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The 21st century has produced a plethora of prolific goal-scorers who have scored goals galore in the biggest of competitions for club and country and have won multiple trophies.
Even when they do not find the back of the net, these players present a credible threat to opponents in the attacking-third because of their ability to conjure goal-scoring opportunities for teammates. Add to that their versatility which allows them to operate across a bevvy of positions in the attacking-third, these players are worth their weight in gold for their national and club team managers.
10 players with the most goal involvements in the 21st century
On that note, let us have a look at the ten players who have the had the most goal involvements (goals or assists) since the turn of the century.
Note: All stats have been taken from transfermarkt and are correct as on 5th October 2020.
#10 Karim Benzema (523) - 343 goals and 180 assists
French striker Karim Benzema has been a Real Madrid regular since arriving at the club in the summer of 2009.
After making his professional debut as a teenager for Olympique Lyon in 2005, he made a goal-scoring contribution in his very first game for the French club when his assist helped Lyon seal a 2-0 Ligue 1 win over Metz.
Benzema top-scored with 20 goals in 2007-08 as Lyon won their seventh consecutive French league title. Soon Real Madrid came calling at the end of the next season, and there would be no looking back for the young Frenchman.
With 92 goal-contributions (66 goals and 26 assists) during his four and a half seasons in France, Benzema arrived with a burgeoning reputation and didn't disappoint at the Bernabeu. Although he did not hit the ground running in his debut season at his new club, scoring only nine goals in all competitions, Benzema soon proved his worth in the subsequent seasons.
The Frenchman has since scored at least 20 goals in all competitions in each of his next ten seasons at the club.
Benzema most notably emerged out of the shadow of his illustrious teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the last season when he tallied 20 league goals in successive seasons for Madrid as the Spanish giants won their first La Liga title in three years.
The Frenchman, who made his 81st and latest international appearance for France in 2015, has scored 27 goals and 18 assists for his country, and is also one of only two players to have netted in 15 consecutive seasons in the Champions League.
Benzema is renowned for his aerial prowess, goal-scoring ability and versatility that allows the forward to drop deep and create goal-scoring opportunities for teammates.
#9 Samuel Eto'o (524) - 408 goals and 116 assists
Samuel Eto'o is arguably the best African footballer of all time. During an illustrious playing career, the Cameroon striker played for a plethora of clubs but made his name at Barcelona.
The Real Madrid reject was renowned for his strength, work-rate, composure in front of goal and tactical intelligence as he scored goals galore and also created goal-scoring opportunities aplenty for other colleagues up front.
Eto'o is one of a handful of players to win the Champions League in successive seasons for two different clubs. However, he is the only one to win the continental treble in consecutive seasons for two different clubs when he did so with Barcelona in 2008-09 and repeated the feat with Inter Milan the next season.
The two-time Africa Cup and four-time African Footballer of the Year winner is the all-time top-scorer for Cameroon with 56 goals.
#8 Wayne Rooney (545) - 366 goals and 189 assists
Wayne Rooney, who made his name with boyhood club Everton as a precocious goal-scoring teenager, was destined for greatness from a very young age.
The striker joined Manchester United in the summer of 2004 and didn't look back as he scored and created goals aplenty for the English giants during a prolific 13-season stint.
Rooney, who is one of the youngest scorers in the history of the Champions League, is the all-time top-scorer for both Manchester United (253) and England national team (53).
Despite his diminutive stature, Rooney is strong in the air and is a prolific goal-scorer. With advancing age, as his goal-scoring ability dwindled, the player proved his worth from deep as he created opportunities for colleagues while playing as a playmaker or box-to-box midfielder.
Rooney, who now plays at Derby County in the Championship, is the second-youngest player to provide an assist in Premier League history.
#7 Sergio Aguero (549) - 414 goals and 135 assists
Sergio Aguero, who made his professional debut for Independiente in his native Argentina in 2003, spent five successful seasons at Atletico Madrid before his stature skyrocketed after arriving at Manchester City in the summer of 2011.
The quintessential centre-forward, who is equally at ease while operating as a second striker, Aguero is renowned for his passing ability, link-up play and tactical intelligence besides his obvious goal-scoring prowess.
Aguero (180) is the fourth-most highest goal-scorer in the Premier League and is the competition's most prolific-scoring foreign player.
Aguero, who has also scored a record 12 hat-tricks in the Premier League, has netted 42 times for Argentina, a tally which is only behind that of his illustrious compatriot Lionel Messi (70) and the retired Gabriel Batistuta (43).
#6 Thierry Henry (559) - 369 goals and 190 assists
After making his professional debut for Monaco in 2014, Thierry Henry turned out for Italian giants Juventus before signing up for Arsenal in 1999 to commence a memorable stint in English football.
The Frenchman, who played as a winger while at Monaco and Juventus, was transitioned to a striker by legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, and Henry never looked back after that.
