CRISTIANO RONALDO and Harry Kane are amongst the most prolific goalscorers in world football in 2023.
Superstar Ronaldo created shockwaves when he joined Al-Nassr at the beginning of the year but it has proved a fruitful move for the veteran striker.
Kane has also hit new goalscoring heights since his transfer to Bayern Munich, and his tally for the calendar year rivals some of the best strikers in the world.
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe have been battling it out for that title over the last few years, while there are some new contenders for the thrown.
There are also a couple of surprise names in the top ten as SunSport takes a look at the top goalscorers of 2023.
10. Lautaro Martinez – 37
The Inter Milan star is Serie A’s top goalscoer with 15 goals in 16 games.
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Martinez, 26, is on course for his best-ever goalscoring campaign which stands at 21.
He has become Inter’s main man since Lukaku left and picked up where he left off at the end of last season, with goals in the Champions League and Coppa Italia throughout 2023.
9. Barnabas Varga – 38
The Hungarian’s career took a while to get going but at 29-years-old he is finally in the form of his life.
Varga scored a staggering 29 goals in 34 games for Paksi FC last term, earning him a move to Hungarian champions Ferencváros, where he has continued to find the net on a regular basis.
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The striker has 17 goals in 21 games this season so 2023 has been a year to remember.
8. Santiago Gimenez – 39
The highly sought-after forward has set Eredivisie on fire with Feyenoord since the summer.
He has 18 goals in just 16 league games this season and his form has continued from last season, when he scored nine goals in his last ten Eredivisie matches.
Gimenez, 22, scored regularly for Cruz Azul in his native Mexico and his goalscoring prowess has sparked interest from the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
6. Denis Bouanga – 40
Denis Bouanga finished as MLS top scorer this year with 25 goals.
He also proved unstoppable in cup competitions with seven goals in eight CONCACAF Champions League games, and six goals in three matches in the Leagues Cup.
LAFC made it to the MLS Cup final thanks in part to Bouanga’s goals, with the 29-year-old also bagging twice for his country Gabon.
= Romelu Lukaku – 40
The Chelsea flop, 30, has revitalised his career on loan at Roma this season with 13 goals in 21 games.
He has been even more prolific for Belgium, scoring 15 goals in 2023 which helped him finish top of the Euro 2024 qualification scoring charts – 39 per cent of his goals came for the Red Devils.
= German Cano – 40
The veteran striker, 35, played a key role in Fluminense’s Copa Libertadores success with 13 goals in 12 games.
He was less prolific in Brazil’s Serie A than in 2022 but goals in the cup competitions mean Cano ends the year as one of the world’s top goalscorers – just as he did last year when he scored 44 goals.
4. Erling Haaland – 50
Haaland, 23, will consider himself unfortunate to miss out on top spot after injury prevented him from featuring in Manchester City’s last six games of 2023.
However he will still be delighted with a sensational 2023 which saw the Norwegian win the Treble.
He scored 50 goals and has found the net 22 times already this season, so would be a good bet to finish as the top goalscorer of 2024.
2. Kylian Mbappe – 52
Mbappe, 25, could achieve his best goalscoring season for PSG if he maintains his current form, with the forward hitting 18 goals in just 16 Ligue Un games.
He took a while to get going after drawing a blank in January but soon made up for lost time with 16 goals in his final 15 league games.
Ten goals for France means he finishes in the top three goalscorers this year – two goals off top spot.
= Harry Kane – 52
The England captain consistently found the target for club and country while he was at Tottenham but he has stepped up a level since his Bayern Munich switch.
He has 25 goals in 22 games for the German giants and also managed a productive year with the Three Lions, scoring nine goals in nine games.
Like Haaland, the 29-year-old will likely feel he could have claimed top spot if the Bundesliga had not commenced its winter break mid-way through December.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 54
Ronaldo may be 38 years old but he has been as prolific as ever, albeit in Saudi Arabia.
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He hit the ground running for Al-Nassr and 44 of his 54 goals have come for the big spenders.
That means he has scored 10 goals for Portugal – the fifth time he has reached double figures for his country in a calendar year.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
