8 Players with Most Goals in Top 5 European Leagues in the 21st Century

Having scored a brace against Villarreal in LaLiga last week, FC Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski solidified his position in the top 3 in the list of most goalscorers in Europe's top five leagues in the 21st century. Lewandowski has now scored 360 goals in the top five leagues while playing for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and for FC Barcelona in LaLiga. 

This article will highlight 8 players who have scored the most goals in the 21st Century in Europe's top five leagues, which include the Premier League (England), LaLiga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Bundesliga (Germany), and Ligue 1(France).

8. Luis Suarez | 245 Goals

Luis Suarez, famously known as El Pistelero is one of the greatest strikers this century has ever witnessed. The Uruguayan legend had played in two of the top 5 European leagues and left his golden mark engraved everywhere he played.

Suarez showed his attributes in LaLiga for FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, whereas he played for Liverpool FC in the Premier League. He sits in the 8th position on this particular list with 245 goals by his name.

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Suarez scored 69 Premier League goals for Liverpool FC in 110 appearances. He played for three years in Liverpool before Barcelona took him in in 2014. Suarez continued to display his bossing presence on the pitch as he scored 144 goals for Barcelona in 191 Laliga appearances over six years.

A dispute with FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman in 2020 led him to join their rivals in La Liga, Atletico Madrid. Suarez played in 67 Laliga matches for Atletico and scored 32 goals before leaving Europe in 2022. 

7. Sergio Aguero | 259 Goals 

Sergio 'Kun' Aguero is one of the best strikers that Argentina has ever produced and undoubtedly the greatest striker in Manchester City's history. His league-winning goal against QPR handed Man City their third Premier League title in 2012 and his goal remains one of the most iconic moments in football history. Aguero is 7th on this list with 259 goals in total.

Though he is mostly remembered for his achievements with Manchester City, it was Atletico Madrid that brought Aguero to European top-flights in 2006. Spending 5 years in LaLiga, Aguero scored 74 goals in 175 appearances for Atletico.

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Then he moved to the Premier League to join Manchester City in 2011 and the following season he scored that iconic goal in the final matchday. Before moving back to LaLiga with Barcelona in 2021, Aguero already had scored 184 Premier Goals for City in 275 appearances. 

This legendary striker had to decide to retire in December 2021 because of a rare heart condition and could only play 4 matches for FC Barcelona before his retirement and managed to score only 1 goal.

6. Edinson Cavani | 267 Goals 

Another Uruguayan striker, Edinson Cavani is on the list and holds the 6th position. Cavani spent a significant amount of time playing for Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue1. Cavani had also played for a long time for Palermo and Napoli in Serie A. He also had short stints at Premier League club Manchester United and LaLiga club Valencia.

Cavani moved to Europe to play for Palermo in Serie A in 2007. Though having scored 34 goals in 109 appearances he was loaned to Napoli in 2010. Napoli signed him permanently after the loan agreement ended in 2011.

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Cavani spent two years at Napoli scoring 78 goals in 104 Serie A appearances. His spell at Paris SG is often underappreciated though he showed his best goalscoring prowess for them, with 138 Ligue1 goals in 200 appearances by his name. 

Cavani joined Manchester United in 2020 and before leaving in 2022, he had 12 Premier League goals in 41 appearances. His last stint in Europe was in LaLiga as Valencia signed him in 2022 on a free transfer and he left Europe after just one year in Spain. 

5. Karim Benzema | 281 Goals 

Karim Benzema was a name that was always mentioned after Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale during their time together at Real Madrid. But after Cristiano's departure, Benzema managed to unveil his potential and showcased his absolute brilliance for Real Madrid. Most importantly, Benzema won Ballon D'or in 2022 for his monstrous performance in the Real Madrid shirt in the LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League.

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Having spent more than a decade in Real Madrid, he scored 238 goals in 439 LaLiga appearances. Before joining Real Madrid in 2009, he spent 4 years at Olympique Lyonnais where he scored 43 goals in 112 Ligue1 appearances. Benzema left Real Madrid and Europe in 2023. He is 5th in the list with 281 goals in total. 

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 302 Goals 

No other player in this list has had the pride of playing for six top European clubs in the top five European Leagues but we have always witnessed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a different breed. His famous arrogance also reflected on the pitch. This Swedish striker had appeared in the Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue1, and Serie A and played for AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester United, FC Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain.

