Top five footballers with most Match winning goals in the 21st century

Nkwain Desmond February 20th, 2023, 8:41 pm

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o all make the list of top five players who have scored the most match winning goals in the first 21st century.

Match-winning goals are those which guarantee the win of a team without the need of additional goals. For example, in a 4-2 win, the third goal here is the match-winner. Again, if a player has scored twice in a 2-1 win, then only his second goal is the match-winner. Yes, you guessed correctly the two GOATs of our generation made the list.

5. Samuel Eto’o
123 match winning goals

Top five footballers with most Match winning goals in the 21st century — Though retired, Samuel Eto’o still makes the top five players with most match winning goals in 21st Century

Widely considered by many as the greatest African striker of all time, Eto’o is the only player who has hanged up his boots in the top five. The Cameroon international had a glorious carreer that saw him win many trophies including three champions league titles, two Afcon titles, and many more.

Eto’o played for many big European clubs like FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid. He also played for Everton, Antalysapor, Konyaspor, etc.

In his prime, Eto’o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world, and he is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, winning the African Player of the Year a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. He won the bronze award in the 2005 FIFA player of the year awards. Eto’o won the best player award in the 2010 club world cup. He also was named the UEFA forward of the year in 2006.

Samuel Eto’o scored over 400+ carreer goals during his time and arguably one of the best strikers of our generation.

4. Robert Lewandoski
136 Match winning goals

Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is considered one of the best strikers of all time, as well as one of the most successful players in Bundesliga history. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country.

The FC Barcelona man won one Champions league title in 2020 with Bayern Munich, 10 league titles with two coming in Borussia Dortmund and eight in Bayern Munich. Lewandoski has been named the FIFA player of the year twice in 2020 and 2021.

The Poland international was favorite to win the ballon d’or in 2020 but unfortunately the award was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic. He was awarded the ballon d’or striker of the year or the Gerd Muller in 2021 and 2022.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
155 match winning goals

The Swedish international plays as a striker for Serie A club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range shots, and excellent technique and ball control. He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, having won 34 trophies in his career. He has scored over 570 career goals, including more than 500 club goals, and has scored in each of the last four decades.

Ibrahimovic has played for a couple of clubs across Europe winning many trophies. He has played for Malmo, Ajax, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, PSG, LA Galaxy, Manchester United.

Zlatan has been nominated for the ballon d’or 11 times with his best finish coming in 2013 when he finished fourth. Ibrahimovic won the Puskas award in 2013 for his long range over head kick in the match against England.

2. Lionel Messi
188 Match winning goals

Also called Leo Messi, the Argentine professional footballer plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d’Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192) and the Copa América (17). He also has the most international goals by a South American male (98). Messi has scored over 795 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club (672).

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
220 Match winning goals

Of course he is the first on the list. Cristiano Ronaldo is the footballer with most match winning goals in the 21st Century Considered by many as a clutch and big game player, no one comes close to him when it comes to making headlines.

The Portuguese currently plays as for and captains both Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds numerous scoring records; and several sources have argued that he is the leading goal-scorer in the sport’s history. Despite his limitations on defense, his speed, heading ability, off-the-ball movement, and mental strength made him one of the dominant players of his era.

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