Lionel Messi, an Argentine football player, has been the best Latin American goal scorer since 2000.
Footballers from South America have historically possessed the best technical ability in the sport. Particularly the attackers have frequently produced amazing talents and spectacular goals.
Over the past 20 years, a compelling argument has been made for the supremacy of South American football players’ ability, as seen by the success of various players from the region in Europe. Only a select few of them, though, have consistently scored goals over an extended period of time.
Messi, a player for Paris Saint-Germain, has scored 484 goals and won the Ballon d’Or seven times between these times.
Lionel Messi has almost double of the goals scored by Edison Cavani who has scored a total of 262 goals and Sergio Aguero with 259 goals. Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez both have 248 and 237 goals, respectively.
The top five greatest scoring Latin Americans since 2000 are examined by Futballnews below:
Lionel Messi (484 Goals)
Leo Messi, also known as Lionel Andrés Messi, is an Argentine professional football player who plays forward for Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. He was born on June 24, 1987.
Messi, who is recognized as one of the best players of all time, has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was selected for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020.
He spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, retiring from the team in 2021 after winning a club-record 35 trophies there, including 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey championships, and four UEFA Champions Leagues.
Messi is an outstanding goal scorer and playmaker who holds the records for the most goals in La Liga (474), the most goals in a La Liga and European league season (50), the most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and the most assists in La Liga (192), the most assists in a La Liga season (21) and the Copa América (17).
Additionally, he holds the record for the most goals scored outside of South America by a man (88). Messi has the most goals by a player for a single club with over 750 in his professional career for club and nation.
It should therefore come as no surprise that the South American maestro is the league’s all-time leading scorer (474 goals), despite departing Barcelona last year. Messi has scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 since joining PSG last summer, bringing his total number of league goals to 484.
The seven-time All-Star and best goal scorer in European football, The Ballon d’Or winner is eager to increase his goal total before retiring.
Edison Cavani (262 Goals)
One of the most talented center forwards of the twenty-first century is Edinson Cavani, who has quietly advanced in the game.
When he joined Palermo in January 2007, the South American striker gave his first European audience a glimpse of his potential. Before moving up and joining Napoli, he scored 34 league goals in his three and a half seasons at the club.
During his three seasons in Naples, Cavani scored 79 Serie A goals, further improving his goalkeeping performance. So in 2013, Paris Saint-Germain made the decision to finalize a transfer for him.
Since then, Cavani spent two seasons playing for Manchester United before joining Valencia this summer.
The Uruguayan could still add to his 262 league goals scored in Europe before he decided to put up his boots. Indeed, another South American mythology.
Sergio Aguero (259)
During his tenure in Europe, Sergio Aguero was among the greatest in the field, and his statistics bear this up.
After being acquired by Atletico Madrid from Independiente in 2006, the fierce Argentine entered the top five divisions in Europe. Despite only scoring six goals in his inaugural La Liga season, he hammered 68 goals in his following four seasons.
This persuaded Manchester City to spend €40 million on him, making him their second-most expensive acquisition at the time.
Aguero helped them win their first-ever Premier League championship, thus it turned out to be a great deal even in the first season. This includes a decisive goal against Queens Park Rangers on the penultimate day.
Luis Suarez (245)
Given his awards and stats, Luis Suarez is undoubtedly the best striker of his generation.
The Uruguayan created a name for himself at Ajax after moving there in 2007. In 2011, when Liverpool approved a deal for him to transfer to Anfield, he finally moved to one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Suarez gained notoriety for his 69 goals in 110 Premier League games at this point. He scored 31 goals during the 2013–14 Premier League season, earning him the Golden Boot award.
Barcelona paid him €82 million to sign him, making him their second-most expensive player ever (at the time) as a result of his performances.
He won four La Liga titles in his six years with Barcelona and scored 144 times for them in the league.
He added another La Liga title in 2021 whilst playing for Atletico Madrid, for whom he scored 32 league goals. Suarez, who is currently playing for Nacional, has scored 245 goals in Europe’s top five leagues.
Gonzalo Higuain (237)
Gonzalo Higuain has been one of the top strikers in Europe over the past 10 years, despite beginning play in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in September 2020.
After signing a transfer from River Plate to Real Madrid, the Argentine made his way to Europe as a 20-year-old in January 2007. Although his performance in Spain was not very impressive, he did succeed by winning numerous prizes.
However, Napoli made the wise choice to put their faith in him in 2013, and Higuain proved to be a revelation for them. In three seasons, the striker scored 71 league goals for them, including 36 goals in 35 appearances in the 2015–16 season.
During his 13 years in Europe, Higuain scored 237 league goals, the majority of them came while he was playing in Serie A. Although not the most productive center forward, Napoli supporters will remember their South American player with affection.
