Goals are what we all enjoy. The rush, anticipation, precision and drive of strikers to consistently keep finding the back of the net is what gets a smile to our faces.
The strikers are the real deal as they look to pounce on anything loose and keep finding ways of providing their team an advantage during any given scenario.
Europe’s Big 5 Leagues- English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 have seen natural and phenomenal ball strikers and we will list 5 of them who have been giants in their respective leagues due to their goal-scoring prowess.
ALAN SHEARER (1992-2006): ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
The Englishman is the Premier League’s highest goal scorer with 260 goals in 441 appearances to his credit during his stints with Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
He won the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers in the 1994-95 season and was named Player of the Season.
He also won the Golden Boot in the title winning season and the following two years.
Shearer held the record of most goals scored in a single season with 31 goals before Mohamed Salah broke that record in the 2017-18 season when he scored 32 goals.
The four-time Player of the Month winner is Premier League royalty.
LIONEL MESSI (2004-present): LA LIGA
The Argentina and Barcelona talisman has scored 463 goals for Barcelona in 508 appearances. He has won 10 La Liga titles for Barcelona and many other domestic club competitions. He is the all time top scorer in La Liga history.
The six-time Ballon D’or winner has been the identity of the club since the time he made his debut.
SILVIO PIOLA (1929- 43, 1946-47, 1948-54): SERIE A
The Italian giant played for four clubs during his time in Italy, namely Pro Vercelli, Lazio, Juventus and Novara scoring 274 goals in 537 appearances over 21 seasons. Piola is Serie A’s top scorer of all time. He was also part of the 1938 victorious World Cup team of Italy.
He won the Italienischer Zweitligameister in 1947-48 for Novara Calcio 1908. The Italian is the top scorer in Lazio’s club history with 149 goals.
GERD MÜLLER (1964-79): BUNDESLIGA
Gerd ‘Der Bomber’ Muller is the highest goal scorer in Bundesliga history with 365 goals in 427 appearances for Bayern Munich.
He was reason for a lot of Bayern Munich’s success as he helped them lift four Bundesliga titles.
Müller is a World Cup winner for West Germany in 1974 and Ballon D’or winner in 1970 for his exploits.
He still holds the record for most goals in a single season when he scored 40 in the 1971-72 season.
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DELIO ONNIS (1972-86): LIGUE 1
The Argentina striker scored 299 goals in 449 games and is the highest goal scorer in Ligue 1 history. He played for Monaco, Reims, Tours and Toulon during his time in Italy.
