The top ten goal scorers are players who have mastered the art of goal-scoring and that’s very much one of the reasons they are ranked above others.
It’s not gain saying that one of the major criteria used as a yardstick in measuring the performances of any striker is their art of goal scoring.
And some of the current strikers the world of football is celebrating and always eager to watch are game changers who are highly instrumental to their clubs’ victory.
Using Transfermarkt, Futballnews have listed out the top 10 goal scorers in each of Europe’s top five leagues from the 2000 season till the current 2022/23 season.
In this article, we have a look at footballers who have scored the most goals right from 2000 and the ranking is unsurprisingly led by the two most prominent and leading professionals of the past two decades.
Among other top players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have well and impressively mastered the art of goal-scoring.
The two outstanding legendary goal scorers have delivered incredible goals at a rate many thoughts was impossible over a prolonged duration and they achieved this at the highest level with continuity even at their current advanced ages.
Seeing the back of the net fifty times in a single campaign has incredibly become the norm for the two greatest of all time.
Lionel Messi’s load of 474 goals in La Liga with Barcelona was extraordinary, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s 311 league goals with Real Madrid came in just 292 appearances, which was honestly unthinkable.
Therefore, it’s not a surprise to realize that in nine different seasons since the turn of the century, the seven-time Ballon d’Or holder Lionel Messi and his counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo who has held the Ballon d’Or award five times have interchangeably been the top goal scorer in Europe.
These two superstars are far from other players and they have lit up the continent with their heroism and cleverness in front of the goal in the past 22 years.
Below is the list of highest goal scorers from each campaign from the 2000/01 season to this season, alongside their appearances and goal record in all competitions from the stated season.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is regarded as the greatest footballer of all time and he is also the greatest goal scorer in the European leagues.
The 35-year-old Argentina world cup hero took his total goal tally in Europe’s top leagues to an outstanding amount of 697 in 835 appearances, exceeding Cristiano Ronaldo’s 696-goal record.
After passing through a difficult debut season at PSG, the former Barcelona star Messi is back to his best this season as the Argentine maestro has netted 14 goals after 23 matches across all competitions so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo announced he has conquered European football and is now set for a new challenge in the Middle East when he joined Saudi Arabian top club Al Nassr after terminating his contract with Manchester United.
From the onset of his debut till Ronaldo left the European leagues for good, the Portuguese skipper managed to score 696 goals in 918 appearances across the top five European campaigns.
Certainly, the 37-year-old Portuguese star’s 696-goal tally will still keep him at the top spot for a long time despite his departure from European competitions.
Robert Lewandoski
One of the three marvelous goal-getters this century currently has is the Poland legendary striker Lewandowski.
The 34-year-old Poland and Barcelona legendary forward, Robert Lewandowski has scored 470 goals in Europe’s top five leagues in 587 matches played so far in his career.
The 34-year-old striker has climbed up this list the quickest in recent years as he has won the European Golden boot in the last two seasons.
Lewandowski netted 41 goals to break Gerd Muller’s previous mark of 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season in the 2020/21 campaign.
The former Bayern Munich forward left the Bundesliga giants to join Barcelona last summer and he has since been striking impressively to keep his performance levels high at Camp Nou scoring 23 goals in all competitions since this season began.
Karim Benzema
The 35-year-old Real Madrid and France International star forward ranks fourth in the top goal-scorers list.
The Real Madrid star deservedly clinched his first Balloon d’Or award last year after winning the Champions League and La Liga campaign for Real Madrid last season.
The French super striker took the fourth spot in most goal scorers’ list having netted 402 goals in 773 appearances across all top five European competitions.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
One of the finest attackers of the 21st century who ranks as number five on this list is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swedish professional forward has played for Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester United in Europe’s top five leagues.
The 41-year-old Swedish forward Ibrahimovic who is back in his second stint with AC Milan has netted 391 goals in 647 appearances in Europe’s top five leagues so far in his illustrious career.
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Cavani is ranked as the sixth-best goal scorer in Europe’s top five leagues in the 21st century.
The Uruguayan legendary forward, being known in his entire career as one who scores goals at a unusually high rate ranks sixth with 367 goals in 629 appearances across all competitions.
Kun Aguero takes seventh place with 362 goals in 629 appearances across all European competitions, while Luis Suarez ranks eighth with 311 goals in 499 games.
Dzeko and Aubameyang rank ninth and tenth respectively, with the former having 304 goals in 669 overall appearances while the latter ranks tenth with 294 goals in 561 matches in Europe’s top five league matches played so far.
