The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 season started on September 17, 2024 and will run till May 31, 2025.

Organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 is the 70th season of Europe's elite club competition and the 33rd season since it was rebranded from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 is the first season to be staged under a new format.

As per the Champions League new format, as many as 36 clubs are participating in the new league phase in comparison to the previous 32-team group stage system. The new UCL format has offered four more teams the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe.

While previously the 32 participants were divided into eight groups of four, the Champions League 2024-25 new format is witnessing these 36 teams participate in a single league competition in which all the 36 competing clubs will be ranked together in one big league table.

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Man City, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Real Madrid, Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Atalanta, Bologna, Inter, Juventus, Milan, Brest, Lille, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, Salzburg, Sturm Graz, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Sporting CP, Club Brugge, GNK Dinamo, Sparta Praha, Celtic, Crvena Zvezda, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys and Shakhtar Donetsk are the teams competing for the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 title.

According to the UCL 2024-25 format, every team will play eight matches each in the new league phase, four at home and four away.

Under the former group stage system, each club used to face the other three opponents in their group twice in a home-and-away format. 

Every result will determine the overall ranking in the new league phase with three points being awarded for a win and one for a draw.

The top eight teams in the league will directly qualify for the round of 16 while the teams placed ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knock-out phase playoff to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition. 

Teams that will finish 25th or lower will be eliminated from the competition with no access to the UEFA Europa League.

In the knockout stage, clubs that finish between ninth and 16th will be seeded in the knockout phase playoff draw and will face a team placed 17th to 24th, with the return leg scheduled at home.

The eight winners in the knockout phase playoffs will advance to the Champions League round of 16. These teams will clash with the top-eight finishers, who will seeded in the round of 16.

From the round of 16 onwards, the UEFA Champions League will continue to follow its existing format of knockout rounds leading to the final staged at a neutral venue selected by UEFA. 

Furthermore, the number of matches in the Champions League 2024-25 new format has been increased from 125 to 189.

Just like previous editions, all Champions League 2024-25 matches will be played in midweek in order to take into consideration the domestic calendar of various leagues across Europe.

The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 final will be played at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on Saturday, May 31, 2025.

Real Madrid are the defending champions of the UEFA Champions League after they defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the UCL 2023-24 final at the Wembley Stadium in London, England.

With the win, Real Madrid claimed their record-extending 15th European Cup title, and their sixth in 11 years.

Apart from the title, all eyes will be on the race for the UEFA Champions League top scorers 2024-25.

Several top footballers including the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane, Viktor Gyokeres, Florian Wirtz, Erling Haaland, Raphinha, Jonathan David and Vinícius Júnior are in the UEFA Champions League top scorers 2024-25 race.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and former Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe topped the UEFA Champions League top-scorers list last season with eight goals each.

Get UEFA Champions League top scorers 2024-25 list.

UEFA Champions League top scorers 2024-25: Know who has most goals in ongoing UCL

Player	Club	Matches	Goals
Robert Lewandowski	FC Barcelona	5	7
Harry Kane	Bayern Munich	5	5
Viktor Gyokeres	Sporting CP	5	5
Florian Wirtz	Bayer Leverkusen	5	5
Erling Haaland	Manchester City	5	5
Raphinha	FC Barcelona	5	5
Serhou Guirassy	Borussia Dortmund	5	4
Jonathan David	LOSC Lille	5	4
Jamie Gittens	Borussia Dortmund	5	4
Vinícius Júnior	Real Madrid	4	4

Photo credit: Imago

Hosts Portugal will welcome Poland in a Group A1 match of the UEFA Nations League 2024-25 at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto on Saturday, November 16.

The Portugal vs Poland UEFA Nations League 2024-25 match will start at 01:15 AM IST on Saturday. Live streaming and telecast of the match will be available in India.

Portugal are yet to lose in the UEFA Nations League 2024-25 edition and are currently on top of Group A1 with 10 points following three wins and a draw after the first four rounds. 

Meanwhile, Poland are third in the group with four points after a win, two losses and a draw.

