The curtains are gradually falling on yet another enthralling season of club football and it has given us plenty of reasons to remember it. Like in every other season, many players have captured our attention with some breathtaking football and some of them have been involved in a lot of goals. However, unlike the last seven seasons, the usual suspects, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are not on top of the list of players involved in most goals in Europe.
Some big names from around the world who we expect to see in this list of top 10 players with the most number of goals and assists are missing this time around and some are in positions you normally don’t find them in. Interestingly, only one player from the Premier League has made the cut.
#10 Jamie Vardy – 30 (24 goals and 6 assists)
Leicester’s star striker, Jamie Vardy, is the only entrant from the Premier League to make the top 10. Vardy wasn’t the top scorer in the league this season, nor was he the top assister, but no player in the Premier League has been involved in more goals than the Englishman.
Vardy went on an 11 match goal scoring streak in the first half of the season to set a new league record and many would have expected him to claim the golden boot at the end of the campaign. However, his 24 goals in the league saw him fall short of Harry Kane’s tally by just one goal. Vardy also acted as a provider on six occasions to take his goal involvement tally to 30.
The 29-year-old’s fine form has seen him become a regular for England this season and with 3 goals in 3 games for England in 2016, could he lead England to European glory?
#9 Karim Benzema – 31 (24 goals and 7 assists)
Karim Benzema often doesn’t get the limelight he deserves because he plays alongside the two most expensive footballers in the world. However, his importance to this Real Madrid side cannot be undermined. The Frenchman is usually a player for the big occasions and has delivered in many such games including the El Clasico.
Benzema has scored 24 league goals this season despite playing only 27 league games this season. The 28-year-old has also assisted 7 goals in those games to take his goal involvement tally to 31. This is a very good record for any player and one can only imagine how far up the list Benzema would have been if he managed to maintain his fitness a little better.
The Frenchman is the fourth highest scorer in the league and only Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have scored more goals than him. France will definitely miss the quality of Benzema at the Euros.
#8 Robert Lewandowski – 32 (30 goals and 2 assists)
Early on in the season, it looked like Robert Lewandowski could be the man to finally dethrone Messi and Ronaldo from the top scoring charts of Europe as the Pole went on a massive goal scoring streak. His most notable performance during this incredible run of form and of the entire season came against Wolfsburg, when came off the bench in the second half while Bayern were trailing by a goal and went on to score 5 goals in the space of 9 minutes.
His second half form was not as spectacular as his first, but despite this he managed to end the season with 30 goals from 29 starts and 3 substitute appearances. This made him the first player to score 30 goals in a Bundesliga season since Dieter Muller in 1976-77 and also made him the league’s top scorer for the second time in three seasons.
#7 Neymar – 36 (24 goals and 12 assists)
During the initial stages of the current season, Barcelona had to deal with an injury to Lionel Messi. However, the Catalans didn’t suffer because of Messi’s injury as Luis Suarez and Neymar stepped up to make up for Messi’s absence. Although Suarez stole the lime light at the end of the season, it was Neymar who impressed everyone during Messi’s time on the treatment table.
The Brazilian was on a terrific run of form during the first half of the season and was leading the scoring and assisting charts in La Liga at one point. However, his direct contribution to goals dipped in the second half of the season and one can cite fatigue as a reason for the same.
Despite the subdued second half Neymar endured for his standards, the 24-year-old ended the season with 24 league goals and 12 assists. He is joint fourth with Benzema in the top scorers chart and also fourth in the assists chart.
#6 Gonzalo Higuain – 38 (36 goals and 2 assists)
At one point during the season, it looked like the terrific form of Gonzalo Higuain would propel Napoli to a league title, but that wasn’t the case. However, the Argentine can be very proud of what he achieved this season on a personal level, especially after the abuse that was showered on him following his penalty miss in last year’s Copa America final.
