Manchester City Top Goalscorers in a Single Season: Only eight players in Manchester City’s entire history have scored more than 32 goals in a single season. It is one of the rarest achievements in English football.
Erling Haaland has done it four times. That fact alone tells you everything.
Scoring 30 goals in a season at any level of football is exceptional. Doing it at the highest level, in the Premier League and Champions League, is almost unheard of.
Since World War II, only seven players have reached 30 goals in a season for Manchester City. Most of them appear on this list. Most of them are Erling Haaland.
Manchester City Top Goalscorers in a Single Season
Here is the complete list.
1. Erling Haaland – 2022-23
- Total Goals: 52
- League: 36 | Domestic Cups: 4 | Continental: 12
- Season: 2022–23
- Nationality: Norway
52 goals in a single season. That number is almost impossible to comprehend. Haaland arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2022 and immediately broke every record in sight.
His 36 Premier League goals shattered the single-season record. His 12 Champions League goals helped City win the trophy for the first time in their history. He scored in the final. He won the treble in his debut season.
No player in Manchester City’s history has ever scored more goals in a single campaign.
Achievements:
- Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2022-23
- Premier League Golden Boot with a record-breaking 36 league goals
- UEFA Champions League top scorer in 2022-23
2. Tommy Johnson – 1928-29
- Total Goals: 38
- League: 38 | Domestic Cups: 0 | Continental: 0
- Season: 1928–29
- Nationality: England
Tommy Johnson scored 38 goals in the 1928-29 season. Every single one came in the First Division.
He held the club’s single-season league scoring record for nearly a century. It took Erling Haaland to finally match and then surpass it. Johnson was a natural centre forward who scored goals with remarkable regularity during a decade of service to the club.
Achievements:
- England international, earning five caps during his career
- FA Cup finalist with Manchester City in 1926
- Held the club’s single-season league scoring record for nearly 100 years
3. Erling Haaland – 2023-24
- Total Goals: 38
- League: 27 | Domestic Cups: 5 | Continental: 6
- Season: 2023–24
- Nationality: Norway
Haaland scored 38 goals in his second season at Manchester City. He matched Tommy Johnson’s historic single-season total from 1928-29.
He did it across three competitions. 27 Premier League goals. Five domestic cup goals. Six in Europe. His consistency across every competition made him virtually impossible to plan against for any opposition manager.
Achievements:
- Premier League Golden Boot winner in 2023-24
- Four Premier League titles during his time at the club
- All-time leading scorer for the Norwegian national team
4. Erling Haaland – 2025-26
- Total Goals: 37
- League: 26 | Domestic Cups: 3 | Continental: 8
- Season: 2025–26
- Nationality: Norway
Haaland scored 37 goals in the 2025-26 season, his fourth consecutive campaign of 30 or more goals for Manchester City.
His 26 Premier League goals and 8 continental goals show his consistency has not dropped at all. He is 25 years old. His peak years may still be ahead of him. That thought should terrify every goalkeeper in Europe.
Achievements:
- Still active and competing in the 2025-26 season
- Four consecutive 30-plus goal seasons for Manchester City
- Premier League’s most consistent goal scorer across the last four campaigns
5. Derek Kevan – 1963-64
- Total Goals: 36
- League: 30 | Domestic Cups: 6 | Continental: 0
- Season: 1963–64
- Nationality: England
Derek Kevan scored 36 goals in the 1963-64 season. His 30 league goals came in a lower division campaign, marked with a dagger to distinguish them from top-flight totals.
He was a powerful, physical centre forward who was almost impossible to handle in the air. His six domestic cup goals that season added genuine value beyond the league. His total of 36 stood as a club record for nearly six decades before Haaland arrived.
Achievements:
- England international, earning 14 caps during his career
- One of the most physically dominant centre forwards in the club’s 1960s history
- His single-season record of 36 goals stood at the club for nearly 60 years
6. Francis Lee – 1971-72
- Total Goals: 35
- League: 33 | Domestic Cups: 2 | Continental: 0
- Season: 1971–72
- Nationality: England
Francis Lee scored 35 goals in the 1971-72 season. His 33 First Division goals that year included 15 penalties, earning him the legendary nickname “Lee Won Pen” from opposition supporters.
