Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has been confirmed as the top scorer in world football in 2024.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a breakout year for club and country, netting an extraordinary 62 times in matches for the Portuguese giants and his national team Sweden.
Gyokeres, who has five goals in six Champions League matches this campaign, scored 13 more goals in the calendar year than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, while his tally is 16 better than Harry Kane’s.
Among the most notable of the former Coventry striker’s efforts came in Sporting’s 4-1 demolition of Man City last month when he completed a stunning hat-trick in one of Ruben Amorim’s final games at the club.
Since his former bosses’ departure for Manchester United, the Swede has been linked with a move to Old Trafford but his startling form has also seen a number of European clubs register their interest.
‘Of course it [moving to Sporting] was different, because I had the goal of playing in the Premier League,’ Gyokeres told Swedish Daily earlier this month. ‘That was my focus and the adjustment was difficult… but I thought about it, I talked to those around me who helped me a lot.
Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has been confirmed as the top scorer in world football in 2024
Erling Haaland ended his recent goal drought by netting his 49th goal of the year in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Leicester
Cristiano Ronaldo took home the prize last season but could only finish fourth this time around
‘It started to look more and more like it was the right thing to do: play in a top team and have more chances during games. In the end, it seems like it was the best choice for me.’
The striker is the first player to hit more than 60 goals in a year since Robert Lewandowski in 2021. The Barcelona star is one of only seven players to top the calendar year standings in the last 13 years.
Lionel Messi’s total of 91 in 2012 remains an all-time record and is likely to remain as such for some time. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for winning the top scorer prize on the most occasions (5).
The Portuguese’s most recent win came in 2023 when he found the net 54 times. Ronaldo’s total of 43 in 2024 for Al-Nassr and Portugal was only enough for him to rank fourth.
Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappe snuck into the top ten with 39 goals, while Lille striker Jonathan David was the most prolific forward in France with 40.
The lesser-known pair Ayoub El Kaabi and Rafaelson, operating in Greece and Vietnam respectively, hit the same mark, while Wu Lei went two better for Shanghai Port and the Chinese national team.