Higuain scored 36 league goals this season and in the process, he broke the all-time record for most goals in a single Serie A season. He managed to achieve this feat by scoring a hat-trick in the final game of the season. Interestingly, the second highest scorer in the league was Paulo Dybala with 19 goals and this highlights the magnitude of his achievement.
If all the goal scorers in Europe’s top six leagues are considered, only Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have scored more goals than the Argentine this season.
#5 Lionel Messi – 42 (26 goals and 16 assists)
Lionel Messi missed a few games this season due to injury and it took him some time to get back to his very best. Even then, the Argentine has outscored all but two players in La Liga this season.
Messi ended the season with 26 league goals to his name and only Suarez and Ronaldo were able to find the back of the net on more occasions than the five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or. Although the current season was not Messi’s best in terms of goals scored, he was simply marvellous in terms of creating chances and that’s evident from his number of assists. The Argentine tops the assists charts in Spain with 16 to his name and only Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria have more assists than him in Europe’s top six leagues.
#4 Jonas – 44 (32 goals and 12 assists)
It’s a well-known fact that Brazil are short on quality strikers at the moment, but they may have found a temporary solution in the form of Benfica’s Jonas.
Jonas has been a decent performer at club level throughout his career, but a call-up to the national team was very rare for him. However, the Brazilian’s brilliant form in the domestic games has seen him make his way into Dunga’s plan for the Copa America.
The 32-year-old enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career as he scored a league highest 32 goals to propel Benfica to their third consecutive league title. In addition to his goals, Jonas also assisted 12 more and only his teammate Nicolas Gaitan and Porto’s Miguel Layun have more assists than the Brazilian with 15 each to their name.
With Neymar missing from the squad for the Copa America, this could be the best opportunity for Jonas to become his country’s hero.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo – 46 (35 goals and 11 assists)
Cristiano Ronaldo received a lot of criticism for his performance this season and it’s hard to understand why considering the sheer volume of goals the Portuguese international is involved in.
The 31-year-old had a tight competition with Luis Suarez for the Golden Boot, but sat out for a few games due to injury and conceded the Pichichi trophy to the Uruguayan. Ronaldo still ended the season as the second highest scorer in the league and fourth highest in Europe with 35 league goals.
The Portugal captain often receives a lot of flak for not creating enough chances for his teammates, but he still managed to assist 11 league goals and only Suarez, Messi, Neymar and Koke have managed to assist more than him.
Ronaldo’s heroics couldn’t give his side the league title, but he would be hoping that it can at least help them win the Champions League.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 51 (38 goals and 13 assists)
Before Zlatan Ibrahimovic played his last home game for PSG, he said “I came like a king, I leave like a legend” and he had every right to say so. The Swedish International elevated PSG’s status in Europe and played a big role in the French club’s four league titles on the trot.
Ibrahimovic topped the Ligue 1 top scorers chart this season with 38 goals and had a 17 goal lead over Alexandre Lacazette in second place. In fact, the only player in Europe with more goals than the veteran striker is Luis Suarez. What is even more incredible is that Ibrahimovic scored all these goals despite playing just 31 league games!
The Swede also played a big role in terms of assists as he registered 13 to his name. There are only five players in Europe and only one in Ligue 1 with more assists to their name than Ibrahimovic.
#1 Luis Suarez – 56 (40 goals and 16 assists)
A welcome change perhaps to see a new name at the top of this list after seeing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominate it for so many years on the trot.
Suarez was arguably the best player in Europe this season and played a big role in helping Barcelona defend the league title. The Uruguayan scored 14 goals in the last five La Liga games to help Barcelona come out of the slump that saw them lose a considerable lead at the top of the table. Overall, Suarez scored 40 league goals this season and in the process won the European Golden Boot for the second time in three seasons. The most incredible part is that Suarez scored six hat-tricks this season!
The 29-year-old also assisted 16 goals this season which is the highest in La Liga during this campaign and also the third highest in Europe behind Ozil with 19 and Di Maria with 18. It is also interesting to note that Suarez has missed three league games this season and still managed such astonishing figures.
