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While it’s fair to praise goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders for their contribution to a team’s success, the key to winning a football game remains simple: score more goals than the opposition. To find real success at the top level, you need a true top-level forward line.
Right now there seems to be a countless number of top-class forwards in the game, with strikers plundering goals all across the world - from England and Spain to Italy and Germany. It’s almost hard to whittle them down to a list of 10, but the following forwards do stand out more than the rest.
As a disclaimer, it’s worth noting that this is a purely subjective list, in no particular order. And if you feel that anyone has been left out, please leave a note below in the comments section!
Honourable Mentions
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Jamie Vardy is the current leader in the race for the 2019-20 Premier League Golden Boot, and no striker in England has been hotter this season than him. One of the Premier League’s most reliable goalscorers despite his advanced age, Vardy’s finishing skills are second to none. It’s only some questions about his versatility that keep him off this list.
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
A couple of years ago, Barcelona’s Luis Suarez would’ve been a definite for a list like this. The Uruguayan seemed capable of scoring goals for fun, both in his final season at Liverpool and in his early days at the Nou Camp. But at the age of 33, his best days now seem behind him - he’s only scored 11 league goals this season. That said, he’ll still be remembered as one of the best of his generation.
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
There are no questions over Neymar’s talent. The Brazilian is a fantastic player capable of greatness, and he’s already scored 18 goals in 22 games this season. However, questions around his level of competition in France’s Ligue 1 – as well as a disappointing showing in the 2018 World Cup – mean he falls behind the other 10 men on this list.
#1 Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Despite heading rapidly towards his 32nd birthday, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s added another 23 strikes – in just 30 games – to his tally in 2019-20. And there’s every chance, that assuming the season recommences, he wins his second Premier League Golden Boot.
A deadly finisher from seemingly any range, Aguero’s major strength is his consistency in front of goal. Give him a chance – be it from range, inside the box, with either foot or with his head - and he’s probably going to score.
Since joining City in 2011 Aguero has missed the 20-goal mark in only one season, and has passed 30 goals five times. Right now the Argentine sits at #4 on the list of all-time Premier League goalscorers.
Given his incredible record, it’s hard to bet against him climbing as high as #2 when all is said and done.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Polish striker Robert Lewandowski has long been considered one of the best strikers on the planet, but this season he’s been in especially terrifying form. The 31-year-old has scored an incredible 25 goals in 23 Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich. He has also destroyed Champions League opposition, scoring 11 in just 6 games.
Lewandowski has been so good for his club this season that he’s only failed to score or make an assist in five of Bayern’s games.
2019-20 might be his best season to date, but his goalscoring exploits in Germany are already legendary. In his six full Bundesliga seasons, he’s scored 202 goals in 290 games – an average of around 0.7 per match.
A brilliant finisher with both feet and with his head, Lewandowski has the knack of finding himself in the right place at the right time. At the same time, he is equally capable of bringing teammates into play with his hold-up work.
He also has five assists to his name this season. When he’s on top form, there are no finer forwards in the game.
#3 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Current England captain Harry Kane has suffered this season due to the struggles of his team and a hamstring injury that’s kept him on the shelf since the turn of the year. Even so, he’s still been able to score 11 Premier League goals and six Champions League goals in five appearances.
There's no doubting the fact that Kane has proven his worth again as one of the best strikers in the world.
Not the most naturally talented player, Kane has had to work for all he’s got. A string of loan moves gave him experience, and ever since he was handed a chance in the Spurs first team in 2014-15, he hasn’t looked back.
That season saw him score 31 goals, and he’s kept up that form since – scoring 181 goals in 278 appearances overall for his club.
Kane has also been a huge success at the international level; he won the 2018 World Cup’s Golden Boot with England. He recently scored 12 goals in Euro 2020 qualification, more than any other player.
Not just a pure goalscorer, Kane’s teamwork is also fantastic – this season has seen him make seven assists to go with his goals.
To prise Kane away from Tottenham will probably take a world-record transfer fee. And considering his exploits in recent years, it’d be hard to say he wouldn’t be worth it.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Arguably the greatest player of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo’s list of achievements is hard to quantify. During his spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Portugal, Ronaldo has won six league titles and five Champions Leagues, as well as the European Championship and the UEFA Nations League at the international level. But it’s his goalscoring exploits that truly set him apart.
Ronaldo began his career as a flashy winger but has slowly turned into an out-and-out forward, and the results have been devastating. He’s broken the 40-goal mark in nine different seasons, and currently has 743 goals to his name.
Three more goals will take him past the record of the great Ferenc Puskas, while 24 more will give him more career goals than Pele.
The Portuguese international seemingly has no weaknesses. While he’s not as quick-footed as he once was, he’s still a phenomenal finisher with both feet. He’s also deadly in the air, possessing an astonishing vertical leap, and can strike equally well from range and from dead-balls.
Essentially, there’s no forward other than Ronaldo that fans would rather see in their team right now.
#5 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
The only player alive right now who has a record comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is only two spots behind the Portuguese in the all-time goalscoring list. He’s got 724 goals to his name, 19 fewer than Ronaldo, but he’s also played over 100 games fewer than his great rival.
Like Ronaldo, it’s easy to argue that the Argentine is the greatest player of all time.
Renowned for his dribbling ability, his vision, his ability to link up with teammates as well as his finishing skills, Messi holds numerous records in LaLiga. He’s scored the most goals in the competition’s history (438), the most hat-tricks in the competition’s history (36) and also the most assists (181).
