Will Mbappé break the record?
In football, it’s commonly understood that scoring goals is the most challenging task. This difficulty is reflected in the fact that clubs invest heavily in attacking players, who often command the highest wages. The record for the most expensive transfer ever stands at PSG’s €222 million signing of Neymar from Barcelona, with the top five most substantial fees also being paid for forwards.
Fans typically rally around players who can consistently score, which is why many of the most iconic footballers in history—like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pelé, and Diego Maradona—are attackers. Among them, Erling Haaland has emerged as the premier goalscorer of his generation, boasting an impressive tally of 327 goals in 390 professional matches. He’s been particularly prolific this season, netting 24 goals thus far, and is on the verge of another significant record.
Record Goalscoring Streaks
Haaland’s opening goal in Manchester City’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Villarreal marked his scoring streak at 12 consecutive games for both club and country. This is the best run of his career, allowing him to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record of 11 consecutive games with goals while at Real Madrid and Portugal in 2014. As depicted in the accompanying graphic, Robert Lewandowski currently holds the record for the longest scoring streaks among players in the top five leagues this century.
Between February and May 2021, Lewandowski achieved an incredible streak, scoring in 14 consecutive matches for Bayern Munich and Poland. Haaland has the chance to equal this record if he scores in Manchester City’s next two games. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé is also on a remarkable scoring wave; if he finds the net against Juventus tonight in the Champions League, he will match Haaland at 12 consecutive games. It’s worth noting that while Lionel Messi infamously scored in 21 consecutive La Liga matches, his longest overall scoring run across all competitions is 10 games, a feat he accomplished twice during his time at Barcelona.
