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Football is all about scoring goals and these strikers certainly know how to find the back of the net. The 21st century has seen some stunning players and strikers score some spectacular goals and find the back of the net with unerring regularity.
Choosing only 5 strikers from so many excellent players is no easy task. On this list, there are multiple World Cup winners, UEFA Champions League winners and League title winners.
All of the players on this list have stepped up when it has mattered the most and scored some absolutely vital goals for their respective clubs and countries.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the:
5 greatest strikers in the 21st century
Note: Only strikers have been considered. Players who primarily played on the wings are not on this list.
#5 Sergio Aguero - Manchester City
One of the most consistent goalscorers of all time, Sergio Aguero takes the #5 spot on this list. A striker capable of scoring all types of goals, Aguero played an integral role in establishing Manchester City as a European superclub.
Bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old forward for his first club, Indipendente, Aguero soon started grabbing headlines for his incredible goalscoring skills. After making a shift to Atletico Madrid, the Argentine striker established himself as one of the game's premier strikers, forming an incredible partnership with Diego Forlan.
It was at Manchester City, however, that Sergio Aguero cemented his legacy. The 2012 stoppage time winner against QPR to win the League title will be etched in the memory of all football fans over the world and it helped herald a new era of dominance in the Premier League.
With Sergio Aguero set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season, a new chapter is waiting to be written in the incredible career of the legendary Argentine.
#4 Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski is undoubtedly the best pure 'number 9' in world football at the moment. One of the greatest finishers the world has ever seen, Robert Lewandowski has taken his game to new heights in the last 2 seasons.
The Polish superstar had a spectacular 2019/20 season and was a shoe-in to win the Ballon d'Or last year if it had not been canceled. Lewandowski's goalscoring form this season has been simply mindboggling.
In just 25 Bundesliga appearances, Lewandowski has scored a stunning 35 goals already and is set to break all the scoring records in Germany's top flight this season.
If the 32-year-old continues this scoring rate for the rest of the year, he could well end up winning a much deserved Ballon d'Or award in 2021.
#3 Luis Suarez - Ateltico Madrid
Love him or hate him, you just cannot ignore Luis Suarez. A supreme striker with a steely determination to win at all costs, Luis Suarez has enjoyed successful stints at some top European clubs like Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona, and now Atletico Madrid.
Suarez scored plenty of goals for both Ajax and Liverpool and in his final season for the Reds, he almost single-handedly guided them to the Premier League title. This earned him a big money move to Barcelona where he continued to show his class alongside Lionel Messi.
The third all-time top goalscorer in Barcelona's history, Luis Suarez has continued to find the back of the net fot Atletico Madrid this season. An absolute matchwinner on his day, Luis Suarez is one of the greatest strikers to ever play the game.
#2 Thierry Henry - Retired
Arguably the greatest player to never win the Ballon d'Or award, Thierry Henry has won almost every single trophy football has to offer. Winner of the World Cup, European Championship, UEFA Champions League, Premier League, La Liga and many other trophies, Henry was simply unstoppable at his peak.
An Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry was the crown jewel in Arsene Wenger's all-conquering Arsenal side in the early 2000s. Henry initially played as a winger at Monaco and Juventus before Arsene Wenger shifted his position to that of a striker who played centrally.
After an extremely successful spell at Arsenal, the French superstar moved to Barcelona where he formed a fearsome trio alongside Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi.
Immortalized with a statue outside the Emirates, Henry is arguably the greatest player to ever play in the Premier League.
#1 Ronaldo Nazario - Retired
One of the most gifted players to ever play the game, Ronaldo Nazario, takes the #1 spot on our list. The Brazilian superstar was impossible to defend against in his prime.
Blessed with electric pace, silky feet and clinical finishing skills, Ronaldo Nazario was tipped to become the greatest footballer of all time and even surpass the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona. However, recurring knee injuries almost ended his career.
The great Brazilian did not allow knee injuries to deter him, however, as he reinvented his game in 2002 and won the FIFA World Cup as the tournament's top scorer.
Rob Smyth, writing for The Guardian, best summed up Ronaldo's extraordinary career post his injury:
"There were two Ronaldos: the one that returned after long-term injury in 2002 was a great goalscorer, but the 1990s version was a great everything. At his fearsome peak for PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan he was arguably the most dangerous striker the world has ever seen."
Ronaldo Nazario is undoubtedly the greatest striker of the 21st century.
Honorable mentions: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, David Villa, Samuel Eto'o
