Top 10 Defenders with Most Goals in the 21st Century

The primary word in defenders is defend, and in football, defend means protecting one's goal. But sometimes, Defenders prove that they don't play football just to defend but to score goals too.

There are many defenders out there who have dominated the game continuously. We are well aware of the top-scoring strikers, but in this article, we'll get to know about the top 10 defenders with the Most Goals in the 21st Century.

Top 10 Defenders with Most Goals in the 21st Century

#1. Sergio Ramos | 145 goals

Sergio Ramos is at the top of the list with 145 goals in 963 appearances for club and country. One of the all-time greatest defenders, Sergio Ramos, is known for his knack for getting on the scoresheet when his team is in desperate need of goals. 

Ramos scored 122 goals for the clubs he has played for. His 23 goals came for the Spanish National team.

The Spanish sensation has not only scored over 100 goals, but those were also some crucial moments, including clutch performances. The Former Real Madrid captain has saved his side by both defending and scoring goals.

#2 Rene Aufhauser | 79 goals

Rene Aufhauser might not be as famous as the other names in this list, but he was a dependable player. He spent the majority of his career in Austria, while also making 58 appearances for his country. Rene has netted 122 goals in his career as a defender.

However, 79 goals in 455 games came in the 21st century. Rene scored 50 goals for RB Salzburg, which is a record as a defender for the club.

He also scored 12 goals for the Austrian team.

#3 Daniel Van Buyten | 73 goals

Daniel Van Buyten is one of the most underrated defenders of his generation. He was an excellent central defender who played for the likes of Marseille, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich while also making 83 appearances for Belgium.

Van Buyten was not only a top-class defender but was also quite prolific in front of the goal, having scored a total of 73 goals after making 566 appearances in his career.

#4 John Terry | 74

The former England skipper, John Terry, was regarded as one of the best defenders in the world in his prime and also had a solid record at the other end of the pitch. 

Mr.Chelsea has scored a total of 74 goals in his career, a tally that can put most midfielders to shame.

#5. Branislav Ivanovic | 68 goals

Chelsea legend Branislav Ivanovic was a world-class defender in his prime who could play both at right-back and centre-back. The former Serbia international spent the best years of his professional career at Chelsea and was a key part of the Blues' golden era.

He scored a total of 68 goals in his career after making 691 appearances.

Naldo enjoyed a good spell in the Bundesliga. The Brazilian international spent much of his career representing Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg. At Werder Bremen, Naldo made 254 appearances in all competitions, scoring 36 goals and winning the DFB-Pokal in 2009.

With Wolfsburg, the centre-back made 163 appearances in all competitions and scored 20 goals, winning another DFB-Pokal. His spells with Schalke and AS Monaco were decent.

John Arne Riise is the most-capped Norwegian player of all time, having made 110 appearances for his country. Riise enjoyed a decorated, 21-year career that took in spells at Monaco, Liverpool, Roma, and Fulham among others, before finishing in Norway. He then came out of retirement to play in Norway. Riise has scored 64 goals in 732 games and is 7th on the list of most goal-scoring defenders.

Sergey played for CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow throughout his career. The Russian centre-back has scored 64 goals in 801 games in his career. He has also registered over 90 caps for the Russian national team since debuting in 2002.

The Serbian is highly underrated for someone of his talent and longevity. Aleksandar Kolarov retired from football in 2022 after scoring 62 goals in 588 games all across Europe. He has also registered 94 caps for the Serbian national team, netting 11 goals.

William Janssen has scored an impressive tally of 59 goals since making his professional debut with VVV Venlo in the Dutch Eredivisie in 2006-07. The 37-year-old centre-back has scored 27 goals for Utrecht, whom he joined in 2013. Jannsen has also netted 23 goals for Roda and 13 goals with Twente, with whom he won the Dutch Super Cup in 2012. He became the first player to score in 13 consecutive Eredivisie seasons in 2020.