Some players are just made to score goals – and some, it would seem, are mad to score goals wherever they go.
To finish as the leading scorer in one of Europe’s top leagues is impressive enough; to do it in two or more is the mark of a particularly potent operator.
These stars all topped the goalscoring charts in at least two of the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Eredivisie.
Marcio Amoroso
Capped 19 times by Brazil, winning the 1999 Copa America, Marcio Amoroso had a successful club career in Europe.
He struck 22 times in 33 games to finish as leading Serie A scorer at Udinese in 1998/99, before helping fire Borussia Dortmund to the 2001/02 Bundesliga title with a league-high 18 goals in 31 outings.
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Cavani made quite a name for himself in Italy, where he topped the Serie A goal charts in his final season at Napoli, netting 29 times in 34 appearances during the 2012/13 campaign.
The powerhouse Uruguayan frontman spent the next seven years with PSG, top-scoring in 2016/17 with 35 goals and 2017/18 with 28 – also winning the Ligue 1 title in the latter.
Edin Dzeko
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s greatest-ever player, Edin Dzeko reached the 50-goal mark or better in the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A.
The towering target man top-scored in Germany with 22 goals for Wolfsburg in 2009/10, and Italy with a career-best 29 for Roma in 2016/17 – his first full season at the club.
Luca Toni
Another fine target man of the modern game, Italian legend Luca Toni finished as leading marksman in his homeland and Germany.
The World Cup winner scooped the capocannoniere as Serie A top scorer in 2005/06, when he racked up 31 goals for Fiorentina, then collected the Bundesliga’s Torjagerkanone by registering 24 times for Bayern Munich en route to the 2007/08 title.
Karim Benzema
Real Madrid’s second-highest scorer of all time, Karim Benzema won the Pichichi Trophy as LaLiga top scorer with 27 goals in 32 appearances as Los Blancos were crowned champions of Spain in 2021/22.
That honour came 14 years after the prolific Frenchman had topped the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 20 goals in his penultimate campaign at Lyon.
Christian Vieri
One of the European game’s most formidable strikers of the late 90s and early 00s, Italy legend Christian Vieri picked up the prize for top scorer in each of his two most prolific campaigns.
‘Bobo’ led the way in LaLiga with 24 goals in 24 games during his only season with Atletico Madrid, 1997/98, and later outdid himself with 24 in 23 in Serie A for Inter in 2002/03.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic played in four of Europe’s traditional top five leagues and finished as top scorer in two of them: Serie A and Ligue 1.
The super Swede finished as capocannoniere for both Inter and Milan, doing so in 2008/09 and 2011/12 respectively, then ended the season as Ligue 1’s foremost goal-getter in 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2015/16 with PSG.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
The ultimate fox in the box, Ruud van Nistelrooy chalked up 48 goals in his first two Premier League seasons at Manchester United, winning the Golden Boot with 25 on the way to the 2002/03 title.
In the summer of 2006, the clinical Dutchman left Old Trafford for Real Madrid – who he helped fire to LaLiga glory in each of his first two campaigns, collecting the Pichichi Trophy with 25 goals in 2006/07.
Romario
One of the most free-scoring strikers of all time, Romario found the net more than 700 times over the course of his epic career.
The World Cup-winning Brazilian icon joined PSV in 1988 and topped the Eredivisie scoring charts three years running, and went on to pick up the Pichichi Trophy in his debut LaLiga campaign of 1993/94 with 30 goals in 33 outings for Barcelona.
Ronaldo
Successor to his compatriot Romario, the original Ronaldo got straight to work banging in the goals for PSV, scoring 30 times to finish as Eredivisie top scorer in his first season.
Barcelona came calling in 1996 – and R9 emulated Romario once more, amassing 34 goals to end his sole campaign with the Catalan giants as LaLiga’s leading marksman.
Marco van Basten
Cruelly cut off in his prime by injury, Marco van Basten was the best striker of his generation, scoring for fun in the colours of Ajax and Milan.
The three-time Ballon d’Or-winning Dutchman top-scored in the Eredivisie four seasons running from 1983/84 to 1986/87, before claiming two Serie A capocannoniere awards at the start of the 90s.
Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski cemented his status as the best Polish player of all time with his extraordinarily prolific exploits in Germany.
He equalled the great Gerd Muller’s record of seven Torjagerkanone awards – winning one with Borussia Dortmund and six with Bayern Munich, peaking with a whopping 41 goals for Bayern in 2020/21 – before heading to Barcelona, where he marked his maiden LaLiga season by scooping the Pichichi Trophy with 23 goals.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane’s haul of top-scorer awards is perfectly apt for one of the finest centre-forwards in football history, and he got going in style by scooping back-to-back Premier League Golden Boots at Tottenham in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
The long-time England captain added a third Prem Golden Boot in 2020/21, before winning the 2023/24 Torjagerkanone with 36 goals in 32 appearances for Bayern Munich in his debut Bundesliga season.
John Charles
The most remarkable thing about Welsh legend John Charles finishing as top scorer in the English and Italian top flights is that he wasn’t even an out-and-out striker, excelling equally at centre-half.
But ‘The Gentle Giant’ knew where the net was and then some, finishing as the 1956/57 First Division’s leading marksman with 38 goals in 40 games for Leeds – then starring in Juventus’ 1957/58 Serie A title-winning season with a capocannoniere-winning 28 goals in 34 matches.
Luis Suarez
Free-scoring wherever he’s played, Luis Suarez has claimed top-scorer prizes in the Eredivisie, Premier League and LaLiga.
The Uruguayan star amassed a veritably prolific 35 goals in 33 games for Ajax in 2009/10; set a record for a 38-match Premier League season with 31 in 33 during his final season at Liverpool, 2013/14; and rattled in 40 goals (14 more than teammate Lionel Messi) in 35 outings for Barcelona in 2015/16.
Cristiano Ronaldo
To call Cristiano Ronaldo a natural goalscorer feels like a bit of an understatement; ‘supernatural goalscorer’ better describes his elite abilities at the sharp end of the pitch – which he exhibited in blistering style in the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A.
The five-time Ballon d’Or-winning Portuguese superstar won the Golden Boot with 31 goals for Manchester United in 2007/08, three Pichichi Trophies at Real Madrid – striking a scarcely believable 48 times in 35 appearances in 2014/15 – and the 2020/21 capocannoniere with 29 goals for Juventus.