The Portuguese started their UEFA Nations League 2024-25 campaign with identical 2-1 victories over Croatia and Scotland in their first two rounds in September. 

The Cristiano Ronaldo-led side made it three wins in a row after beating Poland 3-1 away from home.

Portugal step into this contest after a goalless draw at Scotland in their fourth-round match last month. They need a solitary point from the remaining two rounds to seal their entry into the knockout stage of the current Nations League campaign.

Ronaldo has been in good form for Portugal up front, finding the target three times from the first four rounds of the competition. Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot have also scored a goal apiece.

Poland, on the other hand, have gone off track with consecutive defeats to Croatia and Portugal after initiating their campaign with a thrilling 3-2 win over Scotland. 

However, they will travel to Porto with the confidence of a hard-earned 3-3 draw against Croatia having trailed 3-1 early in the match.

The last two rounds of the UEFA Nations League 2024-25 will be very crucial for Poland as they need maximum points to have any chance of making it to the next stage. 

In case Poland fails to win against Portugal and Croatia beat Scotland, then it will be the end of the road for the Robert Lewandowski-led side.

Portugal are currently seventh in the FIFA Men’s football rankings whereas Poland are placed 31st as per the latest list.

The UEFA Nations League 2024-25 has a total of 54 teams, split into four leagues based on their international ranking. Three leagues A, B and C contain four groups of four teams each whereas League D has two groups of three teams.

Teams in League A will vie for the UEFA Nations League Final that is scheduled to be held in June 2025. All the four group winners and runners-up in League A will play a double-legged quarter-finals with the winners proceeding to play the semi-finals.

Incidentally, Portugal won the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League with a 1-0 win over the Netherlands at the same venue in Porto in June 2019.

Portugal vs Poland football head-to-head

Portugal holds an upper hand over Poland in their head-to-head record with seven wins from 14 matches, including their 3-1 win in the ongoing UEFA Nations League last month.

Meanwhile, Poland have won three games with their last win coming in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers when they beat Portugal 2-1 in October 2006. Four matches have ended in draws.

Where to watch Portugal vs Poland UEFA Nations League 2024-25 match live in India

The Portugal vs Poland UEFA Nations League 2024-25 football match will be telecast live on the Sony Sports Networks TV channels in India.

Live streaming of the Portugal vs Poland UEFA Nations League 2024-25 football match will be available on the SonyLIV app and website.

Photo credit: Imago

Club Football requires a player to be on top of his game consistently over several seasons. It is always an onerous task to constantly rake in goals match after match, season after season.

European clubs hold an elite position in the hierarchy of club football all over the globe with the best talents in the world plying their trade in Europe. As a result, the quality of the game is also at the highest level in the top European Leagues when compared to other leagues.

Strikers have the thankless job of scoring goals for their teams and keeping them in the hunt to win domestic titles. It requires them to be in the prime of their game for extended periods for the clubs to get results consistently. 

On that note, let us glance through the list of players with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues.

Most goals in Europe’s top five leagues

Former Barcelona player Lionel Messi leads the list of players with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 496 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 495 goals while Robert Lewandowsk is third with 366 goals.

Most goals in Europe's top five leagues

Player	Country	Goals
Lionel Messi	Argentina	496
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	495
Robert Lewandowski	Poland	366
Gerd Muller	Germany	365
Jimmy Greaves	England	357

Lionel Messi | 496 goals

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi leads the list of players with most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 496 goals. The former Barcelona player scored a major chunk of these goals during his stay at the Catalan club for 17 seasons from 2004 to 2021.

Messi scored his first goal for Barcelona in May 2005 and went on to find the net 474 times from 520 appearances in the Spanish League. He has amassed 30 goals or more in nine of his 17 seasons, including a magical 50 goals in a single season in 2011-12.

In his two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, Messi scored 22 goals from 58 appearances for the French club. Messi has won 12 domestic league titles in Europe, 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona and two Ligue 1 titles with PSG. 

Cristiano Ronaldo | 495 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the list of footballers with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with a tally of 495 goals. Ronaldo has been part of teams from three of the five top leagues in Europe. He has represented Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain and Juventus in Italy in his stellar club football career.

