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#7 Luis Suarez | Atletico Madrid
South American veteran Luis Suarez is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and defining strikers of his generation. He is currently one of the highest active goalscorers in the top five leagues and is part of a select few to have breached the 500-goal barrier. However, the 33-year-old was unceremoniously pushed towards the exit at Barcelona, paving the way for a transfer to Atletico Madrid.
The move to the Spanish capital proved to be a blessing for the striker and Diego Simeone as Suarez has led Atleti's charge for their first LaLiga title in seven years. The ex-Blaugrana star has smashed 19 goals in his 25 starts for Los Rojoblancos this season, including a brilliant and decisive goal against rivals Real Madrid in the derby. Suarez didn't manage to score a single goal in Europe, but his impact in the Spanish top-flight has been remarkable.
It would be poetic for Suarez to lead one of his former club's rivals to the title after having claimed to be 'disrespected' by them prior to his exit. With eight games to go in LaLiga, El Pistolero could still have an influential role to play for Simeone's side in terms of the title race.
#6 Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund
Erling Haaland is, undisputedly, the most in-demand player in world football at the moment. The Norwegian superstar has been simply sensational in every way and, regardless of the opposition or the competition, he has managed to find the back of the net time after time.
Haaland has only played a total of 51 competitive games for Borussia Dortmund since moving midway through last season from RB Salzburg. During this period, he's scored a staggering 49 goals and set up a further 12 for his teammates. These aren't figures one would expect from a 20-year-old who isn't named Lionel Messi. The former FK Molde star has scored 21 times in 22 Bundesliga games and a tournament-high ten times in the UEFA Champions League this season.
The Dortmund striker's 0.98 non-penalty goals per 90 places him in the 98th percentile for forwards across Europe and is currently the fifth leading scorer across the top five leagues this season. Given that Haaland is this good at just 20 years of age, it isn't hard to see why European giants Real Madrid, Barcelona, and other clubs have Mino Raiola on speed-dial ahead of the summer window.
#5 Karim Benzema | Real Madrid
Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema has firmly established himself as his side's go-to man since Cristiano Ronaldo's exit and hasn't looked back since. The French striker's overall game has been on a different level to that of most centre-forwards since last year. He fired Los Blancos to the title in 2019/20 and, subsequently, Benzema became the first player apart from Ronaldo and Messi to win the Alfredo Di Stefano (best player in LaLiga) award since Raul Gonzalez.
This season has been no different as Benzema has kept Real Madrid's LaLiga and Champions League campaigns alive with crucial goals, such as his 88th-minute equaliser against Atletico Madrid. The 33-year-old is the Blancos' highest goalscorer with 24 goals (18 in LaLiga), with their next-highest scorer, Casemiro, notching just a quarter of his overall tally. He spared Real Madrid from an embarrassing group-stage UCL elimination with a season-defining brace against Borussia Monchengladbach and scored in the quarter-finals as well.
The Blancos veteran ranks in the 93rd and 95th percentiles respectively for non-penalty goals (0.68) and touches in the box (7.46) per 90 in Europe. Benzema hasn't scored as many as some others on this list, but the value of the ones he's struck are worth more than most — and could still potentially lead his side to domestic and European glory.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to shatter scoring records in Europe even at the age of 36. The Juventus superstar may have suffered a heartbreaking exit from the UCL with Juventus, but on a personal note, it has been yet another incredible campaign for him in terms of end product. The Portuguese icon has been in stellar form this season and became the all-time highest goalscorer for club and country in January, surpassing Josef Bican.
Despite being sidelined for a brief period after testing positive for COVID-19, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner currently leads the scoring charts in Italy with 25 goals in just 26 appearances — four more than next-highest scorer Romelu Lukaku, who played two games more. 2020/21 is the 15th successive campaign during which Ronaldo has surpassed 20 goals for club and country and holds the record for most braces in Europe this season with eight across all competitions.
Among forwards in Europe, Ronaldo ranks in the 99th (!) percentile for shots (5.54), 93rd for shot-creating actions (3.94) and 92nd for goals (0.62) per 90. After losing out on the coveted Capocannoniere last season to Ciro Immobile, Ronaldo could potentially win his first Golden Boot since the 2014/15 campaign this year.
Also read: 5 Transfers that dramatically changed the fortunes of a club
