Bundesliga: Top ten highest goalscorers in history

The list features some of the most iconic attackers to have featured in the league.

It is not a secret that football fans all around the world tune in to watch the German clubs in action when they clash in Bundesliga. The league's philosophy is to play smooth attack-minded game and many clubs abide by it. The traits of the classic German gameplay can be seen in Jurgen Klopp's all-out attacking mindset, which delivers football that is exciting and entertaining.

One thing that German football always delivers upon, and that is attacking football and buckets of goals. The league has seen some of the most iconic strikers feature in it over the years. These legends of the game have amassed a massive number of goals in their careers.

Here’s a look at the top ten highest goalscorers in the history of Bundesliga, featuring some fringe and some of the most well-known and revered individual players.

10. Klaus Allofs - 177 goals

Starting off, we have Klaus Allofs who managed 177 goals in 424 appearances. The forward featured for the likes of Fortuna Dusseldorf, FC Koln(FC Cologne) and Werder Bremen over the course of his career.

He is remembered as an opportunist forward, who found himself in the right place at the right time on the pitch.

9. Dieter Muller - 177 goals

Tied on 177 goals with Klaus Allofs is Dieter Muller, who also has 177 goals to his name but in 303 games overall. The striker also featured for three clubs in his career, namely VFB Stuttgart, FC Koln and FC Saarbrucken. 

He was crucial in guiding FC Koln to the league title back in 1977-78 season, when he scored 24 goals, ending up as the highest goalscorer for the campaign.

8. Stefan Kuntz - 179 goals

Stefan Kuntz is the next on the list with 179 goals in 449 appearances in the Bundesliga. The forward represented clubs like 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Bochum and KFC Uerdingen 05. 

The striker won the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1991 and was also adjudged as the Footballer of the Year for that year.

7. Ulf Kirsten - 182 goals

Ulf Kirsten featured 350 times for Bayer Leverkusen in his career, in which he scored 182 times and also contributed with 42 assists. 

The striker is a three-time golden boot winner in the league as well.

6. Claudio Pizzaro - 197 goals

First non-German to feature in the list is the easily recognisable Claudio Pizzarro. The 41-year-old is still an active player, currently featuring for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. 

The attacking midfielder has featured in the league for a total of 487 games as of yet, scoring over 197 goals, nearing the 200 mark. He has represented clubs like Bayern Munich and FC Koln in addition to signing for Werder Bremen in 2018. He is set to retire at the end of the current campaign.

5. Manfred Burgsmuller - 213 goals

Entering into the exclusive territory of 200+ goals scored, next we have is another iconic name in German football, Manfred Burgsmuller. 

He scored 213 goals in 447 appearances overall and featured for clubs like Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Nürnberg and Rot-Weiss Essen. He guided Bremen to the Bundesliga crown back in 1987-88 season as well.

4. Jupp Heynckes - 220 goals

Jupp Heynckes was an equally masterful striker beside being a genius tactician later in his life. The German played for clubs like Borussia Monchengladbach and Hannover 96 over the course of his career and scored over 220 goals in 369 appearances. 

Borussia Monchengladbach were a force back in the 1970s, having won the league four times in that decade, including a hattrick of league titles from 1974 to 1977 and Heynckes was a huge part of their success. He also won the FIFA World Cup with Germany in 1974.

3. Robert Lewandowski - 227 goals

Robert Lewandowski’s goal-scoring stats are absolutely stunning as the Polish striker has amassed over 227 goals and 64 assists in only 313 appearances. The striker is currently at the top of his game and will certainly add to his tally. 

If he manages to play for another three or four years in the top-flight, he’d back himself to get near the all-time goalscoring record held by Gerd Muller, or at least take over the second spot held by Klaus Fischer. Lewandowski is currently playing for Bayern Munich and has also featured for Borussia Dortmund in the past.

2. Klaus Fischer - 268 goals

Klaus Fischer had a long career in the league and is one of the few individuals to have amassed over 500+ appearances. He featured in 535 games and scored over 268 goals. Fischer featured for clubs like TSV 1860 München, FC Schalke 04, 1. FC Köln and VfL Bochum. 

His national team goal scoring is one to note as well. Fischer made 44 appearances for Germany in which he scored 32 goals.

1. Gerd Muller - 365 goals

Sitting comfortably atop the goal-scoring charts is the legendary Gerd Muller. Having scored almost a century of goals more than the nearest competitor, Muller was a goal-scoring machine. His record of 365 goals and 103 assists (468 goal contributions) in 427 appearances is definitely not getting bested any time soon. 

Gerd Muller featured solely for Bayern Munich in the league before ending his career over at the United States of America. On top of these mind-boggling stats, he also went on to score 68 goals in 62 appearances for the German national side. 

A seven-time golden boot winner in the Bundesliga, Gerd Muller also won the 1974 FIFA World Cup, German Bundesliga on four occasions and the UEFA Champions League on three occasions among other accolades. 

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