The Portuguese player has a whopping aggregate of 311 goals for Real Madrid in nine seasons with them and also won two La Liga titles. Ronaldo has also scored 103 goals in the Premier League with Manchester United helping them to three consecutive domestic titles from 2007 to 2009.

In his stint with Juventus in Italy, Ronaldo found the net 81 times winning the Serie A title in his first two years with the club.

Robert Lewandowski | 366 goals

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is third on the elite list of goal scorers in Europe’s top five leagues with 366 goals. Lewandowski has a total of 312 goals in Germany, 238 with Bayern Munich and 74 goals with Borussia Dortmund, and an envious collection of 10 Bundesliga titles.

With Barcelona, the striker has amassed 54 goals in only his third season with the Catalan giants and won the La Liga title with them in 2022-23.

Gerd Muller | 365 goals

Bayern Munich and Germany’s legendary striker Gerd Muller is next on the list of players with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 365 strikes. All of Muller’s goals have come for Bayern Munich in 14 seasons from 1965-66 to 1978-79.

Muller played a key role in powering Bayern Munich to four domestic titles, including consecutive wins for three seasons from 1972 to 1974. He also won the European Cup for three consecutive seasons with the Bavarians. 

Photo credit: Imago

The UEFA Champions League is considered to be the biggest European football cup competition.

Since its inception in 1955 and later rebranded in 1992, the UEFA Champions League is the most-watched football club competition in the world and the third most-watched football competition overall, only behind the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup.

Football players dream of playing for their respective clubs in the Champions League and also aspire to score goals in the prestigious football club competition.

Over the years, fans have witnessed some of the most memorable goals scored by Europe’s top football stars.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the Champions League’s all-time top-scorer. The former Manchester United talisman has netted 141 goals, which is a record for the most goals in Champions League history.

Ronaldo’s long-time rival Lionel Messi features second on the Champions League all-time top-scorers list with 129 goals.

The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Raul Gonzalez, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andriy Shevchenko, Thierry Henry, Filippo Inzaghi and Thomas Muller are the other players to score 50 goals in Champions League history.

Interestingly, Ruud van Nistelrooy was the fastest to 50 Champions League goals while Lionel Messi was the quickest to 100 goals in the competition.

Get most goals in Champions League: Know the all-time top-scorers in UCL history.

Most goals in Champions League: Know the all-time top-scorers in UCL history

Player	Span	Matches Played	Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo	2003-2022	187	141
Lionel Messi	2005-2023	163	129
Robert Lewandowski	2011-present	122	96
Karim Benzema	2005-2023	152	90
Raul Gonzalez	1995-2011	144	71
Ruud van Nistelrooy	1998-2009	73	60
Andriy Shevchenko	1994-2012	116	59
Thomas Muller	2009-present	154	54
Thierry Henry	1997-2012	115	51
Filippo Inzaghi	1997-2012	81	50

Cristiano Ronaldo | 141 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals in Champions League history. The Portuguese star is the all-time top-scorer in UCL history with 141 goals in 187 matches. Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal while playing for Manchester United against AS Roma in the second leg of their quarter-final clash at Old Trafford in April 2007. Since then, Ronaldo netted 22 UCL goals for Manchester United, an astonishing 105 goals for Real Madrid and registered 14 strikes for Juventus in the competition. 

Lionel Messi | 129 goals

Lionel Messi features second on the list for the most goals in Champions League history. The former FC Barcelona talisman netted his first Champions League goal against Panathinaikos in their 5-0 win at Camp Nou in November 2005. The Argentine football team captain scored 120 goals in 149 appearances for his boyhood club Barcelona in the UCL, which is a record for the most Champions League goals for one club with Ronaldo second on the list with 105 goals for his former club Real Madrid. Messi later scored nine UCL goals for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Robert Lewandowski | 96 goals

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is third on the list for the most goals in Champions League history. While playing for his former Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski scored his first Champions League goal in a 1-3 away defeat to Olympiacos in October 2011. Since then, Lewandowski netted 17 goals for Dortmund in the Champions League, scored 69 goals for Bayern Munich in the UCL and has recorded 16 strikes for Barcelona in the competition so far.

