Top scorers leaderboard: how the Premier League ranks goals

The top scorers leaderboard is a count, and a count is not a judgement. Igor Thiago led the Premier League with 22 goals in the completed season, yet on goals per 90 he ranked only third among the top ten; Junior Kroupi, a Bournemouth midfielder who scored 13, posted the best rate of anyone with 900 or more minutes at 0.69 per 90. This guide explains how the top scorers leaderboard works, why volume and rate tell different stories, and which names carry over when the 2026/27 board resets on 21 August.

How the top scorers leaderboard works

The board counts goals scored in the Premier League, by player, across one season. The league stays at 20 clubs, each side plays 38 matches home and away, and that makes 380 matches per competition, so every player works the same 38-game canvas. The sorting is simple: most goals first. Where totals are level, the player who needed fewer minutes ranks higher, which keeps the board honest about efficiency without abandoning the raw count.

Two rules keep it clean. Players with no minutes do not rank, and the board is a single-season view that resets to zero on the opening day. The 2026/27 season runs from 21 August 2026 to 30 May 2027, so the completed 2025/26 season is the reference board today, and the race starts again on the opening weekend.

The 2025/26 top ten

These are the ten players who finished first to tenth on the completed season's board, with the minutes column included because it decides the level ties.

Rank	Player	Club	Position	Goals	Assists	Minutes
1	Igor Thiago	Brentford	Forward	22	1	3,295
2	Ollie Watkins	Aston Villa	Forward	16	3	2,864
3	João Pedro	Chelsea	Forward	15	5	2,687
4	Viktor Gyökeres	Arsenal	Forward	14	1	2,254
5	Junior Kroupi	Bournemouth	Midfielder	13	0	1,690
6	Jean-Philippe Mateta	Crystal Palace	Forward	12	0	2,222
7	Benjamin Sesko	Man Utd	Forward	11	1	1,636
8	Hugo Ekitiké	Liverpool	Forward	11	4	1,810
9	Richarlison	Spurs	Forward	11	4	1,957
10	Bryan Mbeumo	Man Utd	Midfielder	11	3	2,621

Eight of the ten are forwards, and the two midfield exceptions are the interesting rows. Kroupi's 13 goals made him the highest-scoring midfielder on the board, and Mbeumo's 11 came from the largest minutes figure in the group. The 11-goal level shows the tiebreak doing its job: Sesko placed 7th because he needed only 1,636 minutes, Ekitiké 8th from 1,810, Richarlison 9th from 1,957 and Mbeumo 10th from 2,621. Same total, and the rate between the extremes is about 60% higher for the most efficient of the four.

Goals per 90: when volume stops flattering

The best way to see past the raw count is to divide goals by minutes and multiply by 90. Among players with 900 or more minutes and double-figure totals, the completed season's rate board looked like this.

Player	Club	Goals	Minutes	Goals per 90
Junior Kroupi	Bournemouth	13	1,690	0.69
Benjamin Sesko	Man Utd	11	1,636	0.61
Igor Thiago	Brentford	22	3,295	0.60
Viktor Gyökeres	Arsenal	14	2,254	0.56
Hugo Ekitiké	Liverpool	11	1,810	0.55
Richarlison	Spurs	11	1,957	0.51
Ollie Watkins	Aston Villa	16	2,864	0.50
João Pedro	Chelsea	15	2,687	0.50
Antoine Semenyo	Bournemouth	10	1,798	0.50
Jean-Philippe Mateta	Crystal Palace	12	2,222	0.49
Cole Palmer	Chelsea	10	1,978	0.46
Bryan Mbeumo	Man Utd	11	2,621	0.38

The rate board reorders everything. Kroupi, not Igor Thiago, was the best finisher of the regulars: 0.69 per 90 from midfield, ahead of Sesko's 0.61 and Igor Thiago's 0.60. The man who led the league in goals ranked only third on rate because his 22 came across 3,295 minutes, roughly 36 and a half full matches' worth of pitch time. Strip the minutes away and the raw board is an opportunity count dressed as a performance ranking, which is exactly why the two boards are shown side by side here.

The position column matters too. Kroupi's goals came from midfield, where FPL pays five points per goal instead of the four a forward earns, so a 13-goal midfielder was quietly one of the most valuable scorers in the league on the game's own scoring system.

Goals and the all-time record

Season boards feed a slower-moving career board, and the numbers there put single-season totals in perspective. Alan Shearer's 260 stands as the all-time record and has now held for three decades; Harry Kane sits second on 213 and Wayne Rooney third on 208, with Mohamed Salah fourth on 193 and the leading active scorer in the competition's history. Erling Haaland reached 100 goals in 111 matches, faster than anyone before him, and stands on 112 career goals at 0.91 per game after scoring 27 in the completed season. The single-season record itself stood at 34, shared by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, until Haaland's debut campaign of 36 in 35 broke it. Anyone chasing Haaland's pace is chasing the fastest goals-per-game record the league has produced, which is our guide to the all-time top scorers.

Key takeaways

• Igor Thiago led the 2025/26 board with 22 goals in 38 appearances; eight of the top ten were forwards.
• Junior Kroupi had the best goals-per-90 of any regular at 0.69, ahead of Sesko (0.61) and Igor Thiago (0.60).
• Level totals are broken by minutes: Sesko's 11 goals from 1,636 minutes outranked Mbeumo's 11 from 2,621.
• The career record is Shearer's 260, with Haaland on 112 at 0.91 per game the only active pace near it and Salah next among active players on 193.
• The top scorers leaderboard resets on 21 August 2026, and the 2026/27 season runs to 30 May 2027.

FAQ

Who was the Premier League top scorer in 2025/26?

Igor Thiago led the board with 22 goals in 38 appearances for Brentford, ahead of Ollie Watkins on 16 and João Pedro on 15.

How are top scorer leaderboards sorted?

Most goals first. Tied totals are ordered by minutes so the player who needed less playing time ranks higher, and the board resets each season.

What is a good goals per 90 rate?

In 2025/26 the rate leaders among regulars ran from Kroupi's 0.69 down to Mbeumo's 0.38, and only six players in the double-figure group finished above 0.50 per 90.

Who holds the all-time Premier League top scorer record?

Alan Shearer with 260 goals, ahead of Harry Kane on 213 and Wayne Rooney on 208; Erling Haaland's 112 career goals at 0.91 per game is the fastest pace the top scorers leaderboard has produced.