Although scoring goals in football is primarily associated with strikers, throughout history, the role of goalkeepers has occasionally involved taking the spotlight – by scoring goals themselves. Today, we present to you a list of the top 5 goalkeepers with the most goals scored in football history:
5. RENE HIGUITA – 43 goals
Rene Higuita is one of the most famous goalkeepers of all time. His scorpion kick save against England in 1995 remains legendary.
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Besides his impressive saves, the former Colombian goalkeeper scored 43 goals during his career.
He mainly played in Colombia throughout his career. Higuita also regularly represented the Colombian national team, earning 68 caps and scoring three goals.
4. JOHNY VEGAS FERNANDEZ – 45 goals
Peruvian Johnny Vegas Fernandez scored a total of 45 goals in his career. Vegas netted 30 goals from penalties, 6 from free kicks, and an impressive 9 goals from open play.
He mostly played for clubs in Peru, and an interesting fact about him is that during his 13-year career, he switched teams a total of 15 times.
3. JORGE CAMPOS – 46 goals
Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos brought something entirely new to football. He would often start the match as the goalkeeper but later join the attack during the game, with the substitute goalkeeper taking his place. Known for his incredible speed and ability to organize the defense, despite his height (168cm), he became one of the best goalkeepers of his generation.
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Campos earned an impressive 129 caps for the Mexican national team and spent most of his club career with the Mexican side UNAM Pumas. He also played in the USA for LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire.
During his career, he scored a total of 46 goals, with 28 of them coming while playing as a forward for UNAM Pumas, while the second-choice goalkeeper, Adolfo Rios, guarded the goal. Upon his arrival at the club, Campos convinced the coach to play him as a forward to get more playing time, resulting in 14 goals in his first season for Pumas.
2. JOSE LUIS CHILAVERT – 67 goals
Chilavert holds the record for the most goals scored by a goalkeeper on the international stage – he scored eight times in 74 matches for Paraguay. The majority of his goals came from free kicks.
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He was also the first goalkeeper to score a hat-trick in a match while playing for Argentine side Velez Sarsfield.
He is the only goalkeeper on this list who played in Europe, representing Saragossa in Spain and Strasbourg in France.
1. ROGERIO CENI – 131 goals
The absolute record-holder on this list is the renowned Brazilian goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni, with an impressive 131 goals.
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Ceni scored 61 goals from free kicks and, like Chilavert, he is the second goalkeeper to achieve a hat-trick.
Throughout his entire career, he played for only one club – Brazilian side Sao Paulo (575 matches, 65 goals).
He also earned 17 caps for the Brazilian national team, winning the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, although he did not play in any matches during the tournament.
