Lionel Messi’s reputation as one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the game is well-founded. But is he the top scorer in Europe’s major leagues since announcing himself with a goal on his Barcelona debut way back in 2004?
The shape of football in Europe’s major leagues has changed immeasurably since a teenage Messi first burst onto the scene. Legendary players like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and Alan Shearer were yet to hang up their boots.
Who have been the greatest goalscorers in Europe during the Messi era? We’ve ran through the top 10 top scorers in Europe’s five biggest leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 – since Messi’s La Liga debut against Espanyol on October 16th, 2004.
10. Edin Dzeko – 221
The Bosnia international’s exceptional goalscoring record goes under the record somewhat. He’s outscored the likes of Wayne Rooney, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ciro Immobile and David Villa for goals in the big leagues since joining Wolfsburg back in 2007.
Dzeko scored 26 goals in Wolfsburg’s 2008-09 Bundesliga-winning campaign and 14 goals in Man City’s first Premier League title of 2011-12, including the vital late equaliser against QPR on the final day.
Now 37 and finally slowing down at Inter, he arguably peaked in his thirties, having scored 85 goals in 199 Serie A appearances for Roma.
9. Gonzalo Higuain – 237
One of the most divisive figures of his generation, Higuain might not have been the best big-game player – as Argentina fans might attest – but he was astonishingly consistent at scoring goals in league campaigns.
Preferred to Karim Benzema for a long while at Real Madrid, El Pipita scored over 100 La Liga goals for Real Madrid before proving even more effective in Italy, peaking with 71 goals in 104 Serie A appearances for Napoli.
He then went on to add a further 48 league goals for Juventus, including 24 in their title-winning 2016-17 campaign.
8. Luis Suarez – 248
The Uruguayan spent just over a decade turning out in Europe’s major leagues, having joined Liverpool from Ajax at the age of 24 in 2011. But he was devastatingly prolific during those prime years.
His heroics almost singlehandedly led Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2013-14 and he was unstoppable at Barcelona, becoming the club’s third all-time top scorer in just six seasons before adding a further 32 La Liga goals in two seasons with Atletico Madrid.
😳 What a goal!
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