Sergio Ramos has been in the news recently for being on the scoresheet for Real Madrid consistently. He has scored three times in Los Blancos’ last four games, two of them ending in 1-0 wins due to Ramos’ goals. The captain has been a regular goalscorer for the Spanish giants and this brought us to a question – who are the highest goal-scoring defenders of all time?
Sergio Ramos
He joins the list at No. 5 but is the only active player on this list. He’s a mean free-kick taker, and from the penalty spot, Ramos has made a name for himself at Santiago Bernabeu. Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the club captain has stepped up on numerous occasions to give his team crucial points from the spot.
He’s effective at set-pieces as well – it was Ramos who paved the way for Real Madrid to lift the Champions League titles in 2014 and 2016 by scoring against local rivals Atletico Madrid in both matches. In total, Ramos has scored 119 goals so far.
Laurent Blanc
He’s probably the only defender who tops the scoring charts of all time of a European club. Laurent Blanc, one of the best defenders from France, scored 84 goals for Montpellier and 141 in total for the club (s) and country.
The former Inter Milan, Man United and Barcelona legend began his career as a midfielder but soon dropped back to play as a sweeper. He was also a regular set-piece taker for both club and country and played a crucial role in France’s FIFA World Cup win in 1998.
Fernando Hierro
To become the greatest ever is a long run for Sergio Ramos, and midway stands his club’s legend Fernando Hierro. The three-time Champions League winner and five-time La Liga winner netted 163 times during his career and was a regular penalty and free-kick taker.
He was the captain of Real Madrid and the Spain national team for the longest time and his aerial presence helped him to a lot of goals from set-pieces. Did we remind you of Ramos again?
Daniel Passarella
In a list studded with Europeans, in comes a South American delight. Argentine Daniel Passarella was known for his goal-scoring abilities more than his defending, and his tally of 162 goals speak volumes for the infamous ability.
A regular for La Albiceleste and clubs like Inter, Fiorentina, and River Plate, Passarella was captain of the national team when they lifted the World Cup in 1978 and also played a part in the team that won it again in 1986, made memorable by Diego Maradona’s heroics and theatricals.
Ronald Koeman
You knew this one, didn’t you? The former Barcelona man was famous for his free-kicks, and his ability to hit them with fierce power. Koeman owns the distinction of being the all-time highest goal-scoring defender with a mind-boggling 207 goals to his credit. To put things into perspective, Didier Drogba scored 275 goals for club and country. Like Beckenbauer, Koeman was a sweeper – although he played in midfield in the final few years of his career.
In one season at PSV Eindhoven, Koeman scored a striker-isque 26 goals. At Barcelona, he scored as many as 19 goals each in two different seasons and was also their go-to man for set-pieces and penalties.
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