Highlights

• Goalkeepers scoring goals is a rare, but magical moment in football that is highly memorable and exciting for fans.
• The article lists the 10 highest goalscoring goalkeepers in football history, including notable players like Jose Luis Chilavert and Rogerio Ceni.
• Rene Higuita is another flamboyant keeper who makes the top 10.

It doesn't happen often, but when a goalkeeper finds the back of the net it really is one of the greatest things that can happen on the football pitch – unless you're a fan of the team that just conceded... As with many things in life, it's the scarcity of the event that makes it so special. This is why many still remember Alisson Becker's last-minute header for Liverpool against West Brom in the Premier League so vividly, even though that strike happened three seasons ago now.

And we were treated to another really magical moment in the 2023/24 Champions League group stages as Ivan Provedel found the back of the net against Atletico Madrid to rescue a late point. Only three shot-stoppers have scored in Champions League history – Vincent Enyeama, Provedel, and Hans Jorg Butt – (although Jorg Butt netted on three separate occasions for three different teams, incredibly all against Juventus), showing just how hard it is for goalies to get their name on the scoresheet.

With that in mind, we've listed out the 10 highest goal-scoring goalkeepers in football history, per Goalkeeper.com. View the results below.

10 Misael Alfaro

31 goals

A penalty expert, Alfaro's career was cut short in 2010 after suffering a serious neck injury. Before that he proved himself as a great option between the sticks with 42 international appearances for El Salvador between 1991 and 2005.

Although he never found the back of the net for his country, he did score 31 times in his club career – which is even more impressive when you consider that only 11 of those strikes came from the penalty spot. Seeing as he knew how to make an impact at both ends of the field, it makes sense that he became a coach after retiring and has been a manager in recent years, working in El Salvador.

9 Hans-Jorg Butt

37 goals

As per Transfermarkt, Butt scored 37 goals across the span of his career. He spent his best goalscoring years while playing for was at his most prolific in Hamburger SV, with seven goals in 1999/00, nine in 2000/01 and then three in the following campaign – there are strikers with poorer records than that. He also netted at least one spot-kick in five of his six seasons at Leverkusen.

As alluded to in the intro, he is the record goalscorer in the Champions League, having scored three times – one each for HSV, Leverkusen and Bayern Munich – all against Juventus. Oddly enough, he wasn't faultless from 12 yards, though, with five failed penalty attempts during his playing career. Butt was also once famously lobbed from the halfway line directly from kick-off when he spent too long celebrating a goal he'd just scored, as you can see in the footage above.

8 Fernando Patterson

35 goals

The Costa Rican spent his career playing for a number of clubs across South America, representing his nation just once on the international stage way back in 1993. He spent the bulk of his career with Guatemalan side Club Xelaju MC, playing 285 times spread across five different spells.

During his time there, he scored a whopping 14 goals. In 2013, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics – associated with FIFA (IFFHS) – took friendly games into their rankings and so it's understood that he has 35 goals across the span of his career when he initially ranked lower on the list. With a record like that, Patterson certainly was a great joker to play when needing a late goal.

7 Marcio

40 goals

According to trusted Brazilian news outlet Globo, when Marcio retired in 2019 aged 38, he had scored 40 goals across the span of his career. He is best remembered for his time at Atletico Goianiense where he scored his first goals, while also helping them helped them break a 19-year fast without titles, as well as earning promotion from Serie C all the way up into Serie A.

At Atletico-GO, he played in 532 games and scored 37 goals while he added three more across the span of his career as he featured for Goias, Ipatinga, and Goiania before hanging up his boots. He certainly was an iconic figure, but one Brazilian goalkeeper has scored more goals than him, as you'll find out later.

6 Dimitar Ivankov

42 goals

Next up on the list, as the fourth most prolific goalscorer in football history, is Ivankov. The shot-stopper made 64 appearances for Bulgaria but, interestingly enough, never actually found the back of the net while away on international duty. Instead, all of his goals came domestically.

Indeed, the now-retired goalkeeper scored numerous goals with Levski Sofia – becoming champion of Bulgaria three times – before moving to Turkish club Kayserispor in 2005. Most notably there, he once helped his side win the Turkish Cup, saving 3 penalties and scoring two himself as his team won a lengthy shoot-out which ended 11-10. He later joined Bursaspor and then ended up with Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagu before hanging up his boots in 2011. Since retiring, he has worked as a goalkeeping coach.

5 Rene Higuita

43 goals

One of the more famous names on the list, Higuita will always be remembered for THAT scorpion kick for Colombia against England in 1995 to deal with a wayward cross from Jamie Redknapp – which you can enjoy above. Evidently, he was a real character on the football pitch and more than happy to take a chance; consequently earning the nickname of ‘El Loco’, the Madman.

This no doubt would have helped him have the confidence to get his name on the score sheet many times across the span of his career. As per FIFA, he finished his domestic and international career with 43 goals to his name, including three for Colombia. Most efforts were from free-kicks and penalties but he did once score from a long punt from inside his own penalty area while playing for Bajo Cauca in the Colombian second division in 2003. Higuita is probably one of the few 'keepers to be remembered for parts of his game that have little to do with his hands.

4 Johnny Vegas Fernandez

45 goals

As per Goalkeeper.com, Peruvian goalkeeper Johnny Vegas – not to be mistaken with the English comedian – managed to score 45 career goals. Like most on this list, he tallied up most of his score by keeping his nerve from 12 yards out. But he did still score nine goals from open play.

In his 20-year career, he was a real nomad, playing for 15 different clubs before retiring in 2017. He spent the most time at his first senior club, Sport Boys Association, making over 150 appearances in six years with the Peruvian first-division team – while he also played three times for his country. It's interesting to note how many South Americans are on this list.

3 Jorge Campos

46 goals

Jorge Campos is a Mexican legend, with the former shot-stopper being fondly remembered for his wonderful coloured shirts as well as his goalscoring prowess. He donned tops that were as bright and eccentric as any the game has ever seen.

Just as bright was his eye for a goal as, despite being small in stature, he goes down as a top goalkeeper and goalscorer. Being just as adept at finding the back of the opposition net as he was at keeping the ball out of his own, Campos scored 46 times in his 16-year career in the game.

2 Jose Luis Chilavert

67 goals

Another name well-known by fans who love a goalscorer goalie. According to FIFA, Chilavert played between the sticks for clubs and country 729 and 74 times respectively, showing just how long he managed to stay at the top of the game. No doubt, his ability to find the back of the net would have helped him keep his place in many manager's plans.

The Paraguayan is, after all, the only goalkeeper in history to score a hat-trick. All three goals came from the penalty spot for Velez against Ferro Carril Oeste in 1999. The Paraguayan, who played for Zaragoza in Spain and Strasbourg in France, also once scored a free-kick from his own half for Velez against River Plate.

1 Rogerio Ceni

131 goals

How on earth has a goalkeeper managed to rack up over 100 goals?! That really is just absurd. Well, it does help if you're a very accomplished set-pice taker. Indeed, Ceni – who played over 1000 times for Sao Paulo – was superb at free-kicks, and also calm from the penalty spot.

He netted his 100th career goal in typically brilliant fashion. In March 2011, he stepped up from about 25 yards out and curled in a fine free-kick to win a match against arch-rivals Corinthians. Ceni's record will likely never, ever lose his spot at the top of this list. What a legend.