The Best Strikers in World Football 2024

Discussing the best football players in world is a never-ending debate, often without any definitive answers because of tribalism, biased feelings, and loose opinions. Facts over fiction; trophies, statistical data, and the “eye test” are only some of the ways to rate a football player. 

Football has changed rapidly in since the turn of the century. There are diverse types of goal scorers in the modern game, not just the traditional forwards, or the No. 9s and No. 10s of the past. Goals come from every position on the football field. The two greatest players are the top two goal scorers in the history of world football, but both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not strikers, at least not in the traditional vernacular.

Ronaldo has played most of his career as an attacking forward, but he started out as a winger and left-sided midfielder. He only become a goal threat in a forward role later in his Manchester United career under Sir Alex Ferguson. Ronaldo only became the focal point at the top end of the pitch when he moved to Real Madrid. 

Even at Madrid, the Portuguese superstar did not always play as an out-an-out striker, but he broke all the goal scoring records on his way to cementing his legacy as one of the all-time great football players. Despite playing various positions up front for their respective clubs in La Liga, something similar happened with Messi at Barcelona, which transformed the game of football forever.

The Top 10 Highest Goal Scorers of All Time

Messi began as a wide-right forward in Catalonia under Frank Rijkaard. However, Pep Guardiola played the diminutive Argentinian as a false nine - a position that had been forgotten and out-dated. Messi revolutionised the false 9, paving the way for other coaches and players to adopt Guardiola’s tactical thinking and strategies. The rest is history. 

Messi and Ronaldo are the world’s best football players and strikers despite not playing in a traditional goal scorer’s role or position. At SportsBoom, we have listed the greatest goal scorers of all time and the best strikers in world football in 2024. Let the debates begin!

Who are the best strikers in World Football in 2024?

The best strikers in world football in 2024 come from clubs across the world’s biggest leagues. All 10 finishers come from different clubs and nations across the globe. European clubs account for seven of the strikers, two from Asia, and one from Central America. 

Ronaldo topped the list of the world’s highest goal scorers, with 48 goals for Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr, in 2024. Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane are equal-second on 44 goals, four behind Ronaldo. Sporting Club de Portugal’s Viktor Gyokeres is fourth, with 43 goals. 

Top 10 Goal Scorers in World Football 2024

Aleksander Mitrovic, like Ronaldo, is playing in the Saudi Pro League (SPL), and is tied-fifth, with Luuk de Jong and Erling Haaland. They all scored 38 goals in club football for Al-Hilal (SPL), PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie), and Manchester City (English Premier League). 

Vangelis Pavlidis is eighth on the top 10 list of goal scorers in world football in 2024. Pavlidis slotted 33 goals for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. Augustin Auzmendi is placed ninth. He scored 31 goals for Club de Futbol Motagua in Honduras’ Liga Nacional. Serhou Guirassy sits tenth, one behind Auzmendi on 30 goals. 

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