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2021 has been an entertaining year for football fans. The action-packed second half of the 2020-21 season was followed by a summer of exciting international football. Euro 2020 and Copa America 2021 provided us with a month of entertainment.
It's been a great year for goalscorers and now that crowds are being allowed back into stadiums, they are only expected to get better. The 2021 summer transfer window has been quite an enjoyable one as well. Several surprising deals have gone over the line.
Some of the best goalscorers in the world, like Lionel Messi, Romelu Lukaku and Andre Silva, have joined new clubs. Harry Kane is tipped to leave Tottenham Hotspur in the next couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see just how well these players will be able to keep up their form in the 2021-22 season at their new clubs.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who have scored the most number of goals in 2021.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Portugal) - 27 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a great year in terms of goalscoring. He won the 2020-21 Serie A Golden Boot as well as the Euro 2020 Golden Boot for his exploits. He has turned 36 but his appetite for goals has not gone down a bit.
Ronaldo has scored 20 goals for Juventus across all competitions this calendar year. He has also added seven for Portugal. Ronaldo is currently tied with Iran's Ali Daei in the all-time international goalscoring chart for male footballers with 109 goals each.
He has lost a yard of pace in recent years but has been able to adapt and evolve into a centre-forward. Ronaldo is peerless when it comes to aerial ability and his leap is exceptional. The Portuguese international rising above the shoulders of defenders to head crosses home is a wonderful sight to behold.
#4 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain/France) - 30 goals
Kylian Mbappe is widely regarded as the heir apparent to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Frenchman is still just 22-years-old and has already won the World Cup with his national side.
He has also been clocking incredible numbers for club and country for close to five years now. Mbappe has scored 30 goals this calendar year. The Paris Saint-Germain forward has scored 29 goals across all competitions for his club in 2021.
He has, however, not hit those heights with the French national side, scoring just a single goal in nine international appearances.
#3 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Norway) - 30 goals
Erling Haaland is one of the most prolific strikers in the world. The 21-year-old has become the most sought-after youngster in the world of football. Borussia Dortmund are looking to cling on to him for as long as they can but it's only a matter of time before Haaland takes the next big step in his career.
He has scored 29 goals for Borussia Dortmund in 2021. However, his goalscoring returns for Norway are rather poor. He has just one goal in five appearances in 2021 for his national side.
Haaland has got off to a flying start in the 2021-22 season. In two Bundesliga matches, he has scored five goals and provided two assists.
#2 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain/Argentina) - 33 goals
It's been a year of mixed fortunes for Lionel Messi. While 2021 has been his best year in terms of his international career, his time at Barcelona had to come to an end. Messi led Argentina to the 2021 Copa America title, scoring four goals and providing five assists at the continental competition.
Messi won the Golden Boot and the Best Player Award at the tournament. The 34-year-old has been in scintillating form this calendar year and single-handedly got Barcelona back into the La Liga title race in the 2020-21 season. They couldn't drive it home but it was a treat to watch Messi in prime goalscoring form.
He scored 28 goals for Barcelona in 2021. Messi scored five goals in nine appearances for La Albiceleste this year as well. In total, Messi has 33 goals to his name in 2021. He has now joined Paris Saint-Germain and is expected to form one of the most dreaded attacking trios in the world alongside Neymar and Mbappe.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland) - 35 goals
Robert Lewandowski is currently the most prolific goalscorer on the planet. The winner of the 2021 European Golden Shoe broke Gerd Muller's record of 40 goals scored in a 38-game Bundesliga season. Lewandowski scored 41 goals in 29 appearances for the Bavarians in the 2020-21 season in the German top-flight.
In 2021, Lewandowski has scored 29 goals for Bayern Munich. He has also scored six goals in six appearances for Poland this calendar year. Lewandowski is 32-years-old but he has been clocking unreal numbers in recent seasons and the 2021-22 campaign should be no different.
