Top Scorers of 2025: A Year of Remarkable Performances

With the festive season concluded and the new year approaching, the race for the title of top scorer for both club and country in 2025 has reached its thrilling conclusion, featuring several prominent contenders.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé were all in contention following Viktor Gyökeres’ impressive 2024 season, where he netted 62 goals in 63 matches for Sporting CP and Sweden.

In an unexpected turn, legendary players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made their way back into the top 10 despite being in the twilight of their illustrious careers. The question now arises: who has achieved the most goals this calendar year?

Rivera has emerged as a standout performer for Metropolitan, scoring an astounding 28 goals in just 16 games since the Liga Puerto Rico commenced its 2025-26 Apertura phase.

Despite nearing his 41st birthday, Ronaldo has made a remarkable return to the top 10 after missing out the previous year. The Portuguese star has recorded eight goals in nine competitive appearances for his national team this year, including critical contributions during the UEFA Nations League semifinals and finals, while maintaining a commendable scoring rate in the Saudi Pro League.

Former Sao Paulo and Cruzeiro striker Bissoli, who moved to the Thai first division with Buriram in October 2024, has quickly ascended to third place on the club’s all-time top goal scorer list, having scored 80 goals in 61 games over two seasons. He has since transitioned to Negeri Sembilan in the Malaysian Super League ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Following an exceptional season with AZ Alkmaar where he was crowned top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie, Pavlidis joined Benfica and has continued his prolific scoring form. The Greek international netted 30 goals in 57 matches during his debut season in Portugal and has already tallied 20 goals in 30 appearances this campaign.

Messi, now 38 years old, exhibits no signs of diminishing returns, having scored 43 goals in 49 games for Inter Miami throughout 2025. He was duly recognized as the season MVP after leading the club to its first-ever MLS Cup title in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Osimhen has solidified his reputation as one of the world’s most effective strikers, having flourished with Napoli’s Scudetto-winning squad of 2022-23. Now with Galatasaray, he has contributed 49 goals in 57 matches while winning the Süper Lig and Turkish Cup last season. This year, he has also scored nine goals in nine international appearances, including a recent goal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations against Tunisia.

While not yet a household name, Hernandez boasts the highest goal-per-game ratio among the top 10 players this year, achieving an impressive average of 1.30 goals every 90 minutes for both club and country.

Haaland has experienced a slight drop in the rankings after finishing second in 2024, concluding the year with 49 goals in 59 matches for club and country. However, the formidable City striker has improved his scoring frequency, netting a goal every 1.04 matches over the past year. He currently leads the Premier League with 19 goals in 18 games and became the fastest player to reach 100 goals in the competition, achieving this in just 104 matches. Additionally, he has scored an impressive 17 goals in his last nine matches for Norway.

Kane has climbed a position in the rankings after finishing third in 2024, with 46 goals in 57 appearances. The Bayern striker shares the title of leading goal scorer in Europe’s top five leagues this season (tied with Haaland at 19 goals) and made headlines with a hat trick coming off the bench against Stuttgart earlier this month. He has also found the net nine times in nine appearances for England this year.

Finally, Mbappé has surged from sixth place in 2024 to the top in 2025, maintaining a remarkable average of one goal every 0.99 games for club and country. His output has reached world-class levels with 29 goals in 24 games for Real Madrid this season, although he has yet to amass significant silverware beyond the UEFA Super Cup in 2024. The coming months will reveal if he can transform his exceptional performance into trophies at the Bernabéu.