Messi, Mbappe, Haaland or Lewandowski: Who has the most goals in the first two years of the 2020s?
From legendary forward Lionel Messi and PSG star Kylian Mbappe to Man City sensation Erling Haaland and Polish icon Robert Lewandowski, here's a look at who tops the charts of the most goals scored in the first two years of the decade.
FollowThe 2020 decade in the world of football has already witnessed several controversies and landmark moments.
In the first two years of the decade, enthusiasts endured legendary forward Lionel Messi's shock departure from Barcelona to move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Kylian Mbappe's highly-anticipated transfer to Real Madrid, which was eventually turned down, grabbed the headlines last summer.
Also read: Ronaldo or Messi? Former Al-Nassr star Aboubaker chooses between the two G.O.A.T.s
Robert Lewandowski's move from Bayern Munich to Barcelona, Erling Haaland's entry into Premier League with Manchester City, and Cristiano Ronaldo's comeback to Manchester United and departure in just over a year remained some of the most discussed topics in the world of football.
Of course, Argentina and Lionel Messi's glorious FIFA World Cup 2022 victory at Qatar last month remains icing on the cake. However, who among these stars has scored the maximum number of goals for club and country in the first two years of the 2020s?
As per research by IFFHS, Barcelona striker Lewandowski is the forward that has scored the most goals in the first two years of the decade. The Polish sensation has 111 in total, pipping PSG and France star Kylian Mbappe (107) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (95).
After a lacklustre first season with PSG, Messi's total sits at 78, over the same period, while Karim Benzema (80) and Harry Kane (79) fill out the top five.
Among the 111 goals Lewandowski scored, 69 came in 2021 and 42 in 2022, with 18 of those goals going to Barcelona. The Polish icon scored 15 goals for his country. He has scored 13 of Barcelona's 35 goals in La Liga thus far and is currently leading the Pichichi award race.
Lewandowski's goals have frequently made the difference for the Blaugrana, giving their otherwise unpredictable approach a cutting edge.
Shockingly, with 63 goals legendary Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo is at no. 14 in the list. The 37-year-old icon recently signed for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr after mutually terminating his contract with Manchester United in November.
Here's a look at the top 20 players who have scored the most goals since the turn of the 2020 decade:
Robert Lewandowski - 111 goals
Kylian Mbappe - 107 goals
Erling Haaland - 95 goals
Karim Benzema - 80 goals
Harry Kane - 79 goals
Lionel Messi - 78 goals
Gabriel Barbosa - 73 goals
Mohamed Abdel Rahman - 71 goals
Mehdi Taremi - 70 goals
Bérgson- 69 goals
Michael Olunga - 68 goals
Mohamed Salah - 67 goals
Tiago Azulão - 66 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo - 63 goals
Dušan Vlahović - 62 goals
Julián Álvarez - 60 goals
Ricardo Gomes - 59 goals
Wissam Ben Yedder - 59 goals
Paul Onuachu - 59 goals
Ali Mabkhout - 57 goals
Here's the list of the top 50 players who scored the maximum goals in 2021 and 2022.