During a successful eight-season stint at Arsenal, Henry became the club's all-time top scorer (253 goals), a feat he also achieved with the French national team (51 goals).
The 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championships winner, at his peak, was renowned for his ability to dribble past opponents at pace besides his prolific goal-scoring prowss. The player's penchant for attracting opposition defenders towards him also meant that teammates immensely benefitted from Henry's uncanny ability to create goal-scoring opportunities.
Henry moved to Barcelona just before his 30th birthday in 2007 and featured in the Catalan club's historic continental treble-winning team a season later. The player then called time on his career with a short loan spell at Arsenal in 2012 after a five-season stint in the MLS with the New York Red Bulls.
#5 Robert Lewandowski (621) - 477 goals and 144 assists
Robert Lewandowski is arguably the hottest striker in world football at the moment. The 32-year-old Pole is the Bundesliga's all-time top-scoring foreign player and seems to score goals for fun.
The Bayern Munich marksman is a quintessential number nine and is renowned for his remarkable goal-scoring prowess, aerial proficiency, tactical intelligence and ability to bring other teammates into play by conjuring goal-scoring opportunities.
Lewandowski has won trophies galore during his club career. The four-time Torjegarkannone winner won his first continetal treble with the Bavarian giants last season when he threatened to break Gerd Muller's long-standing record of most goals (40) in a Bundesliga season before falling just short.
The eight-time Bundesliga winner has started the new season by scoring his second quadruple in the German top-flight as he looks to have continued from where he left off last season.
#4 Luis Suarez (730) - 463 goals and 267 assists
Luis Suarez is a prolific striker who is renowned for his direct running at opponents, work-rate, technical brilliance and ability to create a plethora of scoring chances for his teammates.
The Uruguay international, who scored goals galore in the Eredivise with Ajax, endeared himself to the Merseyside faithful as his 31-goal effort in 2013-14 almost ended Liverpool's long wait for a maiden Premier League title.
Suarez then moved to Barcelona where he formed one of the most devastating attacking triumvirates in world football with Lionel Messi and Neymar.
In six fabulous seasons at Catalonia, Suarez scored almost 200 goals in all competitions, won a continental treble among other domestic honours and became the player with the most La Liga assists for a certain Lionel Messi.
Suarez, one of only three players in La Liga history to score 40 goals in a season, has since moved to Atletico Madrid where he hit the ground running by scoring a brace on his club debut.
#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovich (732) - 501 goals and 201 assists
Zlatan Ibrahimovich, one of only four players this century to have made over 200 assists for club and country, is still going strong at the ripe old age of 39.
At an age when many strikers are a few years into their retirements, the evergreen Swede is into his second stint with AC Milan and has begun the new season with a brace in his ninth season of Serie A football.
The prolific striker, who is renowned for his finishing abiity, aerial prowess, ball-control, versatility and playmaking prowess, is also a dead-ball specialist
Ibrahimovich has scored league goals in seven different countries and has won 11 league titles in four different countries, most recently doing so with Paris St. Germain in 2015-16. Although he has won the Europa League (with Manchester United in 2016-17), a Champions League title is conspicuous by its absence - something he may like to change before deciding to hang up his boots.
Last season, the lanky Swedish striker became the first player in history to score 50 goals for both Milan clubs - AC Milan (54) and Inter Milan (57).
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (988) - 742 goals and 246 assists
Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably one of the best players to have graced the game, is the epitome of sustained excellence and longevity during an illustrious career with club and country.
After making his professional debut with Sporting Lisbon in his native Portugal, Ronaldo inherited the iconic number 7 jersey at Manchester United and has never looked back.
The all-time top-scorer in Real Madrid and Champions League history is one of a select group of players to have won multiple league titles in three different top-5 leagues in Europe.
Ronaldo, who was renowned for his stepovers, started out on the flanks before transitioning more towards the centre, a move that has yielded rich dividends for club and country. The player's goal-assisting ability may have dwindled in recent times, but his aerial prowess and goal-scoring ability off either foot remain second to none.
The 35-year-old Juventus striker is the only player to score in four different European Championships and the only European player (second overall) to score 100 international goals.
#1 Lionel Messi (1031) - 705 goals and 326 assists
Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi is the only player to have scored over 700 goals for club and country since the turn of the millenium. However, Messi is the only one to tally over 1000 goal involvements in the 21st century.
Messi, who is one of the last vestiges of the true one-club era, is the La Liga's all-time top-scorer and assist-provider. However, his record 21 assists during a 'below-par' season, one in which he scored 'only' 25 league goals, couldn't help Barcelona to their third consecutive La Liga triumph.
Nevertheless, the diminutive Argentine attacker, who is renowned for his metronomic scoring prowess and ability to dribble at speed, has a plethora of records in the game.
The Barcelona and Argentina captain has scored the most Champions League goals for a single club (115 for Barcelona) and has won the most La Liga titles (10) and Ballon d'Or awards (6) by any player in history.
You may also like: Ten records Lionel Messi created last season.
