Any team that wants to be successful needs a deadly striker. Someone who, every time he gets the ball, makes you feel like he could find the back of the net. That being said, a great goalscorer is nothing without someone to feed them good-quality ball. You could have the best striker in the world, but without someone to put them through on goal there wouldn’t be much to cheer about.
Some teams are lucky enough to have a deadly striker and a pin-point passer all rolled into one. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Sadio Mané are not only great finishers, but they also have the ability to set their teammates up.
These are the five players with the highest goal and assist outputs since 2017 in Europe’s top five leagues.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 68 goals & 15 assists
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Ronaldo is one of the few players who has truly proved how great he is. Dominating in the English Premier League before showing off in La Liga and now making a massive impact in Italy with Juventus.
Ronaldo thrives in European competition and seems to find a new gear every time he steps on the park to compete in the Champions League. The Portuguese forward has found the back of the net 21 times in the Serie A this season and has notched up two assists at the same time.
In total, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 68 times and setup a further 15 goals for his teammates since the start of the 2017/18 season. With Juventus on another level, there’s no doubt he’ll add to his tally.
Robert Lewandowski – 76 goals & 12 assists
Image source: fcbayern.com
Bayern Munich superstar, Robert Lewandowski, is arguably the most prolific striker in German football. The Pole has racked up some impressive numbers since the start of the 2017/18 season, having already scored 25 league goals and 11 strikes in the Champions League.
Lewandowski has been one of the most successful forwards in Europe for a long time. The former Borussia Dortmund man is the highest-scoring foreign player in Bundesliga history and has won a league title every year since 2014 with Bayern and two more with Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund.
He might be struggling with an injury at the moment, but one thing is for sure, when he returns, Lewandowski will set German and European football alight.
Ciro Immobile – 71 goals & 21 assists
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If you had to ask someone to name the five best players in Europe at the moment, there would be a common theme. Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, but no mention of Ciro Immobile. And that seems to be Immobile’s biggest strength – he flies under the radar.
After bouncing from Dortmund to Seville and then Turin, the Italian finally settled down at Lazio and has made massive waves.
Across all competitions, he has managed to score 116 goals and setup another 32. 71 of those goals and 21 of those assists have come since the start of the 2017/18 season.
Mohamed Salah – 69 goals & 24 assists
Image source: foxsport.com.au
There have hardly been more complete wingers in the world since the ascendance of a certain Egyptian attacker in the Premier League. Liverpool's magical Mohamed Salah is one of the best players in the world and has, for a season or two now, been mentioned in the same breath as some of the greatest players to have played for the Reds.
The Egyptian has taken some stick over the last few months as he tries to keep up with Liverpool teammate, Sadio Mane, but with 69 goals and 24 assists since the start of the 2017/18 season, you could forgive him for having a taste for goal and wanting more.
Lionel Messi – 88 goals & 37 assists
Image source: fcbarcelona.com
No other name could top this list. The maestro, Leo Messi, has dominated European football for ages and he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
As one of the most consistent strikers and playmakers in Europe, Messi has already amassed 18 goals and 12 assists in just 21 La Liga games. Add that to his numbers from the star of the 2017/18 season and the Argentine has found the back of the net 88 times and has put his teammates through 37 times.
Messi will go down in footballing folklore as probably the best player to ever have played the game. He truly is a once in a generation player and it is highly unlikely that we will see another player like him in our generation.
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