Photo credit: Imago

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals in football history. 

With 901 strikes to his name at club and international level combined, Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list for the most goals in football.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s long-time rival, Lionel Messi, features second on the list for the most goals in football history. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has netted a staggering 838 goals in his legendary career so far.

The likes of Pele, Romário and Ferenc Puskas complete the top five list for the most goals in football history.

Apart from Ronaldo and Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez are some of the other active footballers who have scored more than 500 goals at club and international level combined.

Know players with most goals in football history.

Most goals in football: Know top 10 highest goal-scorers of all-time

Rank	Player	Nationality	Span	Goals
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	2002-present	901
2	Lionel Messi	Argentina	2004-present	838
3	Pele	Brazil	1957-1977	762
4	Romário	Brazil	1985-2007	755
5	Ferenc Puskás	Hungary	1943-1966	724
6	Josef Bican	Austria	1931-1955	722
7	Jimmy Jones	Northern Ireland	1947-1964	648
8	Gerd Muller	Germany	1964-1981	634
9	Robert Lewandowski	Poland	2008-present	630
10	Joe Bambrick	Northern Ireland	1926-1943	629

Cristiano Ronaldo | 901 goals

Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the top goalscorer of all time. The star forward has netted an astonishing 901 senior career goals for club and country. At the club level, Ronaldo has been a prolific goalscorer for the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus, Al-Nassr and Sporting CP. Furthermore, Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals in international football. Since his senior national debut for Portugal in 2003, Ronaldo has scored 132 goals in 214 appearances so far. For his extraordinary goal-scoring record, Ronaldo bagged several individual awards including five Ballon d'Or awards, a record three UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards, and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League.  

Lionel Messi | 838 goals

Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is second on the list for the most goals in football history. Arguably the greatest player in football history, Lionel Messi has mesmerised the fans with both his playmaking as well as goalscoring. The left-footed football magician has scored 838 goals in his illustrious career so far. Having spent his majority of his professional football career at FC Barcelona, Messi is the club’s all-time top scorer with 672 goals in all competitions. He has also netted a few goals for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami. The Rosario-born footballer features second on the list for the most goals in international football (109) behind rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi is the most decorated player in football history with 44 team trophies to his name including the FIFA World Cup, two Copa America titles, 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. On the personal front, Messi has bagged a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named the world's best player for a record eight times by FIFA.

Pele | 762 goals

Pele features third on the list for the most goals in football history. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, nicknamed Pele, is often considered to be the greatest football player of all time. Among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century, Pele scored 762 goals in his legendary career at the club and international level combined. Pele’s record of 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches, including friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record. Having played as a forward and attacking midfielder, Pele won three FIFA World Cups with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970. With 77 goals in 92 games, Pele was the national team’s top scorer for over 50 years before Neymar broke the record. At the club level, Pele is the all-time top scorer for Santos with 643 goals in 659 matches. During his time, Pele helped Santos clinch the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores and the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. He also scored 37 goals for the New York Cosmos between 1975 and 1977. 

Photo credit: Imago

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for scoring the most hat-tricks by an active footballer, with 66 hat-tricks during his trophy-laden career so far.

Ronaldo, who has the most headed goals in the 21st century among his innumerable records, registered the first hat-trick of his senior career in Manchester United’s 6-0 win against Newcastle United in 2008 while his last came in the Red Devils' 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League encounter during his second stint with the club.

In a Portugal shirt, Cristiano's last hat-trick came in Portugal’s 5-0 win against Luxembourg in a World Cup 2022 qualifying game. His triple strike was his 10th hat-trick for the national team and he became the first player to score 10 hat-tricks in international football.

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Furthermore, Cristiano Ronaldo is also the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup. At 33 years and 130 days, the Portugal skipper scored thrice to help his side draw 3-3 against Spain.

Lionel Messi is second on this list with 57 hat-tricks. The Argentina captain notched his maiden hat-trick in a 2007 El Clasico fixture against Real Madrid, which ended in a 3-3 draw.

