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At the end of 2018, a truly amazing stat made rounds in the footballing world. Cristiano Ronaldo ended 2018 as Real Madrid's top scorer in the calendar year despite leaving Real more than five months ago.
For a club with the affluence, history and quality of Real Madrid, it is a pretty damning statistic. One can argue that the stat speaks to the greatness of Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the stat also speaks to the lack of an elite goalscorer among the Madrid ranks.
In LaLiga, Real Madrid have been outscored by Barcelona, Levante, Sevilla and Celta Vigo. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have outscored the entire Madrid team after 18 matchdays.
In all competitions, Madrid have not registered a goal in seven of their 29 games and this has cost them dearly. Karim Benzema has added more goals this season but it has not been enough to carry the goal-scoring burden of this side.
Real Madrid have never been a very good team in defence. The Madrid way has always been outscoring the opposition. With fewer goals this season and the defence as porous as normal, they are not gaining the results they would have in other seasons.
If Madrid must stay in contention for trophies then they must improve their goal tally in the business end of the season. Here's a look at 3 strikers Madrid could buy to alleviate goalscoring burden:
#1 Harry Kane
Harry Kane has been brilliant for Spurs since he broke through into the first team. The England international has delivered on all stages for the North London outfit and should now be eyeing a move to the true elites of European football. It doesn't get any bigger than Real Madrid.
The current England captain has the capacity to thrive at the Santiago Bernabeu. He has 122 goals and 18 assists in 174 Premier League appearances for Tottenham.
He has won the Golden Boot twice in the last three years and is currently level with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Premier League's top scorer.
The LaLiga giants will welcome Kane to Bernabeu with open arms. However, it will prove very difficult for Florentino Perez to wrestle Kane out of Tottenham. The transfer fee for such an enterprise will probably break a few transfer records.
If Real Madrid can somehow snatch Kane from Tottenham's grasps, they will be getting a proven, reliable and relatively young goalscorer to finish off the chances they create.
#2 Robert Lewandowski
It seems like Real Madrid have been linked with Robert Lewandowski forever. The Polish international is now 30 and is edging ever closer to his final contract in football. Real Madrid is an ideal destination for the top striker to cap off a truly remarkable career.
The former Dortmund man has 10 goals and five assists in the Bundesliga to his name already this season and remains in contention to lift the golden boot again this season. In fact, the Polish captain has won the award three times in the last five years.
A reliable goalscorer in the mold of Lewandowski may just be what Los Blancos need to reignite their diminished role in the LaLiga title race in recent years and have a chance at another UEFA Champions League trophy.
Lewandowski has previously expressed interest in joining Los Blancos and with the Spanish giants in dire need of a reliable goal scorer, this could be a match made in heaven.
#3 Kylian Mbappe
Real Madrid had a galactico policy that saw them buy the best available players in the market. This policy cooled off during Zinedine Zidane's tenure when he tried to embed more hardworking and less expensive players over the ones with the hefty price tags.
Zidane had a way of making it all work and it is fair to say that the two coaches after him have not. It may just be time to return to galactico hunting.
In terms of star strikers to join Real Madrid, it does not get much better than Kylian Mbappe. The 20-year-old French World Cup winner has the talent and pedigree to fill the goalscoring boots of the departed Ronaldo.
The problem with getting Mbappe from PSG to Real Madrid would be the player's willingness and his hefty price tag. At 20, Mbappe could represent the present and future of Real Madrid.
There is something about playing for Madrid that makes some players to not be able to cope. The striker that eventually fills CR7's boots will have to possess both quality and star power. All the three options on this list have both.
