There is no position in the footballing world as glamorous as the striker.
It is the one position that gets all the glory by scoring at the most important times.
But of course, being in the spotlight all the time is not easy at all.
So players who make it to the top playing up front have nerves of steel.
And to celebrate these sensations, let us go through our picks for the 10 Best Strikers in The World.
Just to be clear, this list includes players who mostly play down the middle for their sides.
So do not be surprised at not seeing players like Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe. Let’s get going.
10. Jamie Vardy
Teams: FC Halifax Town, Fleetwood Town and Leicester City
This name might sound odd to you, but why don’t you hear us out?
Just like his chant, Jamie Vardy has been ‘having a party since he came to the spotlight in 2015/16. In that season, Vardy scored 24 goals in one season. Most notably, he overtook Ruud Van Nistelrooy to score a goal in the most consecutive Premier League matches.
Vardy’s consistency in front of goal was one of the main reasons why Leicester City did the impossible and win their first-ever Premier League title. He broke the 20 goal mark two times more as Leicester continued to battle against the top 6 teams in the Premier League. In the 2020/21 season, he was the core of the Leicester team that beat Chelsea to win the FA Cup.
Until now, Vardy has scored 149 goals for Leicester City. The ‘party’ doesn’t look like stopping for the former England International.
His longevity and the ability to win trophies for his side make him a deserving pick for our list.
9. Andre Silva
Teams: Porto, AC Milan, Sevilla, Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig
When you look at the best strikers in the world, they are usually in the best teams in the top European leagues. However, Andre Silva has ensured some revisionism among football fans.
Starting his career at FC Porto, Silva came to the spotlight after scoring 21 goals in just his second season in the first team. Silva did struggle in his time in Italy and Spain. His campaigns with AC Milan and Sevilla were not the best as he hardly went into double figures for both sides respectively.
However, everything changed after his move to the Bundesliga. Firstly, he rejuvenated his career at Frankfurt as he scored 16 goals in the 2019/20 season. In the 2020/21 season, Silva secured his best goal-scoring charts for a season as he found the net 29 times.
It remains to be seen whether he can enjoy similar success in his new club, RB Leipzig. But on form alone, he is definitely one of the best strikers in the world.
8. Luis Suarez
Teams: Nacional, Groningen, Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid
While he may not be the Luis Suarez of old, the Uruguayan is still scoring goals for fun.
Luis Suarez, just like Cristiano Ronaldo, has been prolific in both Premier League and La Liga. In his last two seasons at Liverpool, Suarez scored 61 goals. Many consider his 2013/14 season to be one of the greatest individual seasons in Premier League history.
After his dream move to Barcelona, he added trophies to show for his clinical finishing. Suarez became the core of the Barcelona team that won their second treble in 2015. In the following season, he outscored Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win the Pichichi.
After he moved to Atletico Madrid from Barcelona, he showed his former team exactly as he scored 20 La Liga goals in 2020/21 to win the league for Diego Simeone’s team. Will we see more wonderful finishes from the Uruguayan this season? Let’s wait and watch.
7. Mohamed Salah
Teams: Al Mokawloon Al Arab, Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, Liverpool
Let’s be clear here. Mohamed Salah will go down as one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s history.
Even though he plays as a right-winger, Jurgen Klopp does deploy the Egyptian in the two-striker system as a false nine.
After flopping at Chelsea and producing decent performances for Roma and Fiorentina, nobody expected him to have the numbers he has now. In his first season for Liverpool, Salah became the first winger since Cristiano Ronaldo to score 30 or more goals in a Premier League season. Salah scored 44 goals in his first season to win his first Premier League Golden Boot.
The former FC Basel forward continued his good performances as he led Liverpool to a sixth Champions League title and the first Premier League title in their history. Even though Liverpool didn’t win anything in the 2020/21 season, Salah continued to remain consistent as he crossed the 30 goal mark again. We may expect similar performances from the Egyptian this season.
6. Harry Kane
Teams: Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane has been arguably the finest Premier League striker of the last decade alongside Sergio Aguero. The Tottenham striker has been sensational for the last seven years for the North London side and England national team.
The English captain has won three Premier League Golden Boots, the most recent one coming in the 2020-21 season. He also secured the most assists in the same campaign.