751 - Earlier today, Lionel Messi notched the 55th hat-trick of his career, and his seventh for Argentina. In doing so, he surpassed Pelé (77) as the highest scoring South American player in men's internationals (79), whilst also scoring his 750th (and 751st) career goals. Goat? pic.twitter.com/FX8CfBIbJl

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Additionally, Messi is the first player to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League game with his effort coming in Barcelona’s 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

Lionel Messi’s strike partner at Inter Miami Luis Suarez is next on the list for most hattricks having netted 31 trebles so far. He's followed in fourth spot by Poland forward Robert Lewandowski, who has 30 hat-tricks.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane completes the top five list for most hattricks by an active footballer in the 21st century.

Most hattricks by an active footballer

Players	Total hat-tricks
Cristiano Ronaldo	66
Lionel Messi	57
Luis Suarez	31
Robert Lewandowski	30
Harry Kane	22
Erling Haaland	21
Neymar	21
Kylian Mbappe	19

Author: William Paul

Featured photo: AFP / DANIEL LEAL 

Cristiano Ronaldo currently owns the record for most goals in Champions League in one season.

The Portuguese striker scored 17 goals in the 2013-14 season, beating the previous record of 14 goals set by Lionel Messi in the 2011-12 campaign.

Ronaldo came close to breaking his own record twice, in the 2015-16 and in 2017-18 seasons.

In the 2015-16 season, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 16-goal tally comprised 11 goals in the group stage alone - a record that stands to this date. Furthermore, he netted three hat-tricks that term, becoming the first to do so in a single edition.

Whereas in the 2017-18 campaign, the Portuguese star scored 15 goals. He earned another record to his name as he became the first and only player to score in all six group matches of a UCL season.

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is fourth on the list of players with most Champions League goals in a season.

The Poland forward netted 15 goals in the 2019-20 Champions League season as he led Bayern Munich to their sixth European title.

Lionel Messi wraps up the top-five list for most Champions League goals in a season.

The Barcelona icon, who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain, scored 14 goals in the 2011-12 season, where he became the first player to score five goals in a single UCL game in the Round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen. The 14-goal tally was part of Messi’s historic record of 73 goals in a single football season.

Karim Benzema’s all-important goal in the second leg fixture of the 2021-22 Champions League semi-final against Manchester City saw him reach 15 goals for the season. The Frenchman, who scored two UCL hat-tricks in the 2021-22 season, is the fourth player to reach 80-plus goals in the competition and the first France striker - since Just Fontaine in 1958�?9 - to reach double figures in a European Cup / Champions League campaign.

Most goals in the Champions League in one season

Player	Goals	Season
Cristiano Ronaldo	17	2013-14
	16	2015-16
	15	2017-18
Robert Lewandowski	15	2019-20
Karim Benzema	15	2021-22
Lionel Messi	14	2011-12

Author: William Paul

Featured photo: AFP / JAVIER SORIANO

The world of football has witnessed some iconic strikers over the years, from the times of Ferenc Puskas, Eusebio, Pele to the current generation stalwarts like Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski. 

The role of a center-forward, though, has changed quite a bit as time passed by. A good modern day striker is expected to be clinical in front of the goal, and also contribute as much as he can in the build-up. 

Gone are the days when a forward could wait on the halfway line waiting for somebody to win the ball. Managers like Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp expect their No. 9s to drop deep and help their defenders as well.

So who is the best among the current generation forwards?

Best striker in the world

Erling Haaland is currently regarded as the best striker in the world. The Norwegian international became the fastest player to score 20 goals in the history of English club football, reaching the mark in just 14 matches. 

It has been a debut season to remember for the former Borussia Dortmund player, who made a big money move this summer to Manchester City. He has already scored three hat-tricks, including one against Manchester United at home. 

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe is having a terrific season as well, for club and country. While the 24-year-old striker smashed 25 goals in 26 matches for the Parisian club, he nearly won his second World Cup in Qatar with France. 