He was fearless in the penalty area. His ability to win spot kicks and then convert them made him one of the most effective goal scorers in English football that season. His total of 35 placed him in very rare company in the club’s history.
Achievements:
- First Division title winner with Manchester City in 1968
- FA Cup winner in 1969 and League Cup winner in 1970
- England international, earning 27 caps during his playing career
7. Erling Haaland – 2024-25
- Total Goals: 34
- League: 22 | Domestic Cups: 1 | Continental: 11
- Season: 2024–25
- Nationality: Norway
Haaland scored 34 goals in the 2024-25 season. His 11 continental goals that campaign were the highest of any City player in European competition that year.
He was more dominant in Europe than the league that season, reflecting how opposition managers increasingly built defensive game plans around stopping him in domestic football. In the Champions League, those plans were far harder to execute.
Achievements:
- Champions League top scorer contender in 2024-25
- Three consecutive Premier League Golden Boot awards during his City career
- FIFA Club World Cup winner with Manchester City
8. Sergio Aguero – 2016-17
- Total Goals: 33
- League: 20 | Domestic Cups: 5 | Continental: 8
- Season: 2016–17
- Nationality: Argentina
Sergio Aguero scored 33 goals in the 2016-17 season. It was his finest individual campaign in terms of single-season output across all competitions.
He contributed across every competition City entered that year. His eight continental goals showed his ability to perform in Europe. His five domestic cup goals demonstrated his consistency regardless of the occasion or opposition.
Achievements:
- Five Premier League titles during his decade at the club
- Manchester City’s all-time record goalscorer with 260 goals across all competitions
- Named in the Premier League Hall of Fame after retirement
Haaland appears five times on a list of eight entries. Four of his seasons rank in the top seven single-season totals in the club’s entire history.
No player in Manchester City’s history has ever produced sustained single-season output at this level. Tommy Johnson came close in 1928-29. Aguero had his moments. But nothing compares to what Haaland has delivered since his arrival in 2022.
He is 25 years old. He is still at the club. The records he sets may never be broken.
The Shaun Goater ContextThis list only includes players who scored more than 32 goals in a single season. Shaun Goater sits just outside it with his best haul of 32 goals in 2001-02.
Goater scored 103 goals in 211 appearances for City between 1998 and 2003. He was one of the most beloved strikers in the club’s recent history. His 32-goal season made him one of only seven players since World War II to reach 30 goals in a single campaign for the club.
FAQs
Q: Who has scored the most goals in a single season for Manchester City?
Erling Haaland. He scored 52 goals in the 2022-23 season across all competitions. That is the highest single-season total in the club’s entire history.
Q: How many times has Haaland scored 30 or more goals in a season for City?
Four times. In 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26. No other player in the club’s history has achieved 30-plus goals in more than one season since World War II.
Q: Who held the single-season record before Haaland?
Derek Kevan held it with 36 goals in the 1963-64 season. That record stood for nearly 60 years before Haaland broke it in his very first season at the club.
Q: What made the 2022-23 season so exceptional for Haaland?
He scored 36 Premier League goals, breaking the all-time single-season record. He also scored 12 Champions League goals as City won the treble. It was the most complete individual season any Manchester City player has ever produced.
Q: Is Sergio Aguero’s 2016-17 season underrated on this list?
Absolutely. 33 goals across all competitions, including eight in Europe, is an extraordinary return. In any other era, that season would be the definitive benchmark for a City striker. Haaland simply reset every expectation.
Manchester City’s single-season scoring records tell the story of the club’s greatest individual performers across nearly a century of football.
Tommy Johnson set the standard in 1929. Kevan and Lee kept it alive in later decades. Aguero pushed it into the modern era.
Then Haaland arrived. And he rewrote everything.
52 goals in a single season. Four campaigns of 30 or more. The records he has set will define this club’s history for generations.
