Haaland? Kane? R9? Picking the best centre-forwards this century
March 3, 2026 at 10:34 AM
By BBC Sport
Who are the best centre-forwards of the 21st century? We've had a go at trying to whittle down a pretty formidable list.
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Who are the best centre-forwards of the 21st century Who are the best centre-forwards of the 21st century? We've had a go at trying to whittle down a pretty formidable list. Monitor developments in Haaland? for further updates.
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Who are the best centre-forwards of the 21st century We've had a go at trying to whittle down a pret
Who are the best centre-forwards of the 21st century? We've had a go at trying to whittle down a pretty formidable list.
Haaland? Kane? R9? Picking the best centre-forwards this centuryByAlex BysouthBBC Sport senior journalistPublished16 minutes ago13 CommentsIt was a grin that beamed "GOALS". Even disguised as a clown, the iconic gap-toothed smile of a teenage Ronaldo was enough to reveal him to the other Maastricht carnival-revellers. At 18, he was already an unmistakable star.The Brazilian was scoring at an astonishing rate down the road in Eindhoven, a heady mix of swashbuckling stepovers and dazzling dribbles complemented by the coldest of finishes for PSV earning him world-record moves to Barcelona and then Inter before he hit 21.As the youngest recipient of the Ballon d'Or and with more than 200 goals for club and country by the turn of the millennium, a 23-year-old Ronaldo looked set to dominate the sport - were it not for his kneecap "exploding" in April 2000, there would be no need for this debate.Yet, while R9 was by no means finished, his injuries opened the door for others to stake their claim - so who is the greatest centre-forward of the 21st century?Whittling it down to 10 contenders is no easy feat - you can have your say below.Is it all about goals?Goals, obviously, are a good place to start. Olivier Giroud may have led France to 2018 World Cup glory without one but that is not sustainable for a number nine.You cannot, though, identify a centre-forward by scoring charts alone.Lionel Messi won six Golden Shoes - awarded to Europe's top goalscorer - more than anyone in history. Erling Haaland is the only player to boast a better goals-per-game ratio in Europe's top five leagues this century than the Argentine.But can Messi really be considered a centre-forward? The guy that made 'false nine' fashionable operates in a different realm to a traditional frontman.Neymar falls into a similar category. Francesco Totti won a Golden Shoe and Serie A's Capocannoniere, but was a renowned playmaker in carmine Roma red. Raul's threat came alongside a plethora of Real Madrid number nines, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gonzalo Higuain...Instead, Luis Suarez from Barcelona's iconic MSN frontline makes it. After following his childhood sweetheart to Europe, he established himself as a prolific goalscorer showcasing a bit of everything at Ajax and Liverpool.The Uruguayan then netted 195 times in 283 games to win the lot with the Catalan giants before his grit, guile and ability to conjure goals from nowhere proved an idyllic match for Atletico Madrid, as Suarez fired them to the title.Erling Haaland thunders his way into our top 10 as the definition of a traditional centre-forward. Tall, strong, powerful - those qualities alone don't qualify you (sorry Jan Koller, Nikola Zigic et al), but a faster hit rate than anyone in Champions League history does.Via Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg, the 25-year-old has registered a goal a game in Europe's elite competition - only Gerd Muller (34 in 35 for Bayern Munich) comes anywhere close to Haaland's 56 in 56.The staggering figures churned out by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during a peak Clasico era skewed expectations - unlike those two, Haaland's best work comes in the penalty area, scoring 95% of his top-flight goals inside the 18-yard box.The Norwegian giant is also the only player to finish a season as Premier League top scorer with more than a goal a game.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 Hots
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