With Kane, the English Football Team has reached the World Cup semi-finals and the European Final. Furthermore, he was part of the Tottenham side that played the Champions League final in 2019.
Will he continue to impress after his move to Manchester City didn’t happen? We have to wait and see.
5. Romelu Lukaku
Teams: Anderlecht, Chelsea, West Bromich Albion, Everton, Manchester United, Inter Milan
Even though Romelu Lukaku’s individual award cabinet isn’t as massive as the previous two players that we discussed, you just cannot doubt Lukaku’s credentials.
Lukaku emerged onto the scene after his hat trick against Manchester United in 2013. After that, he excelled at Everton, where he won the Premier League Young Player of the Year award.
After suffering a disappointing tenure at Manchester United, the Belgian striker has since continued to defy his critics by shining for Inter. Currently, Lukaku stands as the finest goalscorer in Belgium colors.
In the 2019/20 season, Lukaku finished with 36 goals to his name, scoring the most goals in one season for Inter since Ronaldo Nazario. In the 2020/21 season, he led Inter to their first Scudetto since their treble season in 2010. Now as he has returned to the Premier League, he has a point to prove to his doubters in England.
4. Karim Benzema
Teams: Lyon, Real Madrid
It is just a matter of time before Karim Benzema overtakes Raul to become the second greatest goalscorer in Real Madrid’s history, after Cristiano Ronaldo. The French International is undoubtedly a Real Madrid legend.
Since his move to Los Blancos in 2009, Karim Benzema has remained professional and shown consistency under every Real Madrid manager. After Cristiano Ronaldo left the club in 2018 and Gareth Bale’s form fell off, Benzema held the Real Madrid attack together single-handedly.
Currently, Benzema has scored 282 goals for Real Madrid. And there can be a lot more until he ends his career in the Spanish capital.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Teams: Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus
There truly are no words to describe this Portuguese sensation. For a player who used to be a winger in his Manchester United days, Cristiano Ronaldo has turned out to be the greatest goalscorer of this generation. Currently, he has scored the most goals in international football history.
His ability to transform his game from being a pacy winger in the past to being a lethal poacher at present shows his hard work and dedication and makes him truly extraordinary.
Secondly, Ronaldo is also the greatest goalscorer in Real Madrid’s history. At Juventus, he managed to score 101 goals across three seasons. Ronaldo’s ability to sustain his performance level for so long makes him admired by many football fans. The 800 goal mark is truly around the corner for the mercurial Portuguese.
2. Erling Haaland
Teams: Bryne, Molde, RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund
Not many players would grab the spotlight at such a young age as Erling Haaland. The emergence of the Dortmund striker reminds us of Wayne Rooney at Everton when he used to take on vastly experienced players and beat them.
Haaland came to the spotlight in Salzburg colors when he became the youngest player ever to score a Champions League hat trick. He has never looked back since. After securing his move to Borussia Dortmund, the Norwegian International has continued to impress.
In his first full season for the German side, Haaland scored 41 goals for the season. And the way in which he has started this season, he may improve even further. Sky’s the limit for Haaland.
1. Robert Lewandowski
Teams: Znicz Pruszków, Lech Poznan, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich
If we talk about a world-class striker, we don’t need to look further than Robert Lewandowski. Since emerging onto the spotlight after his four-goal wizardry against Real Madrid in 2013, the Polish International has been nothing short of remarkable.
We always used to say that the numbers of Messi and Ronaldo are unlikely to be matched. However, the Bayern Munich striker has come ever so close to matching those generational talents.
In the 2019/20 season, Lewandowski scored 55 goals as he led the German giants to their second-ever treble and first sextuple. By doing that, he eclipsed Messi and Ronaldo to win the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award.
In the 2020/21 season, Lewandowski continued his rich vein of form as he scored 48 goals for the season. Even though Bayern got dethroned in the Champions League, the Polish international scored 41 goals in the Bundesliga season, eclipsing Gerd Muller’s record for most goals in one season.
Bottom Line
So these were our picks for the 10 Best Strikers in the World.
The reason these players are so special is that they have stood the test of time.
They adapt their game to the needs of their team and set the tone for others to follow.
Do you agree with our picks? Let us know if we missed anyone in the comments below.
