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The Premier League went ecstatic with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United this summer. As delightful as it is for the Red Devils to have the Portuguese back, it is equally a privilege for the competition to have one of the best ever players.
Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Old Trafford after being 12 years away from England. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has earned many accolades in those 12 years, making his mark almost everywhere he went.
Premier League has some fine goal-scorers other than Cristiano Ronaldo
To date, Cristiano Ronaldo has 87 Premier League goals to his name, which is a spectacular achievement. That being said, he has some amazing goal-scorers ahead of him, who are very much active and efficient in front of goal.
With his return, Cristiano Ronaldo will want to narrow the distance and hopefully even surpass some of them. But for now, he remains behind them. Let's take a look at those top active goal-scorers who are ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premier League at the moment:
#5 Sadio Mane (99 goals)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is a man very sure of the type of player he wants in his team. One of the players he was very certain about bringing to Anfield was Sadio Mane.
The Senegalese forward started his career with Metz in the French league. He was soon signed by Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian league where he performed amazingly well. He scored 45 goals and registered 32 assists in just 87 appearances across competitions for the club.
Mane was then signed by Southampton in 2014 where he continued to impress. He joined Liverpool in 2016 and has always been a constant part of their first team. With his dribbling skills, flair, agility and blistering pace, he has been a difficult man to handle. Not only that, Mane has been consistently among the goals in the Premier League.
To date, Mane has scored 99 goals in the league. With Cristiano Ronaldo only 12 goals behind him, the competition will be interesting between the two in the coming seasons.
#4 Mohamed Salah (103 goals)
No other player in the Premier League should be feared more than Mohamed Salah right now. The Egyptian has been in sensational form this season and his performance against Manchester City was a glimpse of his terrific skills.
The 2018 FIFA Puskas Award winner has run riot in the Premier League with his deadly form in front of goal. With his sweet left-foot, mind-boggling dribbling skills and amazing talent to find goals, Salah is arguably one of the best players in the world at the moment.
He has been consistently among the top goal-scorers in the league and with the form he is in right now, there is no stopping him. He has already scored 103 goals in the Premier League and catching him is going to be a very difficult task for Cristiano Ronaldo, if he maintains his level. Notably, Salah has also won the Premier League golden boot awards in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns.
#3 Romelu Lukaku (116 goals)
Similar to the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Premier League, the homecoming of Romelu Lukaku cannot be ignored. The Belgian striker is very well versed and accustomed to the demands of the league.
Lukaku has played for a number of Premier League clubs in his career. He started at Chelsea but went on loan spells with West Bromwich Albion and Everton, before permanently signing for the latter. Impressing with the Toffees, the former Anderlecht striker earned a move to Manchester United.
His time with the 20-time English top-flight champions didn't turn out to be that memorable, but as always Lukaku was amongst the goals. He returned to Chelsea this summer from Inter Milan and is looking very good in front of goal.
The former United striker has 116 Premier League goals to his name already. Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping he can make up ground against Lukaku in the race to surpass the Chelsea striker on the list for most Premier League goals. The Portuguese did get the better of Lukaku in the race for the golden boot in Serie A last season.
#2 Jamie Vardy (124 goals)
If there's one striker in the Premier League who deserves more credit, it is Jamie Vardy. Success didn't come easy for the Englishman but he fought his battles and is now one of the most clinical strikers in the league.
Ever since 2014, Vardy has been a regular face in England's top-tier league. With his quick pace, superb positioning and smart finishing, he has been a goal-scoring machine for Leicester City. He was very much instrumental in helping the Foxes win the Premier League in the 2015-16 season.
To date, the English striker has 124 league goals to his name. Vardy's consistency cannot be underestimated and unless the striker retires before Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese might struggle to beat his record.
#1 Harry Kane (166 goals)
No player in the Premier League has been as consistent as Harry Kane in front of goal for more than the past five years now. The Englishman single-handedly carried Spurs on his back with regular contributions in front of goal.
The striker has now made 251 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 166 goals and registering 38 assists. The only thing missing for him is silverware. It is only unfortunate that his move to Manchester City failed this summer. Had that happened, we would have seen goals galore from Kane in almost every match.
The Spurs forward has struggled to find the net this season but it feels like only a matter of time before he does that. With Kane having a difference of 79 goals between him and Cristiano Ronaldo, he surely has nothing to fear about his record being broken anytime soon.
