Ronaldo sits on 143 international goals and is widely treated as the benchmark for goalscoring greatness. He is not the record holder. Christine Sinclair retired with 190 goals in 331 games for Canada — 47 clear of Ronaldo, 73 ahead of Messi.
That gap doesn't get talked about enough.
A record built over two decades
Sinclair broke the previous world record in January 2020, surpassing Abby Wambach's 184-goal mark with a brace against St Kitts and Nevis in CONCACAF qualifying. Wambach had scored her 184 in 255 games. Sinclair went on to 190 in 331 — more appearances, more goals, more longevity.
She played six World Cups and three Olympics, captained her country at five different tournaments, and scored at all five of them — a feat she shares only with Brazil's Marta. Her six goals at London 2012 stood as the Olympic record for a single women's tournament until Vivianne Miedema surpassed it in 2021. She won 14 Canadian Player of the Year awards. Fourteen.
The gold medal that defined her legacy came at Tokyo 2020 — after two Olympic bronzes — when Canada beat Sweden on penalties. For a player who had given so much to a program that kept falling agonizingly short, it was a long time coming.
What her retirement actually means
Sinclair announced her international retirement in October 2023, with Australia providing the opposition for two send-off friendlies in Vancouver that December. She hung up her club boots after Portland Thorns lost 2-1 to Gotham in the NWSL playoffs on November 10, 2024.
Her final club record: three NWSL Championships, two WPS titles, and the NWSL Challenge Cup in 2021. Her career never left North America — she starred at the University of Portland, went eighth overall in the 2008 WPS draft, moved to Western New York Flash in 2011, then signed with the Thorns for their inaugural NWSL season in 2013 and stayed for over a decade.
For context on where she sits in the all-time standings: Mia Hamm (158 goals) and Wambach (184) are the only other players — men or women — ahead of Ronaldo. Sinclair is above all of them.
"I suppose it will be fitting to end this thing the same way it started — with some tears, playing the game we love on some field in Vancouver." That's how she signed off. 190 goals, one Olympic gold, and a record that will take someone extraordinary to touch.