Ibrahimovic's career was nothing short of a roller-coaster ride. He joined Serie A side Juventus from Ajax in 2004. After two years He joined another Serie A side, Inter Milan. After spending three years at Inter, Zlatan left Italy and signed for the Spanish club FC Barcelona.

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However, his time in Barcelona was not very special as he was loaned back to Italy, and the other side of Milan welcomed him this time. He spent a year on loan in AC Milan and they permanently signed him in 2011. But his expedition continued as he signed for Paris Saint-Germain in 2012. Zlatan left Paris in 2016 and went to test himself in the Premier League with Manchester United signing him. But in 2018, his sudden move to the USA to play for Los Angeles Galaxy shocked everyone.

Zlatan came back to Europe again in 2020 and spent the last three years of his illustrated career at AC Milan. During his long exploration of 18 years in the top five European leagues, he collected 302 goals in total and now stands 4th in this list. 

3. Robert Lewandowski | 360 Goals*

The Polish Goal-machine Robert Lewandowski is the only active player in this list who is playing in a European top-flight league. The current Barcelona forward spent most of his career in the Bundesliga playing for Borussia Dortmund and mostly for Bayern Munich. Lewandowski achieved many triumphs with Bayern Munich and broke many individual and league records. He also won the Sextuple with Bayern in 2020. 

Lewandowski came to the Bundesliga in 2010 to play for Borussia Dortmund and during his 4-year stint at Dortmund, he scored 74 goals in 131 Bundesliga appearances. He joined Dortmund's arch-rival Bayern in 2014 and spent eight long years for the Bavarians. He registered 238 goals in 253 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern.

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Lewandowski joined FC Barcelona in 2022 and currently plays for them and has already scored 48 goals for the Blaugranas in 75 LaLiga appearances. With a total of 360 goals, he stands in the 3rd position and is the only active player from this list who is playing in Europe. 

2. Cristiano Ronaldo | 495 Goals 

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player of all-time alongside Lionel Messi and without a doubt, he is one of those few clutch players who can change a game in seconds. The 'CR7' is considered the greatest goalscorer ever because of his immense talent and most effective goalscoring prowess. The Portuguese bossed in three top European Leagues for nearly two decades while playing for Juventus, Manchester United, and mostly for the club that is almost synonymous with him, Real Madrid.

Ronaldo holds many individual and club records and is considered one of the greatest players in Real Madrid's history. Alex Ferguson brought him to Manchester United in 2003 and at a very young age. Ferguson nurtured Ronaldo and turned him into one of the most dependable players of Manchester United at that time. He scored 84 goals in 196 Premier League appearances before signing for Real Madrid in 2009.

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His chapter in Real Madrid lasted a decade but carved a story that would impress people from all over the world. Ronaldo scored 311 goals in 292 appearances in LaLiga. 

In 2018, Ronaldo moved to Italy to play for Juventus and registered 81 goals in 98 Serie A appearances. In 2021, he came back to his younghood club Manchester United but it did not go as he wished.

Ronaldo left the club in 2022 after a contract termination but with 19 goals in 40 PL appearances in his second spell in England. Ronaldo left Europe in 2023. He scored 495 goals in total and stands 2nd on the list.

1. Lionel Messi | 496 Goals 

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all-time and a phenomenon that has impressed generations. The 'LM10' is considered the greatest because of his immaculate skills and literally everything he does on the pitch. Messi is undoubtedly the greatest player to ever grace Barcelona's crest as well. Messi played in LaLiga for FC Barcelona for almost two decades and has taken possession of many personal records and accolades. Messi also played for Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue1.

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The greatest La Masia graduate was promoted to the senior Barcelona team in 2005. He lived every minute on the pitch and gave his blood and sweat to Barcelona for nearly two decades. During this long journey, Messi made 520 LaLiga appearances and scored 474 goals. 

Messi joined PSG in 2021 over a dispute over his contract renewal with FC Barcelona and played two years for them. Before leaving PSG and Europe in 2023, he scored 22 goals for the French team in 58 Ligue1 appearances. Lionel Messi tops the list of the highest goalscorers in the top five leagues in the 21st century.