Sports: Armenia’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan among Man United’s 11 int’l record-holders

Pan Armenian, Armenia
Nov 15 2017
– 18:35 AMT
Armenia's Henrikh Mkhitaryan among Man United's 11 int'l record-holders

ManUtd.com provides a look at the current and former Reds stars who also hold the goalscoring record for their nation.

Armenia: Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 25 goals / 70 caps

United's midfield maestro broke his nation's goalscoring record in 2013, when he netted in a 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw with Italy, to surpass Arthur Petrosyan's previous record of 11 goals.

Mkhitaryan now captains Armenia and recently netted in friendly wins over Belarus and Cyprus, to take his international tally to 25.

Belgium: Romelu Lukaku – 31 goals / 65 caps

Lukaku's goal in the 1-0 friendly win over Japan made it three strikes in this international break alone, after he netted a fine double in the 3-3 draw with Mexico last week.

The Antwerp-born front man's brace in Brussels took him level with Bernard Voorhoof and Paul van Himst on 30 goals, before his header against Japan took his tally to 31.

But his new status is disputed by FIFA, who nullified a 2014 friendly between Belgium and Luxembourg in which he hit a hat-trick because the Rode Duivels made seven substitutions – one more than the permitted six. It also meant ex-Reds winger Adnan Januzaj's debut for his country was wiped from FIFA's records.

Bulgaria: Dimitar Berbatov – 48 goals / 78 caps

The languid and stylish striker netted 56 goals in 149 league and cup games during a four-year spell at United before leaving for Fulham in 2012. And his record on the international stage was even more impressive.

Berbatov's 48 goals in 78 caps marks an impressive return for a player who played in just one major tournament (Euro 2004), and he tops his nation's goalscoring charts alongside Hristo Bonev, who represented Bulgaria between 1967 and 1979.

Colombia: Radamel Falcao – 28 goals / 70 caps

The Monaco striker, who plied his trade at Old Trafford in the 2014/15 season, became his nation's leading scorer with a bullet header in a 2-2 friendly draw with Spain earlier this year.

That goal was Falcao's 26th for his nation, taking him above Arnoldo Iguaran's tally of 25. The former Chelsea man has since taken the Colombia captaincy and he netted twice in their final four qualifiers to help Jose Pekerman's side secure a spot at the World Cup finals in Russia.

England: Wayne Rooney – 53 goals / 119 caps

Rooney became United's all-time leading scorer last season as his free-kick against Stoke City took him to 250 goals for the club, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton's previous record.

However, the powerful forward also holds the illustrious record of being England's most deadly marksman, having scored 53 goals in 119 games before his international retirement in August this year. He also the Three Lions' most-capped outfield player, second only to Peter Shilton in the all-time list.

Mexico: Javier Hernandez – 49 goals / 99 caps

Chicharito enamoured himself to the United faithful during his five-year stint at Old Trafford between 2010 and 2015, in which he bagged 59 goals in 158 appearances across all competitions.

Hernandez has been prolific for his country throughout his career; however, he only surpassed Jared Borgetti's record of 46 goals in May this year, when he found the net in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Croatia.

Netherlands: Robin van Persie – 50 goals / 102 caps

Van Persie famously helped United win our 20th league title, after joining from Arsenal before the start of the 2012/13 campaign, but he also has pedigree on the international stage, too.

The leggy attacker surpassed Patrick Kluivert's record of 40 goals in style, with a hat-trick in an 8-1 World Cup qualifying win over Hungary in 2013. He also once netted four goals in a single game – an 11-0 Euro 2012 qualifying thrashing of San Marino.

Northern Ireland: David Healy – 36 goals / 95 caps

A product of United's famed Academy, Healy only went on to appear three times for the Reds' first team, though he did flourish for Northern Ireland and eventually became their all-time leading goalscorer in 2004 with a brace against Trinidad and Tobago.

Healy is also the only player to date to net two hat-tricks for the Green and White Army, against Spain and Liechtenstein in 2006.

Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo – 79 goals / 147 caps

The former United star has a whopping 79 goals for his country, having surpassed Pauleta's previous record (47) in 2014 with a double in a 5-1 friendly thrashing of Cameroon in Leiria.

Since then, Ronaldo has gone from strength to strength and led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title. The Real Madrid forward is now just five goals behind Europe's most prolific scorer, Ferenc Puskas, who netted 84 goals in 89 games for Hungary and Spain.

Scotland: Denis Law – 30 goals / 55 caps

Part of the 'United Trinity' alongside George Best and Charlton, Law netted 237 goals in 404 appearances for the Reds between 1962 and 1973, placing him third in our all-time goalscoring charts.

However, he went two better on the international stage, as his 30 goals in 55 international outings make him Scotland's joint-highest scorer, sharing the record with Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish.

Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 62 goals / 116 caps

Having made his international debut in a goalless draw with the Faroe Islands in 2001, the big Swede went on to fire an impressive 62 goals in 116 matches for his country over a 15-year period, before he announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2016.

The most memorable of his 62 strikes is arguably that overhead kick against England in Stockholm in 2012, a spectacular 30-yard effort that beat Joe Hart and rescued Sweden a 2-2 draw.

*Statistics correct as of .