Mbappe won the Golden Boot in the FIFA World Cup 2022 with eight goals in seven matches. He also scored a hat-trick in the final against Argentina, becoming the second footballer in history to score thrice a World Cup final.

While two young guns in Mbappe and Haaland are leading the race to be the best striker in the world, senior players Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski are not far from contention. 

Although Tottenham Hotspur are struggling to make their presence felt in the Premier League, Kane has been on the score sheet more than a dozen times this season.

Robert Lewandowski, who moved to Barcelona in summer after a sensational spell with Bayern Munich, continues to pile on the goals with 23 strikes in 26 appearances across competitions this season. 

Player	2022-23 goals
Erling Haaland	32
Kylian Mbappe	25
Robert Lewandowski	23
Harry Kane	19

 

Photo credits: Alamy

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal-scoring exploits know no bounds, and one of his biggest sources of goals over the years have come from headers.

Ronald has registered the most headed goals in the 21st century with 112 goals coming off his head. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has always been a big threat in the air and has scored 29 game-winning goals through headers.

Luuk de Jong is the second player with the most headed goals in the 21st century. The Dutchman, currently plying his trade with PSV Eindhoven, has for long been considered an unorthodox striker but when it comes to set-pieces, de Jong is a threatening presence that must be marked tightly in the box.

The Netherlands forward has scored 85 goals through headers with 25 of those helping his team in a match-winning cause.

FC Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski’s prolific scoring rate is often not measured by his ability to convert goals via set-pieces, but in recent seasons, the Polish attacker has shown his propensity to score headed goals.

Lewandowski is third on the list for most headed goals in the 21st century with 82 headers.

Fernando Llorente has headed in 77 goals in his career and comes in fourth on the list for players with the most headed goals in the 21st century. Not many tall players have been clinical finishers with the head, but Llorente has scored a little over half of his career goals from headers with as many as 21 of them being winning goals.

Radamel Falcao completes our top five list for players with the most headed goals in the 21st century. The Colombian has scored 71 headed goals and 22 of them have been in a match-winning effort.

Most headed goals in the 21st century

Player	Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo	112
Luuk de Jong	85
Robert Lewandowski	82
Fernando Llorente	77
Radamel Falcao	71

 

Author: William Paul

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Featured photo: AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO

The much-awaited Ballon d’Or 2022 is all set to take place on Monday, October 17, at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. The annual awards ceremony will commence at 10:20 PM IST.

Traditionally, the Ballon d’Or award was presented to the footballer who performed exceptionally well throughout the calendar year. However, there has been a slight change in the criteria from this time onwards.

This year, the prestigious award will be conferred to the best player based on their performance in the previous season, i.e., from the period of August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022.

Along with the 66th Ballon d’Or award, several other awards will also be presented. The Women's Ballon d’Or will be given to the best player among women while the Kopa Trophy will be awarded to the best under-21 men’s player. The Yachine trophy will be granted to the top-performing goalkeeper in men’s discipline.

Talking about the nominees for this year’s Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is the front-runner to win the first Ballon d’Or of his career, ahead of Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe among others.

French International Karim Benzema enjoyed a stunning 2021/22 campaign where he guided Real Madrid to La Liga and the UEFA Champions League glory, finishing as the top-scorer in both competitions, making him the favourite for the trophy.

Unfortunately, Argentinian superstar and current Ballon d’Or holder Lionel Messi failed to make the cut for the list of 30 nominees for the first time since 2005. However, the seven-time winner’s top challenger, Cristiano Ronaldo, made it to the list of probables.

Apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won it seven and five times, respectively,  Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten have won on three occasions each.

Where to watch the Ballon d'Or 2022 live in India?

The Ballon d'Or 2022 will be telecast live on Sony TEN 2 and Sony TEN 2 HD TV channels in India.

Live streaming of the Ballon d'Or 2022 will be available on SonyLIV app and website. Moreover, the audience can watch the Ballon d'Or 2022 award ceremony on L'Equipe's YouTube channel, website as well as on Eurosport's official website and app.

Interested in football betting? Click here to check out the list of top sites.

Featured photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP