Best Striker in the World

Doesn't Salah get a mention?

Thing with Lewandowski is, he's had it relatively easy in the Bundesliga - same can be said to date for Haaland. Then there's Mbappe, knocking them in the mighty Ligue 1. Benzema would possibly be my choice, but why does Salah not get considered? He's not a classic striker but he's a forward scoring for fun in a harder league to score in than the aforementioned players.
 
Dans said:
Doesn't Salah get a mention?

Thing with Lewandowski is, he's had it relatively easy in the Bundesliga - same can be said to date for Haaland. Then there's Mbappe, knocking them in the mighty Ligue 1. Benzema would possibly be my choice, but why does Salah not get considered? He's not a classic striker but he's a forward scoring for fun in a harder league to score in than the aforementioned players.
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Hes not a striker.
 
Dans said:
Doesn't Salah get a mention?

Thing with Lewandowski is, he's had it relatively easy in the Bundesliga - same can be said to date for Haaland. Then there's Mbappe, knocking them in the mighty Ligue 1. Benzema would possibly be my choice, but why does Salah not get considered? He's not a classic striker but he's a forward scoring for fun in a harder league to score in than the aforementioned players.
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Mbappe hasn't really been mentioned much in this thread, because he plays out wide as much as he does.

Despite Salah's wondergoals against City and Watford, the reason he's not mentioned much in this thread is his wide role and the fact that he doesn't score as much as most of the others:

2021
Salah:
25 goals and 6 assists in 3209 minutes for Liverpool.
Haaland:
37 goals and 15 assists in 3220 minutes for Dortmund.

This season (since 1/8) for club and country:

Salah
10 goals and 4 assists in 871 minutes for Liverpool, 1 assist in 270 minutes for Egypt.
Total: 10 goals and 5 assists in 1121 minutes
112 minutes/Goal
75 minutes/goal+assist

Haaland
13 goals and 4 assists in 806 minutes for Dortmund, 5 goals in 268 minutes for Norway
Total: 18 goals and 4 assists in 1074 minutes
59 minutes/Goal
49 minutes/Goal+Assist

Liverpool has scored 30 goals in the 10 matches Salah has played for them this season - Salah has contributed to 47% of them.
Egypt has scored 5 goals in the 3 matches Salah has played for them since the summer - Salah has contributed to 20% of them

Dortmund has scored 26 goals in the 9 matches Haaland has played for them this season - Haaland has contributed to 65% of them
Norway has scored 8 goals in the 3 matches Haaland has played for them this season - Haaland has contributed to 63% of them

Salah is obviously the better dribbler of the 2, but I know who I would choose as my #9 if I had both in my squad. That would be the big Norwegian.
 
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1. Lewandowski
2. Håland
3. The rest

If we are talking about pure 9’s, the top two are currently much better than the likes of Lukaku, Kane, Ronaldo, Benzema, Suarez etc. who you may consider after them. You could also put Håland first and it wouldn’t be wrong, he is incredible.
 
Welbeckham said:
1. Lewandowski
2. Håland
3. The rest

If we are talking about pure 9’s, the top two are currently much better than the likes of Lukaku, Kane, Ronaldo, Benzema, Suarez etc. who you may consider after them. You could also put Håland first and it wouldn’t be wrong, he is incredible.
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Lewa, getting on a bit now, yeah yeah yeah, he plays in a stacked team that absolutely dominates the competition, but you can only play what is in front of you, and how do you quantify that in a comparison? Haaland will be the best soon, be interesting to see which top European team he leads the line for.

I do not think Kane is that far behind, plays for a shite team in a far more competitive league and has been dominating stats for years, just came off a season as the top goal scorer and top in assists. Granted he has had a poor season, kind of get the feeling he is just going through the motions until he gets his move. He is certainly a step above Lukaku for me, who was dominating Italy, but then Dzeko at 35 is scoring freely in Italy, I put Kane around the same level as Benzema. Ronaldo and Suarez, have not really been following Suarez at Athletico so dont really have an opinion. Ronaldo, still elite level, but hard to say if he is still world class.

Whatever happened to Mbappe? Was always in these kinds of conversations.
 
Scroto Baggins said:
Lewa, getting on a bit now, yeah yeah yeah, he plays in a stacked team that absolutely dominates the competition, but you can only play what is in front of you, and how do you quantify that in a comparison? Haaland will be the best soon, be interesting to see which top European team he leads the line for.

I do not think Kane is that far behind, plays for a shite team in a far more competitive league and has been dominating stats for years, just came off a season as the top goal scorer and top in assists. Granted he has had a poor season, kind of get the feeling he is just going through the motions until he gets his move. He is certainly a step above Lukaku for me, who was dominating Italy, but then Dzeko at 35 is scoring freely in Italy, I put Kane around the same level as Benzema. Ronaldo and Suarez, have not really been following Suarez at Athletico so dont really have an opinion. Ronaldo, still elite level, but hard to say if he is still world class.

Whatever happened to Mbappe? Was always in these kinds of conversations.
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Mbappe is definitely in the mix, but just had a slow start to the season compared to the top three Lewandowski, Benzema, Haaland and also sometimes plays on the wing instead of the center.
 
Welbeckham said:
1. Lewandowski
2. Håland
3. The rest

If we are talking about pure 9’s, the top two are currently much better than the likes of Lukaku, Kane, Ronaldo, Benzema, Suarez etc. who you may consider after them. You could also put Håland first and it wouldn’t be wrong, he is incredible.
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I haven't watched enough of either them, but is Haaland really much better than Benzema?
 
Welbeckham said:
1. Lewandowski
2. Håland
3. The rest

If we are talking about pure 9’s, the top two are currently much better than the likes of Lukaku, Kane, Ronaldo, Benzema, Suarez etc. who you may consider after them. You could also put Håland first and it wouldn’t be wrong, he is incredible.
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Haaland needs to prove it in one of the top leagues (Spain or England) before he can be judged - just look at all the players that have come to England after looking amazing in Germany only to be found out.
 
balaks said:
Haaland needs to prove it in one of the top leagues (Spain or England) before he can be judged - just look at all the players that have come to England after looking amazing in Germany only to be found out.
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Yea I mean 21 goals in 17 UCL matches but needs to prove it another league.
 
balaks said:
Haaland needs to prove it in one of the top leagues (Spain or England) before he can be judged - just look at all the players that have come to England after looking amazing in Germany only to be found out.
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Doesn't Benzema have to prove himself outside of Madrid?
 
jem said:
I haven't watched enough of either them, but is Haaland really much better than Benzema?
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Not much, and even that bit is quite debatable. I would list them currently as:
1. Lewandowski
2. Haaland
3. Benzema
.
.
.
Far behind the rest
 
hasanejaz88 said:
Yea I mean 21 goals in 17 UCL matches but needs to prove it another league.
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What do you expect from a Spurs fan? The only way to keep their Harry Kane in the discussion is to dismiss the CL.
 
The obvious top 3 as many said would be Lewa, Haaland and Benzema.

As football evolved, strikers become a rarity tbh. Nowadays managers pretty much prefer mobile forwards to strikers.
 
stefan92 said:
What do you expect from a Spurs fan? The only way to keep their Harry Kane in the discussion is to dismiss the CL.
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Kane actually has a really good record in the UCL. I would still rate him as one of the best strikers in the world as well though he's going through a slump.
 
stefan92 said:
What do you expect from a Spurs fan? The only way to keep their Harry Kane in the discussion is to dismiss the CL.
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Kane has 43 goals in 66 European games and has many more years under his belt playing for an inferior team in a much stronger league than Haaland has while putting up top class scoring figures. I'd say most people would have Kane right up there and it's a bit foolish not to given his record.
 
hasanejaz88 said:
Kane actually has a really good record in the UCL. I would still rate him as one of the best strikers in the world as well though he's going through a slump.
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balaks said:
Kane has 43 goals in 66 European games and has many more years under his belt playing for an inferior team in a much stronger league than Haaland has while putting up top class scoring figures. I'd say most people would have Kane right up there and it's a bit foolish not to given his record.
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Right, he has quite good career stats in the CL. But he is going through a slump in the PL and not playing in the CL, so at the moment he is not in the discussion, and even if his form improves he has the problem of not playing on the biggest stage.
 
jem said:
I haven't watched enough of either them, but is Haaland really much better than Benzema?
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He's not. Benzema and Lewandowski are the clear #1 and 2, and with form over the past year you probably can't split them. Haaland, Kane and Ronaldo are in the next group IMO.
 
balaks said:
Are you comparing playing for Real Madrid to playing to Dortmond? You don't see a difference?
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It's a lot harder to do well in the CL for Dortmund.

Also, it was mostly a tongue in cheek jab to people who always said Messi needs to do it outside of Barcelona.

And thirdly, this is on par with my dislike of Seinfeld, but I don't care much for the footballer Benzema. He's good, sure, but he's mostly Ronaldo's ex ball boy.
 
KirkDuyt said:
And thirdly, this is on par with my dislike of Seinfeld, but I don't care much for the footballer Benzema. He's good, sure, but he's mostly Ronaldo's ex ball boy.
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Yeah, his record post Ronaldo is bang average.
 
Haaland is the best. Young and hungry. Will outpace and score more than most players in the world.
 
Right now and for the last two or three seasons Lewandowsky has been on a league of his own . The near future if he doest have any health issues it will be Haaland,the kid is a phenom.
 
balaks said:
Haaland needs to prove it in one of the top leagues (Spain or England) before he can be judged - just look at all the players that have come to England after looking amazing in Germany only to be found out.
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It alway amazes me that this narrative is still going strong.
 
balaks said:
Well that is because it is still happening. Sancho hasn't exactly set the world on fire has he.
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The question should rather be why only United seem to be struggling with BL signings. Every other major club seems to be doing very well with their ex Bundesliga players.
 
Welbeckham said:
1. Lewandowski
2. Håland
3. The rest

If we are talking about pure 9’s, the top two are currently much better than the likes of Lukaku, Kane, Ronaldo, Benzema, Suarez etc. who you may consider after them. You could also put Håland first and it wouldn’t be wrong, he is incredible.
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balaks said:
Haaland needs to prove it in one of the top leagues (Spain or England) before he can be judged - just look at all the players that have come to England after looking amazing in Germany only to be found out.
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Do you also think Lewandowski needs to prove it outside Bundesliga lmfao?

KirkDuyt said:
Doesn't Benzema have to prove himself outside of Madrid?
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He already did it in Lyon (54 goals in 99 games during his last 2 seasons there)
 
KirkDuyt said:
It's a lot harder to do well in the CL for Dortmund.

Also, it was mostly a tongue in cheek jab to people who always said Messi needs to do it outside of Barcelona.

And thirdly, this is on par with my dislike of Seinfeld, but I don't care much for the footballer Benzema. He's good, sure, but he's mostly Ronaldo's ex ball boy.
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Benzema has made 65 goals + 23 assists in 9021 LaLiga mins (0.88 goal/assist per 90) between 18/19-20/21. He outperformed Cristiano if you remove penalties.

Not bad for someone who is Cristiano's ex ball boy.
 
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Kane is the most talented one. But Haaland,Benzema and Lewa are more consistent than Harry. Harry's declined a little bit after 2018.
 
Luke1995 said:
Kane is the most talented one. But Haaland,Benzema and Lewa are more consistent than Harry. Harry's declined a little bit after 2018.
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Not sure how or why Kane is talented one, Benzema was brilliant talent from very young age. Not just good at scoring goals but his allround play was so good.
 
It’s very hard to make value judgements on strikers now, with the way football has evolved. In fact, the pure striker looks to be something of an endangered species in England, with City and Liverpool playing with false nine’s, and Chelsea winning the CL last season using a rotating front 3. Many managers seem to prefer those who are better at pressing and creating chances for inverted wingers than actually scoring goals. In terms of out and out strikers though, this would be my current top 4:

1) Lewandowski - Plain and simply, you can’t argue with 48 goals and 9 assists in 40 games last season where he smashed Muller’s amazing age old record in the process, and 15 goals and 1 assist this season. The guy is by far the best goalscorer in the world at the moment, and is excellent at every other aspect of being a striker as well. He even averaged a goal a game for Poland in the Euros! The guy is 33 and just keeps getting better - I hope he wins the Ballon D’or, especially after the robbery in 2020.

2) Benzema - The way he’s stepped into Ronaldo’s shoes with absolutely no issue has been admirable. Real Madrid have almost solely depended on him for goals, and he definitely hasn’t let them down, with 27 in all competitions in 2019-20 when they won the league, 30 last season and 11 in 11 this season. He’s genuinely arguably their best creator as well, with 8 assists next to those goals already. He’s finally won that elusive international trophy as well, which France wouldn’t have won without him rescuing them in both the semis and final.

3) Kane - Believe it or not, he still makes my top 3. I’m aware that he has started this season awfully after that transfer saga, but after getting so many best player in the world shouts last season, I don’t think he should be written off after 2 bad months. At the end of the day, he’s the first England captain to reach a Euros final and got the most goals and assists in the toughest league in the world. I don’t think anyone will be repeating this feat anytime soon. Bear in mind, he did this for Spurs, who finished 7th and might as well just play their games with only him and Son, in a team where he’s minded to drop back and help with their build-up play as well, something no striker is superior to him at.

Honourable mentions

4) Haaland - Based on this season, him vs Kane would not even be a debate. Him going neck and neck with Lewandowski at the top of the Bundesliga scorers table is going under the radar because it isn’t even unexpected anymore. He’s a phenomenon, and he will be top 1 soon, let alone 3. I just can’t ignore what Kane did last season in an average team.

5) Ronaldo - He is declining and contributes much less to build-up play than before, there’s no doubt about that. However, while people will argue that a large chunk of those goals came from the spot, he’s the reigning Serie A and Euros top scorer at 36 years old. This sort of stuff is unprecedented, not human-like and will never be seen again. I love Messi as well, but his longevity makes him the greatest of all time for me.
 
roonster09 said:
Not sure how or why Kane is talented one, Benzema was brilliant talent from very young age. Not just good at scoring goals but his allround play was so good.
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I find Kane to be a better finisher. His all around play isn't great but he is the best closer to the box.

Benzema is very good, in fairness to your point, I just find it amazing how many goals Kane has managed to score in under-developed Tottenham teams.
 
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