Which Premier League players scored the most goals this decade?
Wednesday 1 January 2020 10:25, UK
Which players scored the most Premier League goals this decade? Tap the cards to reveal the chart-toppers...
Robin van Persie would have slotted higher up in the chart but his 11 seasons in the Premier League ended mid-decade.
Despite that, his form soared in the 2010/11 campaign when he scored 18 goals before netting a career-high 30 during the following campaign, culminating in a £24m move to Manchester United that summer.
The Dutchman played every game for Sir Alex Ferguson's side in his first season at the club and scored 26 times en route to winning their most recent league title.
But injuries curtailed game time in his final two seasons at Old Trafford and his last Premier League goal came in a 3-1 win against Burnley in February 2015, leaving him on 98 goals this decade.
Romelu Lukaku scored 113 goals from 252 Premier League appearances before his £74m move to Inter Milan this summer.
Still only 26, the Belgium international first burst onto the scene with Chelsea in 2011 but got off the mark during a career-defining loan spell at West Brom in 2012/13, scoring 17 goals in 35 league appearances.
He achieved a similar scoring rate on loan at Everton the following season, which led to a permanent deal at Goodison Park.
Lukaku's most prolific season came in 2016/17 with 25 goals in 37 games, prompting Manchester United to splash £90m on his signature. But he failed to come close to that ratio at Old Trafford and left the club after only two seasons.
Incredibly, Rooney scored 208 goals over a career spanning nearly two decades in England's top flight, having announced his arrival with a match-winning screamer against Arsenal all the way back in 2002.
Over the past decade, the former England captain netted 114 goals for Manchester United and produced a career-high 27 in 2011/12, when rivals City pipped United to the title on the final day of the season.
Those returns dwindled as his role increasingly changed and he provided a swansong return to Everton on a free transfer in 2017, 13 years after leaving the club, before heading to Major League Soccer with DC United.
At 34, Rooney is set to return to English football once more as a player-coach at Derby on an 18-month contract, hoping to lift the Rams from 20th in the Championship table - but still only 12 points adrift from the play-off places.
So, as was the case with Everton and his cameo England return against the USA one year ago, he could still provide a last hurrah in the Premier League.
Like Lukaku, Kane slots into this decade nicely, having emerged through Tottenham's youth ranks in 2012/13, but his returns in front of goal were limited to just three from 11 top-flight appearances at the start of 2014/15.
That campaign marked the beginning of his regular starting place, proceeding to score in excess of 20 goals in four successive seasons before his haul of 17 last term.
After winning back-to-back Golden Boots, Kane proved most clinical in 2017/18 with a career-topping 30 goals, but was usurped by Mohamed Salah's breathtaking tally of 32 during his first season at Liverpool.
At 26, Kane has every chance of emulating and surpassing Rooney's returns for club and country and achieving a similar legacy that spans two decades in England's top division.
No other player came close to our runaway winner. Sergio Aguero has scored 174 goals in the Premier League for Manchester City since his £31.5m move from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
In addition to providing the league's most memorable moment, scoring the title-winning goal against QPR in his first season at the club, the Argentine also features among the elite across several of our decade features.
Despite never breaking the 30 barrier in a season, on average, he has missed eight league games but still achieved in excess of 20 goals over the past eight campaigns.
Outside of the top five, Jamie Vardy was just one goal away from drawing level with Van Persie this decade with 97 goals, while current prolific scorers in Raheem Sterling (77) and Sadio Mane (76) feature in the top 10.
Use the interactive table below to scroll through the full top 100 list...
