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Like Brazilians, Argentine players are also naturally gifted and have graced the game of football with aplomb over the years.
The two-time FIFA World Cup winners have had an array of top players who have plied their trade in Europe's top five leagues. They include players across positions, but the Argentine attackers have been particularly impressive, especially over the last two decades.
Interestingly, some of these players are still active for club and country. On that note, here's a look at the five most prolific Argentine goalscorers since the turn of the century.
Note: All stats are as per transfermarkt unless mentioned otherwise.
#5 Diego Milito - 221 goals
Diego Milito is one of the most prolific Argentine goalscorers of the last two decades.
The 42-year-old scored over 200 goals for club and country, with but four of these strikes coming in club football. Milito, who played for five different clubs, enjoyed his most successful spell during a five-season stint at Inter Milan, where he scored 75 times.
In only his first season with the Nerazzurri in 2009-10, the striker scored the goals that sealed their Coppa Italia, Serie A and UEFA Champions League triumphs. In the process, Jose Mourinho's team became the first Italian team to win the continental treble.
Milito also scored 60 times for Genoa, 59 times for Real Zaragoza and 23 times for Racing Club, with whom he won one Argentinian league title.
#4 Carlos Tevez - 247 goals
Carlos Tevez was not the most elegant of goalscorers, but he was mighty effective nonetheless.
Although he had a suspect temperament, the striker played and scored for some of the biggest clubs in the game. Tevez represented the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus, among others, scoring 34, 73 and 50 goals respectively for them. He won five league titles and a Champions League with the three clubs.
For Boca Juniors, he has netted 61 times across two different spells, winning four league titles. Tevez, who won the gold medal with Argentina at the 2004 Olympics, has also found the back of the net 13 times for their senior team.
#3 Gonzalo Higuain - 350 goals
Gonzalo Higuain is a prolific but arguably one of the underrated Argentine goalscorers of the last two decades.
Still only 34, he has scored exactly 350 goals for club and country since breaking out with River Plate in 2005-06. The then-teenaged Higuain was soon snapped up by Real Madrid. He bagged a decent 121 strikes in seven seasons at the Spanish capital club, winning three league titles, among other honors.
Higuain then moved to Italy, where he spent three hugely productive seasons with Napoli, plundering 91 goals. That included a record 36 goals in the 2015-16 Serie A season, which caught the attention of serial winners Juventus.
However, he struggled to hit the same heights with the Bianconeri, scoring 66 times in three seasons across two stints. During that period, he spent six months on loan at AC Milan, where he scored just eight times.
He spent another six months at Chelsea, where he bagged five goals and won the UEFA Europa League. Higuain returned to Juventus to win his third Serie A title in 2019-20.
Currently in the MLS with Inter Miami, the Argentine has netted 13 times. Higuain has had a decent career with his national team too, scoring 31 times before announcing his international retirement in 2019.
#2 Sergio Aguero - 421 goals
Sergio Aguero is one of the most lethal goalscorers to have graced the game since the turn of the century.
Since debuting for Independiente in 2004, the diminutive striker has amassed over 400 goals for club and country. That includes a record 260 strikes for Premier League giants Manchester City, with whom he won five league titles, among other major honors. He arrived on English shores in 2011 after amassing 101 strikes for Atletico Madrid.
After moving to Barcelona last summer, Aguero managed one goal in five games before the 33-year-old was forced to retire because of a heart problem (arrhythmia).
The most prolific foreign goalscorer in Premier League history (184 goals) also scored 41 times for Argentina. Although he did not play the last two games, Aguero was a part of La Albiceleste's triumphant Copa America 2021 campaign.
#1 Lionel Messi (All-time Argentine top scorer) - 758 goals
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the game.
During a brilliant, nearly two-decade-long career for club and country, the Argentine has scored goals and won big titles galore. The record goalscorer for both Barcelona (672) and Argentina (80) recently notched up his 750th career goal for club and country.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after a triumphant Copa America 2021 campaign with Argentina. Messi led from the front with four goals and five assists as La Albiceleste won their first international title in nearly three decades.
However, the 34-year-old would want to improve his underwhelming return of one goal from 11 league goals for PSG. Messi will also look to play a key role in the Parisians' quest to win their first Champions League. That starts with a blockbuster Round of 16 clash against Real Madrid, with the first leg on 15 February.
