The Premier League is up and underway already and the other major leagues will soon follow suit. European competitions started way back in July with the playoffs and Super Cups in the various leagues have already been done and dusted.
Barcelona have secured their first trophy of the season by defeating Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup and their superstar Lionel Messi is already underway with two goals for the season. The Argentine added a third to his tally when La Liga champions lost to Athletic Bilbao in the two-legged Spanish Super Cup 5-1.
His alter ego Cristiano Ronaldo will be eager to kickstart his campaign with the La Liga which begins on August 22, but will have some catching up to do by then. But one can definitely count upon the Portuguese skipper to be on the mark from the word ‘go’.
Ronaldo has scored 50 goals and more in the past five seasons and it will take a brave man to bet his money against the 30-year-old repeating that feat in the 2015/16 campaign. The same goes for Messi as well. The only time he failed to cross the 50-goal mark was the injury ravaged 2013/14 season. Even then he managed a more than decent return of 41 goals.
So it’s no wonder that the pair have shared the last seven Ballon d’Or titles between them and in all likelihood will do battle yet again for the year 2015 as well. There’s no denying that the remarkable form of these two football greats have overshadowed other lethal goalscorers in the modern game.
50 goals for the season is inhuman – let’s leave that for Messi and Ronaldo; but who are the others that can shine for their team and score at least 30 goals across all competitions in the 2015/16 season.
Here we take a look at the Top 5 contenders and with the amount of goals that Messi and Ronaldo set up for their teammates, don’t be surprised to find a few Barcelona and Real Madrid players in the lsit.
- Luis Suarez
Who better to start off than the Uruguayan, Luis Suarez, who joined Messi and Ronaldo recently in being shortlisted for the UEFA European Player of the Year award. The 28-year-old is one of football's most lethal finishers at present and equally one of the most divisive figures in the game.
Controversies have followed Suarez throughout his career, but there's no denying his supreme talent. The footballing world began to take notice of the South American after his exploits in the 2008/09 season where he scored a remarkable 49 goals from 48 games playing for Dutch side Ajax. He followed it a fine showing at the 2010 World Cup, but the tournament ended in controversial circumstances for Suarez however as he handled a goalbound header from a Ghanian player thus paving the way for Uruguay to reach the semi-finals.
Liverpool signed Suarez during the 2010/11 winter transfer window and though the forward took some time to settle into the rhythm of the English game, he soon became an Anfield fan favourite. He scored in excess of 30 goals during his final two years with the Merseyside club and that is in spite of missing some games due to the ban he picked up for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic during a league game.
Suarez had the same issue after he moved to Barcelona. He picked up a four-month ban from footballing activities for biting Italy's Giorgio Chillieni during the 2014 World Cup which meant Suarez couldn't feature for his new club until late October. Yet again he took some time to get used to his new surroundings with his first goal for the Catalan club coming one month later.
However, he finished the season with 25 goals in 43 appearances and with Barcelona almost certain to feature in the latter stages of all competitions they compete in, Suarez will plenty of have chances to score plenty more. Like Messi, Suarez also opened his account for the 2015/16 season with a goal in the UEFA Super Cup and a look at his career trajectory proves that he's only getting better.
| Season | Club | Matches | Goals |
| 2010/11 |
Ajax
Liverpool
|
24
13
|
12
4
|
| 2011/12 | Liverpool | 39 | 17 |
| 2012/13 | Liverpool | 44 | 30 |
| 2013/14 | Liverpool | 37 | 31 |
| 2014/15 | Barcelona | 43 | 25 |
2. Neymar Jr
He scored 39 goals in 51 appearances last season and Barca coach Luis Enrique opined that Neymar should have been shortlisted for the European Footballer of the Year award in place of Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi himself has stated that “Neymar can be the best in the world” and if there’s one player who can the break the stranglehold Messi and Ronaldo have on the Ballon d’Or, it is Neymar.
He is yet to make his competitive debut for the club this season as he is suffering from mumps.
| Season | Club | Matches | Goals |
| 2010 | Santos | 60 | 42 |
| 2011 | Santos | 47 | 24 |
| 2012 | Santos | 47 | 43 |
| 2013/14 |
Santos
Barcelona
|
23
41
|
13
15
|
| 2014/15 | Barcelona | 51 | 39 |
3. Sergio Aguero
Aguero is one of those rare Latin American players who have excelled more in the Premier League than in Spain. He was good at Athletico Madrid no doubt – After all City paid £38 million for his services. But since arriving in England, he has already crossed the goals tally he achieved at Atletico having played less than 70 games than with the Spanish club.
And if his performance against the reigning league champions is anything to go by, Aguero looks up to the task this season as well. Pellegrini has all the confidence in him as well having let go off Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic in the transfer window.
| Season | Club | Appearances | Goals |
| 2010/11 | Atletico Madrid | 41 | 27 |
| 2011/12 | Manchester City | 48 | 30 |
| 2012/13 | Manchester City | 40 | 17 |
| 2013/14 | Manchester City | 34 | 28 |
| 2014/15 | Manchester City | 40 | 32 |
4. Robert Lewandoski
The stats don't lie. Robert Lewandowski may not be the first time that comes to your mind when one talk about the greatest strikers around, but he has been there ad thereabouts the 30 goal mark in the past four seasons. That despite having switched clubs between two of Germany’s most illustrious clubs.
He was top scorer in Poland’s third tier and second tier football leagues in 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively before moving to first division side Lech Poznan in the summer of 2008. He was the second top scorer in the league in his debut and went one better in the 2009/10 season before moving to Borussia Dortmund.
He was instrumental in one of Borussia’s most successful spells in history as they reached the Champions League final in 2012/13 where they were beaten by rivals Bayern Munich, whom Lewandowski joined a year later. And despite his apparent problems with Pep Guardiola, he shined for Bayern in his debut season.
He has already opened his account for the 2014/15 season with 2 goals in 3 matches.
| Season | Club | Appearances | Goals |
| 2010/11 | Borussia Dortmund | 43 | 9 |
| 2011/12 | Borussia Dortmund | 47 | 30 |
| 2012/13 | Borussia Dortmund | 49 | 36 |
| 2013/14 | Borussia Dortmund | 47 | 28 |
| 2014/15 | Bayern Munich | 49 | 25 |
5. Karim Benzema
It’s hard to believe Karim Benzema is just 27 years old and is yet to reach the peak years of his career. Real Madrid fans will be hopeful that the forward can better his more talked about teammates in Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale starting this season.
He is an ever present in the starting line up and is hardly injured. Playing with quality players up front he’s never short of getting quality balls to score from. So it’s a bit surprising to see that he has scored more than 30 goals in a season only once in the past 5 campaigns.
| Season | Club | Appearances | Goals |
| 2010/11 | Real Madrid | 48 | 26 |
| 2011/12 | Real Madrid | 52 | 32 |
| 2012/13 | Real Madrid | 50 | 20 |
| 2013/14 | Real Madrid | 52 | 24 |
| 2014/15 | Real Madrid | 46 | 22 |
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