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Football is a beautiful game and its beauty is enriched by some world-class players. The likes of Pele, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, George Best and many others have made the game more attractive with their enormous contributions.
That being said, irrespective of anything, the expectations from a striker in football will never change. The man leading the frontline is expected to be among the goals no matter what.
Some world-class strikers have aged like fine wine
With the responsibility of scoring goals on a regular basis, the life of a striker is not at all easy. We are seeing this season how a phenomenal goalscorer like Harry Kane has struggled in front of goal in the Premier League.
The struggle only gets intense with age and to keep up with that is a massive task. Fortunately, some of the strikers have dealt with this pressure immensely well and are still doing a great job in attack. On that note, let's take a look at the top strikers above the age of 35 right now:
#5 Radamel Falcao
The Colombian striker has been quite a successful footballer given the clubs he has played for. Radamel Falcao started his career with River Plate in Argentina but his major breakthrough came when he started playing for Porto.
In his two seasons with the Portuguese club, he scored 41 goals in just 50 appearances. This helped him earn a move to Atletico Madrid where he became unstoppable. He went on to score 52 goals in 68 La Liga appearances, winning the UEFA Europa League and Copa del Rey.
Since then, he has played for Monaco, Manchester United, Chelsea and Galatasaray and is currently with Rayo Vallecano. The 35-year old has already scored five goals in 8 appearances and is the club's top-scorer this season.
#4 Olivier Giroud
Having come through the ranks of Grenoble, Olivier Giroud spent the early days of his career playing in Ligue 1. The French striker's fortunes changed when he signed for Arsenal in 2012.
With his tall physique and amazing aerial abilities, Giroud was a massive threat in front of goal. He played a vital role in helping the Gunners win the FA Cup thrice before joining Chelsea in 2018. With the Blues, the Frenchman won the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a memorable time in the Premier League with both London clubs. Giroud joined AC Milan this summer and the 35-year old has already scored four goals in seven league appearances.
#3 Edin Dzeko
Edin Dzeko is probably the most underrated striker on this list. The Bosnian striker has done very well with his career and it all kickstarted after he joined Wolfsburg in 2007.
He helped the German club win their first Bundesliga title, scoring 26 goals in 32 league appearances. His impressive performances in Germany earned him a move to Manchester City in 2011. With the Cityzens, Dzeko had a wonderful time as he won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
After leaving City in 2016, the 35-year old striker joined Roma where he continued to put in wonderful performances in front of goal. Following the departure of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan this summer, Dzeko has joined them and has already scored seven goals in 12 Serie A appearances.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had an outstanding football career. The Swedish striker has played for some of the top clubs in his career, including Inter, Milan, Juventus, Ajax, Manchester United, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Amazingly, Zlatan has won trophies almost everywhere he played. He has won the Italian league, Spanish league and the Dutch league. With his tall and strong physique, stupendous technique and superb goal-scoring abilities, the former Manchester United striker has scored more than 350 goals in his career.
He's currently back with AC Milan and has already contributed 28 goals in just 43 league appearances. At the age of 40, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the eldest player in the list but has no intention of stopping playing in the near future.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has defied many odds in his career and succeeded tremendously well. Over time, he has also defied his age and looked fit and impactful as ever.
Having started with Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo looked a bright talent from a very young age. With Manchester United, the Portuguese developed into one of the finest wingers in the world. He won the Premier League thrice and the UEFA Champions League once with them.
His dream was to play for Real Madrid and for that very reason he joined Los Blancos in 2009. With the Spanish giants, he won La Liga twice and the UEFA Champions League four times.
Ronaldo signed for Juventus in 2018 and won Serie A twice with them before returning to Manchester United this summer. The Portuguese is still one of the best players in the world. Even at the age of 36, he has already scored nine goals in 12 appearances for United this term.
