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#3 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
There's too much emphasis these days on Lionel Messi being unable to break his duck in Ligue 1 so far. Messi is yet to score in Ligue 1 in five appearances. But he has scored three goals in three Champions League appearances for PSG.
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Messi has also had a great year. He won the Pichichi trophy for being La Liga's top scorer with 30 goals in 35 appearances. Messi won the Golden Boot and was named the Best Player of the tournament as Argentina won the 2021 Copa America this summer.
He scored four goals and provided five assists in seven appearances in continental competition. Messi is widely tipped to be the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or this year. In 2021, he has scored 40 goals and provided 14 assists in 52 appearances for club and country.
#2 Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo's former strike partner Karim Benzema has had one of the best years of his career so far. Despite Real Madrid going trophyless for the first time in 11 years in the 2020-21 season, Benzema's form was a bright spot for the club.
He was their top scorer and in 46 appearances across all competitions last term, he scored 30 goals and provided nine assists. That was enough for him to earn a call up to the French national side after a gap of six years. Benzema celebrated his return by scoring four goals in four appearances at Euro 2020.
He then followed it up by scoring crucial goals for France in the semi-finals and final of the UEFA Nations League, playing a big hand in their triumph. Benzema has also been in sublime form for Real Madrid so far this term. He has scored 14 goals and provided eight assists in 15 appearances across all competitions.
In 2021, for club and country, Benzema has scored 42 goals and provided 13 assists in 55 appearances so far.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
Robert Lewandowski is arguably the best striker on the planet right now. He is certainly the most prolific goalscorer among the elite. The Polish international has been on fire over the past few seasons and has shown no signs of slowing down despite being 33.
In the 2020-21 season, Lewandowski broke Gerd Muller's record for the most goals scored in a single Bundesliga season (40) by scoring 41 goals in 29 appearances. He was Bayern Munich's standout performer as they won the Bundesliga title last term.
Lewandowski has scored 64 goals and provided 11 assists in 51 appearances for both club and country so far this year. He is also one of the frontrunners in the race for this year's Ballon d'Or.
