccan football, he played in France and Spain but enjoyed his greatest success with Olympiacos, becoming the club’s all-time leading foreign goalscorer. He also broke scoring records at clubs such as Granada, Al-Duhail, and Caen. Even at 39, he continues to play at a high level, currently with Nantes.

8. Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo) - 328 goals in 704 games

Mbokani is the highest scorer in DR Congo’s national team history and helped his country finish third at AFCON 2015. He played in the Premier League and Bundesliga, but his most notable achievements came in Belgium with Standard Liege, Anderlecht, and Royal Antwerp. He won the Belgian Golden Boot in 2012 and collected five league titles.

7. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) - 365 goals in 791 games

One of the greatest African strikers, Drogba reached his peak later than most but achieved huge success. He scored 65 goals in 105 matches for Ivory Coast, making him the national team’s all-time top scorer. He was famous for delivering in big matches and often scored decisive goals in crucial moments.

6. Mohamed Salah (Egypt) - 382 goals in 661 games

One of the few active players on this list, Salah has an exceptional scoring record despite playing mainly as a winger. He is a key figure for both Liverpool and Egypt. In the Premier League, he surpassed Drogba’s record to become the highest-scoring African player and has won multiple Golden Boot awards, with his tally still growing.

5. Godfrey Chitalu (Zambia) - 393 goals in 598 games

Chitalu was one of Africa’s most prolific scorers. In 1972, the Zambian FA claimed he scored 107 goals in a calendar year, but due to limited documentation, FIFA did not officially recognize the record. Even so, his goal total remains remarkable. After retiring, he coached the Zambian national team and later died tragically in a plane crash in Gabon.

4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) - 401 goals in 805 games

Still active, Aubameyang is one of the few players to score consistently across all four top European leagues. His most successful spells came with Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal, where he won Golden Boots. He is also the all-time leading scorer in the UEFA Europa League and Gabon’s greatest player, with 30 international goals.

3. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) - 426 goals in 877 games

A true icon of African football, Eto’o is Cameroon’s top scorer and the leading scorer in AFCON history. He is the only player to win back-to-back trebles with two different clubs, achieving this with Barcelona in 2009 and Inter Milan in 2010. He scored in two Champions League finals and helped change perceptions of African players at the highest level.

2. Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria) - 483 goals in 673 games

Yekini scored Nigeria’s first-ever World Cup goal in 1994 and remains the country’s all-time top scorer. In club football, he won the Portuguese Primeira Liga Golden Boot in the 1993/94 season, becoming the first Nigerian to do so. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 48 after a long illness.

1. Roger Milla (Cameroon) - 503 goals in 905 games

The highest-scoring African player in history, Milla was the first from the continent to surpass 500 career goals. His most iconic moment came at the 1990 World Cup, where he scored four goals at the age of 38 and led Cameroon to the quarter-finals. At club level, he played for several French teams, including Bastia, Saint-Etienne, and Montpellier, and helped open the door for future African stars on the world stage.

This concludes the list of the Top 10 African highest goal scorers of all time. For more news and insights on African football, please follow the articles on our website.