Boxing Day is one of the most highly anticipated events on the English Premier League calendar. With almost every top-flight team in England taking to the field throughout the day, fans get to enjoy around 10 hours of high-octane football in freezing temperatures.
Boxing Day is grand for footballers as well. With a record number of fans watching — at home and from the stands — it gives the newcomers the perfect opportunity to become a household name and the veterans a chance to add to their legacy. As we ring in the Boxing Day of the 2024-25 season, let’s take a quick look at the top five players who made the most of the big day, time and again.
Continue reading to discover the top five Premier League forwards with the most goals on Boxing Day.
#5 Thierry Henry (Arsenal): 7 Goals
Kicking off the list is Arsenal icon Thierry Henry, with the Frenchman scoring seven goals in as many matches on Boxing Day. Henry delivered his finest performance on his special day in 2000. Against Leicester City, the 1998 FIFA World Cup winner scored a majestic hat-trick, propelling the Gunners to a massive 6-1 victory.
Henry played 258 Premier League matches for Arsenal, scoring 175 goals and providing 74 assists. The only player to win four Golden Boots, Henry helped the North London club to two Premier League championships. He also bagged two Player of the Season awards.
#4 Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United): 8 Goals
Alan Shearer is one of the finest forwards the league has ever seen. Shearer was an incredible finisher, a brilliant leader, and always managed to deliver the goods on the biggest occasions. Unsurprisingly, he was phenomenal in Boxing Day clashes, with him hitting the back of the net eight times in 11 games across Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Shearer’s most noteworthy Boxing Day performance came against Leeds United in 1992. The Englishman scored a cool brace to ensure a 3-1 win for Blackburn.
Shearer ruled the English top flight from 1992 to 2006, scoring a record 260 goals and claiming 64 assists in 441 matches. He won three Golden Boots and the title with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95. Shearer also won the Player of the Season award in 1994-95.
#3 Robbie Keane (Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool): 8 Goals
Former Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool centre-forward Robbie Keane scored eight goals in nine Premier League matches on Boxing Day. Keane scored two Premier League braces on this special occasion. The first one came for Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, which helped Spurs to a 5-1 win over Fulham. His second was in Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in 2008.
Keane, who also represented West Ham United and Aston Villa in the Premier League, played in 349 English top-flight matches. He scored 126 goals and provided 37 assists.
#2 Robbie Fowler (Liverpool, Leeds United, and Manchester City): 9 Goals
The second Robbie on this list, Fowler scored nine goals in 10 Premier League matches on Boxing Day. The former Liverpool, Leeds United, Manchester City, and Blackburn Rovers centre-forward is one of the very few players with a Premier League hat-trick on the 26th of December. Fowler became a member of that exclusive club in 2001, as he took Leeds United to a special 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.
Fowler spent 16 seasons in the English top flight. He played a total of 379 matches, scoring 163 goals and providing 39 assists. He won two Player of the Month awards in his career.
#1 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur): 10 Goals
England captain and goalscorer extraordinaire, Harry Kane, has topped the list, having scored an impressive 10 Premier League goals on Boxing Day. The Tottenham Hotspur legend took only seven matches to reach double figures. The Bayern Munich ace delivered his finest Boxing Day performance in 2017. Kane scored an excellent hat-trick — second consecutive in the league — to secure a 5-2 win for Spurs over Southampton.
Kane played 320 Premier League matches before jetting off to Bayern last summer. He scored 213 goals and claimed 46 assists, emerging the division’s second-highest goalscorer of all time. Kane unfortunately could not win the championship but garnered considerable personal glory, winning three Golden Boots and one Playmaker Award.
