Ronaldinho, Lampard, Gerrard, Kaka, and many more legends made the cut as the highest-scoring midfielders of the 21st century.
Frank Lampard has been named as the highest-scoring midfielder of the 21st century, with Steven Gerrard and Rafael van der Vaart completing the top three.
Lampard is best known for his exploits at Chelsea across his playing career. The Englishman became a Blues legend, scoring a club-record 210 goals in 648 appearances between 2001 and 2014, and won 12 major honors, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League. He also played for West Ham, Manchester City, and New York City.
Former England teammate Gerrard, meanwhile, is the second highest-scoring midfielder of the 21st century according to Transfermarkt. The Liverpool icon and Lampard are the only two players to break the 200-goal barrier.
Elsewhere, Van der Vaart finished a surprise third. The Dutchman, who previously played for Real Madrid and Tottenham, scored the bulk of his goals for Ajax and Hamburg.
Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus, on the other hand, is the highest-scoring active midfield player. He is only seven goals behind Van der Vaart and has recently overtaken the likes of Ronaldinho, Michael Ballack, and Kaka.
The 20 highest-scoring midfielders of the 21st century
* Stats correct as of March 2, 2021
| Pos | Midfielder | Goals | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | Frank Lampard | 261 | 843 |
| 2) | Steven Gerrard | 206 | 794 |
| 3) | Rafael van der Vaart | 194 | 623 |
| 4) | Marco Reus | 187 | 452 |
| 5) | Ronaldinho | 169 | 458 |
| 6) | Michael Ballack | 169 | 565 |
| 7) | Kaka | 161 | 515 |
| 8) | David Silva | 148 | 778 |
| 9) | Marek Hamsik | 147 | 645 |
| 10) | Christian Eriksen | 142 | 618 |
| 11) | Juan Mata | 139 | 617 |
| 12) | Cesc Fabregas | 138 | 812 |
| 13) | Arturo Vidal | 136 | 682 |
| 14) | Gini Wijnaldum | 135 | 621 |
| 15) | Bryan Ruiz | 132 | 527 |
| 16) | Steffen Hoffman | 128 | 541 |
| 17) | Kevin De Bruyne | 127 | 555 |
| 18) | Wesley Sneijder | 122 | 504 |
| 19) | James Rodriguez | 122 | 439 |
| 20) | Ola Toivonen | 117 | 397 |
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