As the festive season wraps up and the new year approaches, the competition for the title of top scorer for both club and country in 2025 has come to an end, with several prominent players in the running for the recognition once again.
Notable contenders included Erling Haaland of Manchester City, Harry Kane from Bayern Munich, and Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid, all battling for the top spot after Viktor Gyökeres took the crown in 2024. Gyökeres, now an Arsenal forward, scored an impressive 62 goals in 63 matches for Sporting CP and the Sweden national team.
Remarkably, seasoned stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both returned to the top 10 despite nearing the end of their illustrious careers. The question now is: who led in goals scored this year?
10. Jorge Rivera (Metropolitan FA/Puerto Rico): 40 goals in 35 matches
Rivera has been sensational lately, netting 28 goals in just 16 games since the Liga Puerto Rico began its 2025-26 Apertura phase.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr / Portugal): 41 goals in 46 matches
At nearly 41, Ronaldo has made a significant comeback to the top 10 after previously being left out in 2024. He scored eight times in nine competitive matches for Portugal this year and has maintained a high strike rate in the Saudi Pro League, executing even spectacular overhead kicks!
8. Guilherme Bissoli (Buriram United / Brazil): 44 goals in 60 matches
Bissoli, who previously played for Sao Paulo and Cruzeiro, joined Buriram in October 2024. With 80 goals in 61 matches over two seasons, he has quickly ascended to third on the club’s all-time scoring list and recently transferred to Negeri Sembilan in the Malaysian Super League ahead of the 2026 season.
7. Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica / Greece): 45 goals in 73 matches
Pavlidis topped the score charts in the Dutch Eredivisie before making a move to Benfica the following summer. He continues to score consistently, netting 30 goals in 57 matches during his inaugural season in Portugal and has tallied an additional 20 goals in just 30 appearances for Benfica this season.
6. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami / Argentina): 46 goals in 54 matches
The legendary Messi shows no signs of decline, performing exceptionally well creatively and as a scorer. The 38-year-old recorded 43 goals in 49 games for Miami in 2025, earning him the season MVP honor while leading the club to its first-ever MLS Cup title amid a spirited home crowd in early December.
5. Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray / Nigeria): 46 goals in 52 matches
Osimhen has solidified his status as one of the world’s most prolific forwards after being a key player in Napoli‘s title-winning campaign in 2022-23. Now with Galatasaray, he has netted 49 goals in 57 matches, winning both the Süper Lig and Turkish Cup last season. He has also scored nine goals in nine international matches this year and recently began the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations by scoring against Tunisia.
4. Kevin Hernandez (Puerto Rico SSC/Puerto Rico): 48 goals in 37 matches
Though not yet a household name, Hernandez boasts the highest goal-per-game ratio of any player in the top 10, averaging an impressive 1.30 goals every 90 minutes across club and country.
3. Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway): 57 goals in 55 matches
Haaland has technically dropped a position in the rankings after finishing second in 2024 with 49 goals in 59 games. However, he has actually increased his productivity this year, scoring at a rate of one goal every 1.04 matches. Currently, he leads the Premier League scoring charts with 19 goals in 18 matches and has become the fastest player to reach 100 goals in league history, achieving this in just 104 matches. Additionally, the 25-year-old has scored an astounding 17 goals in his last nine games for Norway.
2. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England): 60 goals in 65 matches
Consistently reliable, Kane has moved up one spot from his third-place finish in 2024, where he scored 46 goals in 57 appearances. The Bayern striker is currently tied for the most club goals across Europe’s “Big Five” leagues this season with Haaland (both at 19 goals). He also netted a hat trick after coming off the bench against Stuttgart earlier this month and scored nine times in nine appearances for England in 2025.
1. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid/France): 66 goals in 67 matches
After finishing sixth in 2024 with 39 goals in 61 matches, Mbappé has soared to the top in 2025, maintaining an impressive average of one goal per game for both club and country. For Real Madrid, he has scored 29 goals in 24 matches this season alone, but his impressive output has not yet translated into significant trophies beyond the 2024 UEFA Super Cup. Only time will tell if he can convert this formidable scoring rate into silverware at the Bernabéu.