Mbappe, Kane, Haaland, Alvarez, Lewandowski. Those five have owned the scoreboards across Europe for eighteen months. Golden Boots, broken records, title runs from Madrid to Munich. Everyone else is noise.
We’re back in familiar territory—the endless Messi-Ronaldo debates just with new faces. Mbappe versus Haaland for “best in the world” bragging rights. Kane breaking every record Bayern has while people still question his penalties. Lewandowski refusing to age out. And then Alvarez, who nobody saw coming, suddenly looking like the steal of the decade. Gyokeres won a Gerd Muller Trophy and got his Arsenal move. Lautaro keeps showing up in big Champions League nights. Isak has Liverpool. They’re all excellent. None of them belong in this conversation yet.
The window is August 2024 through mid-November 2025. The 2024–25 season does the heavy lifting here. We’re weighing league and Champions League output first, then underlying numbers where they actually tell us something, then individual awards, then ability to dominate matches that matter. Stat-padding against relegation fodder doesn’t move the needle.
The arguments around these five tell you what people actually care about. Haaland doesn’t touch the ball enough. Kane scores too many penalties. Mbappe’s first season in Madrid was trophyless. Alvarez jumped from backup to “best Atleti striker since Costa” in six months. All of that shaped the ranking.
Plenty of players came close. Gyokeres had a 54-goal season for Sporting and Sweden before moving. Lautaro went back-to-back with a Golden Boot and another Champions League final. Osimhen is still one of the most terrifying one-on-one forwards in Europe. But across a full year and a half, these five separated themselves through sheer consistency, volume, and impact.
The top five
1. Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid
Mbappe’s first season in white ended with the European Golden Boot and the Pichichi. 31 league goals, 42 overall. First Real Madrid player since Cristiano to win Europe’s domestic scoring title. The goals didn’t translate into silverware the way Madrid wanted, but they rewrote La Liga’s hierarchy and gave the club a new identity post-Benzema.
This season he’s been even more ominous. 14 goals in his first 10 matches by mid-October. Real’s staff credit his calmer lifestyle in Madrid—no PSG drama, no contract standoffs, just football. In the Champions League he’s already stacking hat-tricks and tracking ahead of Haaland, Messi and Ronaldo at the same point in their careers.
He also bought a controlling stake in SM Caen and locked in a series of major commercial deals. He’s the best goalscorer on the planet and one of the most famous footballers alive—number one for now.
2. Harry Kane, Bayern Munich
Kane’s career narrative used to be “great player, no trophies.” Bayern has turned that into ancient history. In 2024–25, he finished near the top of Europe’s scoring charts again. On September 26, 2025 he hit 100 goals for Bayern in 104 matches. Faster than Ronaldo at Real Madrid. Faster than Haaland at City. Absurd numbers.
This season brought more domination. 11 goals in his first six Bundesliga matches. Bayern set a club record for goals scored and consecutive wins early, and Kane was the reason. His spot-kick record in the league remains flawless, but that’s not what makes him this good. Kane still drops deep to orchestrate, sprays passes that most center-forwards wouldn’t see, racks up assists that put him in the same conversation as playmakers. He’s not just a finisher—he’s a complete forward.
The trophies have finally caught the talent.
3. Erling Haaland, Manchester City
Haaland is still the most terrifying pure scorer in football. 36 league goals in 2022–23 broke the Premier League single-season record. By early 2025 he’d passed 110 goals for City in all competitions. A ten-year extension through 2034 made it official: City is built around him and will be for the next decade.
This campaign has been more of the same. Nine league goals in seven matches by early October. 18 in 11 games for club and country. Scored in nine straight appearances for the first time in his career. The criticism of his all-round game peaked when a pundit compared him to a lower-league striker. Haaland’s response? Four goals and complete indifference. He doesn’t care what critics think.
Give him service and he guarantees goals. He’s third here because he doesn’t influence buildup the way Mbappe and Kane do, but he’s firmly in that tier. You can never leave him out, especially when he’s having a Ballon d’Or-like season.
4. Julian Alvarez, Atletico Madrid
Alvarez went from Pep’s rotation luxury to the centerpiece of Simeone’s attack, and the leap has been stunning. In 2024–25: 29 goals across all competitions, 17 in La Liga, seven in the Champions League. Atleti pushed deep in Europe and stayed in the title race at home, and he was the reason.
This season, he’s kept going—seven league goals by mid-November on strong expected-goal numbers, more in Europe. Atleti supporters are calling him the best center-forward they’ve had since Diego Costa’s peak years. Not because he has Costa’s edge—because he’s everywhere. Alvarez presses, connects the lines, still arrives in the box to finish. He does everything.
He’s one of the breakout stories of 2025. When people argue the next generation won’t just be Mbappe and Haaland trading blows, Alvarez is the name they use. He’s earned it.
5. Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona
Lewandowski is here on merit, not nostalgia. At 36 during the 2024–25 season, he put up 27 La Liga goals, finished just behind Mbappe in the scoring race, and helped Barcelona win the title. His movement in the box is still a masterclass in timing. He’s still the reference point for Barça’s young attackers.
The early 2025–26 numbers are quieter—four goals in nine league games by mid-October—but he’s still doing the work. Dragging defenders, setting screens, finishing at a rate that would satisfy most strikers half his age. Plenty of people think Gyokeres or Lautaro deserve this spot on current form, and that’s a fair debate. But a Golden Shoe-level campaign, another league title, and a solid start this autumn keep Lewandowski in the top five for now. The next generation is closing in, but he’s not done yet.
Mbappe is the face of elite finishing right now. Kane and Haaland are the volume benchmarks. Alvarez is the climber who found the right mountain. Lewandowski is the veteran who won’t step aside. The list will shift in 2026, but heading into late 2025, this is the order that matches the goals, the stakes, and the arguments happening every weekend.
