Robert Lewandowski has become Bayern Munich's all-time leading foreign goalscorer, so how does the league list look? - © © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA
Robert Lewandowski has become Bayern Munich's all-time leading foreign goalscorer, so how does the league list look? - © © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA

The top 10 foreign goalscorers in Bundesliga history

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Robert Lewandowski is the leading non-German goalscorer in Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga history, but where does that leave him in the Bundesliga’s all-time foreign standings?

1)Claudio Pizarro(193 goals, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and Cologne)

Top of the pile, but for how much longer? The Peruvian has made the Bundesliga his home, and for Pizarro, home is where the goal is. With 193 strikes in 453 top-flight appearances in Germany, the former Bayern and Werder Bremen man has held the honour of the Bundesliga's all-time leading foreign goalscorer since 2010. He last added to his tally during his fourth spell at Werder in a 6-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen to become the second-oldest goalscorer in the league's history, but will be looking nervously over his shoulder at the man in second place…

Watch: Pizarro's best goals AGAINST his former clubs!

2)Robert Lewandowski(185 goals, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich)

And Pizarro has every right to be sitting uncomfortably on his throne at the rate this man scores. Averaging a goal every 100 minutes for Bayern, Lewandowski looks set to surpass his one-time teammate in Munich very soon if he continues at the same stupefying rate. Add to that a further 74 Bundesliga goals in 131 games for Borussia Dortmund, and the Pole sits on an impressive 185 strikes – second in terms of non-Germans, and already sixth for all players.

Watch: All 29 of Lewandowski's goals in 2017/18!

3)Giovane Elber(133 goals, VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich)

Brazilian Elber held the honour of being Bayern’s top foreign scorer for nearly two decades before Arjen Robben surpassed him in late 2017. But prior to netting 92 times for the record champions, Elber was already banging them in during a three-season spell with Stuttgart. A six-month stint at Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2006 signalled the end of the Brazilian’s time as a player in the Bundesliga. With 133 goals in 260 appearances, he was the league’s all-time foreign goalscorer until Pizarro overtook him.

Giovane Elber brought samba football to Germany with Bayern Munich his favourite home.

4)Vedad Ibisevic(114 goals, Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin)

Perhaps a surprise to many to see him as the fourth-highest foreign scorer in the Bundesliga, but the Bosnia international has been plying his trade in the German top flight for well over a decade now, regularly finding the back of the net with Hoffenheim (41), Stuttgart (33) and now Hertha Berlin (32). His six goals for the capital club in 2017/18 saw Ibisevic leapfrog Ailton and Stephane Chapuisat from sixth into fourth overall, and the Hertha captain is already approaching that total again in 2018/19 with four from just nine games.

Vedad Ibisevic doing what he does best, scoring Bundesliga goals. - © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA

5) Ailton (106 goals, Werder Bremen, Schalke, Hamburg and Duisburg)

The Brazilian journeyman played for around 20 clubs during his long and colourful career, but his greatest success - and 88 of his 106 Bundesliga goals - came with Werder in the early 2000s. Having netted regularly in his early seasons with the Green-Whites, he scored 28 league goals in 2003/04 - the highest tally since 1980/81 - as Bremen secured a Bundesliga and DFB Cup double. Ailton - who would later represent Schalke, Hamburg and MSV Duisburg - also had the distinction of being the first foreigner to be named Germany's Footballer of the Year.

Ailton won the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen in 2004 against Bayern Munich. - © imago

6) Stephane Chapuisat (105 goals, Uerdingen and Borussia Dortmund)

Chapuisat began his finger-licking Bundesliga adventure with KFC Uerdingen 05 before a high-profile move to Dortmund in summer 1991. Undaunted, the Swiss star hit the ground running with 20 league goals in his debut season, as the Black-and-Yellows were pipped to the title by Stuttgart on goal difference. Chapuisat would eventually get his hands on the Meisterschale in 1994/95 and 1995/96, before helping BVB lift the UEFA Champions League in 1996/97. In 2003, he was voted Switzerland's most outstanding player of the past 50 years, and as well as boasting 103 caps for La Nati, he ended his Bundesliga career with 105 goals in 227 appearances. 

Stephane Chapuisat was part of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League winning side in 1997.

7)Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang(98 goals, Borussia Dortmund)

For five seasons, Aubameyang enjoyed a sensational scoring battle with Bayern's Lewandowski, and in 2016/17 he finally landed his first top scorer's cannon with 31 goals - the record for a foreign player in a single season. The Gabon captain shared an eerily similar record with his Polish counterpart - exactly 0.68 goals per game - but fell two strikes short of becoming the seventh non-German to make it to 100 goals in the Bundesliga, after joining English Premier League club Arsenal in January 2018.

Watch: Aubameyang's 2017/18 highlight reel

8)Bum-Kun Cha(98 goals, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen)

A genuine pioneer, Cha was the first South Korean to play in the Bundesliga, arriving at Darmstadt in late 1978 before being whisked away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Four seasons later, 'Cha Boom' had established himself as one of Germany's top forwards, helping the Eagles win the 1979/80 UEFA Cup and the following season's DFB Cup. He went on to win the UEFA Cup again with Bayer Leverkusen in 1987/88, and held the record for the Bundesliga's highest scoring foreign player from 1988 until 1999, when he was surpassed by Chapuisat. Voted Asia's Player of the Century in 1999, Cha remains South Korea's all-time leading scorer to this day, with 59 goals in 138 appearances.

Watch: Bundesliga legend Bum-Kun Cha in South Korea!

9)Tony Yeboah(96 goals, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg)

As one of the first black African players to appear in the Bundesliga, Yeboah became a shining example for many players in successive generations - indeed, Aubameyang only broke his record as the leading African scorer in Bundesliga history in December 2017. Winner of the Torjägerkanone in 1992/93 and 1993/94, the former Ghana striker was also the first African player to captain a Bundesliga club when he played for Eintracht Frankfurt. After a successful stint in England with Leeds United, he returned to Germany and made 100 Bundesliga appearances for Hamburg, improving his scoring record to 96 goals in 223 games.

Tony Yeboah finished as the Bundesliga's top scorer in 1992/93 and 1993/94 with Eintracht Frankfurt. - © imago / teutopress

10) Sergej Barbarez (96 goals, Hansa Rostock, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen)

Born in Yugoslavia, Barbarez was visiting Germany in the early 1990s when his uncle got him a trial with second-tier Hannover, who promptly moved to sign him up. His fledgling career kept him at a safe distance from the Bosnian War, but it wasn't until arriving in Hamburg in 2000 - after mixed fortunes at Hansa Rostock and Dortmund - that the versatile Barbarez emerged as a Bundesliga star. Top scorer in 2000/01 with 22 goals, he helped HSV win the League Cup in 2003 and scored 66 of his 96 Bundesliga goals for the club. Renowned for his wicked left foot, the former Bosnia-Herzegovina captain finished his career with Leverkusen. But his name remains inextricably linked with Hamburg, for whom he also acted as a board member between 2009 and 2010.

Barbarez was known for his passion on the pitch in his time with Hamburg. - © imago / imago/Ulmer

Check out the top foreign scorer for each current Bundesliga club...

*Data correct as of 29 October 2019

Click here to see the best Bundesliga goalscorers of all-time!