5 players with the most league goals after turning 30
Thanks to the advancement of sports science and fitness regimes, more and more players are playing well into their thirties.
Some of them have scored goals and won trophies galore for club and country after their 30th birthday. Despite new players emerging on the scene, some of the most experienced campaigners, especially goalscorers, continue to be key players.
On that note, here's a look at the top five goalscorers in Europe's top five leagues after turning 30 since the turn of the century:
#5 Robert Lewandowski - 125
Robert Lewandowski is one of the best centre-forwards in the history of the game. He had a prolific four-year stint with Borussia Dortmund - where he scored 103 goals in nearly 200 games across competitions - and won consecutive Bundesliga titles.
The 33-year-old stepped up a notch since joining BvB's domestic rivals Bayern Munich on a free transfer in the summer of 2014. Lewandowski has amassed a staggering 333 strikes, and has won the last seven Bundesliga titles.
In his 12th Bundesliga season, Lewandowski recently notched up his 300th goal in the competition. That includes over 100 strikes since he turned 30 in August 2008.
BUNDESLIGA GOAL NUMBER 300 FOR ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI.
LEGEND. https://t.co/8a143lO9vK
Last season, the Polish international scored 41 times to break the late Gerd Muller's five-decade-old record of most goals (40) in a Bundesliga season. With 28 goals already this term and with ten games to go, it wouldn't be beyond Lewy to break that record this year.
#4 Lionel Messi - 127
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the game.
During an illustrious career with club and country spanning nearly two decades, the diminutive Argentinian has scored goals, bagged assists and won titles and accolades galore.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is the all-time La Liga top scorer, netting a stunning 474 times. That includes 125 goals after he turned 30 in June 2017. Messi is also a record eight-time Pichichi winner, last winning the award in his last campaign in La Liga in 2020-21, where he scored 30 times.
However, the 2021 Copa America winner has struggled to replicate the same exploits at PSG, whom he joined on a free transfer last summer. In 16 Ligue 1 games, Messi has netted only twice, taking six games to open his account in the competition.
Messi's first Ligue 1 goal was worth the wait 🤩
(via @ESbeINSPORTS)
https://t.co/qgkfBFMzNM
Despite scoring only twice in his last 11 league outings, Messi has provided 11 assists during this period, including at least one in his last five.