A nod of appreciation to those assassins who don’t make it – Ballon d’Or-winner Andriy Shevchenko was close, Christian Vieri’s highlights and world-record transfer fee came last century. See also Hernan Crespo and Gabriel Batistuta. Mario Jardel scored at an unfathomable rate, until he rocked up at Bolton.
Penalty-box poachers Luca Toni and Mario Gomez had prolific seasons interspersed with barren runs. Diego Forlan might argue he is the only player to win La Liga’s Pichichi Award twice this century not representing Barcelona or Real Madrid. Ciro Immobile, four times Serie A top scorer, could make a worthy pitch.
Miroslav Klose is of similar ilk and makes the top 10 by virtue of being the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer – 16 across four tournaments this century taking him one clear of Brazilian Ronaldo, as well as being Germany’s record marksman.
Another Bayern stalwart, Robert Lewandowski, is in for longevity. The Poland forward notched over 30 goals in all but three of the past 14 seasons, though his impact goes beyond just finishing – he also has 141 assists.
Blackburn Rovers’ loss was Borussia Dortmund’s gain as Lewandowski helped Jurgen Klopp’s side to successive Bundesliga titles, then won eight on the spin and a Champions League with Bayern, before another two titles in Spain with Barcelona.
Harry Kane effectively replaced the striker in Munich, goaded by accusations he could never be considered a generational talent without a trophy – despite at times seemingly single-handedly lifting Tottenham Hotspur and England to within a fingertip of silverware.
Now 32, Kane has a Bundesliga title to accompany a feast of personal achievements, Golden Boots and goalscoring records – the fastest man this century to reach 100 (in 104 games) for one club in a top-five league.
The Three Lions captain recently hit 500 career goals, an astonishing achievement and one that might have seemed delusional to fans of Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester, where Kane honed his early craft on loan.
Coupled with elite hold-up and playmaking prowess, Kane is redefining the centre-forward role.