This June sees Messi turn 33. He ought to be on his way down now, and yet he’s still scored 24 goals this season.
At his best, Messi is the ultimate playground footballer. He is able to dribble around opponents like they’re not there, the ball seemingly stuck to his boot with glue.
Considering he wouldn’t be considered an out-and-out striker, the fact that he’s got six European Golden Shoes to his name is astonishing. There may well never be another player quite like him.
#6 Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Some might argue that Lazio’s Ciro Immobile doesn’t deserve a spot on this list. The Italian is 30 years old now, and prior to his move to the Stadio Olimpico in 2016, he was very inconsistent when it came to goalscoring. But right now, there’s probably nobody in better form across all of Europe.
The Italian international leads the way in the race for the 2019-20 European Golden Shoe. He’s scored an incredible 27 goals in 26 league games for Lazio. That’s six more than Cristiano Ronaldo has scored, and is a remarkable record given Serie A’s defensive reputation.
But Immobile is no stranger to scoring in Serie A – he’s been the competition’s top scorer twice before.
With the ability to find space where there often seems to be none, the Italian is capable of playing anywhere in a forward line. But he prefers to act as a central striker.
Immobile has a high work rate and strong ability to link up with teammates. This is evidenced by the fact that he’s also got seven assists this season. To top it off, he has great finishing skills too.
It might be fair to say that Immobile is the most underrated forward in the world right now.
#7 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
It’s hard to split Liverpool’s front trio in terms of who’s the best. You could make an argument for any of them, but it’s probably fair to suggest that it’s Mohamed Salah who’s made the greatest impact since joining the club in the summer of 2017.
Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker have made the Reds stronger at the back, but it was the arrival of Salah that turned their forward line into Europe’s most fearsome.
Arriving at Anfield following a successful run at Roma, Salah scored an incredible 44 goals in the 2017-18 season. 32 of those goals came in the Premier League, giving him the Golden Boot.
He then followed that up by scoring another 27 goals in his next season, again landing him the title of England’s top goalscorer.
While Salah has been criticized for his supposed greed in the past, he’s equally great at creating goals. He has a total of 24 Premier League assists to his name since joining Liverpool.
Salah’s most devastating attribute is undoubtedly his speed. Rather than dribbling around opponents, he often shoots past them like he’s been fired from a cannon. It’s that speed which allows him to take so many shots on goal – and of course, more often than not he scores them.
#8 Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Liverpool’s forward line is as good as any in the world of football right now. And while we’ve discussed Mo Salah, the Reds also have another goalscorer extraordinaire in the form of Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
While Roberto Firmino tends to provide the bullets for his teammates, it’s Salah and Mane who usually fire the gun. And in the last two seasons, there has been no better gunslinger than Mane.
2017-18 saw him score 20 goals, 10 of them coming in the Premier League. But 2018-19 saw him plunder 26 – more than doubling his output in league action. Prior to the suspension of the competition in March, the Senegal international was on his way to repeating that feat, having scored 14 goals in 26 games.
Like Salah, Mane’s best asset is his speed, which allows him to fly into the box at pace to finish the chances that Firmino and the Egyptian put on a plate for him. But he’s equally adept at creating chances for himself and scoring solo goals. Mane is dangerous when it comes to creating chances for his teammates too.
Over the last few seasons, there have been few players who’ve made the kind of improvements that Mane has – making him one of the world’s most deadly forwards.
#9 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Arguably football’s hottest young talent, Kylian Mbappe burst on to the scene back in the 2016-17 season with Monaco. The youngster tore up some of Europe’s strongest defences in the Champions League as his side stunned everyone by making the semi-finals.
The French forward scored 26 goals that season as a raw 18-year-old. He then moved to Paris Saint-Germain, initially on loan, and eventually for somewhere around €145m.
Since arriving in Paris, Mbappe has gone from strength to strength. He scored 31 goals in his first season there, then increased that to a mind-boggling 39 in 43 appearances in 2018-19. The current season, meanwhile, has seen him score 30 goals in 33 games.
At international level he’s also been a massive hit, scoring 13 for France. That tally includes four at the 2018 World Cup, where he helped his country to victory and was named the tournament’s Best Young Player.
Like legendary French striker Thierry Henry, Mbappe is capable of playing from a central or a wide position, using his explosive pace to get into goalscoring positions. And once he has a chance, it’s rare to see him waste it.
Like Henry, Mbappe is an expert finisher from all angles. He is equally adept at creating chances too – he’s got nine assists to his name this season.
It’s clear that this 21-year old could be one of the world’s best forwards for the next decade and beyond.
#10 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
January 2018 saw Arsenal break their transfer record, paying £56m to bring Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Emirates from Borussia Dortmund. Just over two years later, it’d be hard for anyone to accuse them of wasting their money.
Since arriving in the Premier League, Aubameyang has undoubtedly proven himself as one of the world’s best forwards.
Aubameyang is a very quick forward who can sprint into dangerous positions, and is capable of shredding opposing defenders with his speed. He’s added an incredibly dangerous goal threat to the Gunners’ frontline since his arrival.
After scoring 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund, he’s been equally deadly in the Premier League.
His debut half-season saw him score 10 in 13, while 2018-19 saw him claim the Premier League’s Golden Boot with 22 goals in 36 games. And before the suspension of the current season, he’d scored 17 in 26.
Aubameyang is now 30, and it’s anyone’s guess how much longer a player who relies so much on his speed can continue to be effective. But right now, it’s undeniable that he’s one of the world’s best forwards.
