Top 4 players with over 100 goals in 2 separate leagues
What connects former Paris Saint Germain teammates Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, former Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, and French striker Andre -Pierre Gignac? They make up the elite list of players to have scored more than 100 goals in two different leagues, according to a study conducted by SportBible.
Football clubs all over the world pay exorbitant amounts to sign strikers. The style of football played in the top leagues of each country differs from one another. Therefore a striker must adapt his game to suit the style of the game played and the way his team plays.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuain and Andre-Pierre Gignac are players who have exerted their dominance and class in multiple countries, proving that they are in a class of their own.
Four players who have scored 100 goals in two different countries in the 21st century
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the modern greats of the game, and one of the best strikers to have ever set foot on a football field. Ibrahimovic has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world such as Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG and Manchester United.
Ibrahimovic is currently plying his trade at AC Milan, having joined Milan from LA Galaxy of the MLS in January 2020. Ibrahimovic has decided to extend his stay at Milan this season, having made a huge impact at Milan in the second half of the 2019-20 Serie A campaign.
Ibrahimovic has scored 134 goals in Serie A so far and notched up 113 goals for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. Ibrahimovic scored 16 goals in 29 La Liga appearances for Barcelona, before falling out with then Barca boss Pep Guardiola. He has also scored 17 goals in 33 Premier League appearances for Manchester United before a serious knee injury ended his time in England.
#3 Edinson Cavani
Ibrahimovic's former PSG teammate Edinson Cavani also made the list, having scored 138 league goals for PSG, and 112 league goals in the Italian Serie A during his stints with Parma and Napoli. 33-year-old Cavani established himself as one of the most lethal strikers in Europe during his six years in Italy, and seven years in France.
Edinson Cavani is one of the most prolific strikers in Europe, and is currently a free agent, having seen his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expire this summer.
Cavani at 33 may be entering the twilight of his career, but still have the quality to make a big impact at a top European club. The Uruguayan has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid and Manchester United this summer as he seeks a new challenge for the next phase of his career.
#2 Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Higuain is the third striker to make this coveted list. Higuain has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe such as Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli, and Chelsea.
Higuain scored 107 goals for Real Madrid in La Liga during his six-year stint with the Spanish Giants and has scored 125 goals in the Serie A for Juventus, Napoli and Inter Milan.
Higuain has often been the scapegoat of the Argentina national team over the years, having missed crucial chances during Argentina's World Cup final loss to Germany, and their Copa America loss to Chile.
Higuain's goal-scoring record and club level can never be doubted, given the enormity of goals he has scored in Spain and Italy, two of the toughest leagues in Europe. Higuain is currently laying for David Beckham's Inter Miami FC in the MLS, where he will look to see out the rest of his career.
#1 Andre-Pierre Gignac
The fourth and final member of this list is French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac. Gignac is a lesser-known striker as compared to the aforementioned giants of world football, but possesses a prolific goal-scoring record in France and in Mexico, where he plays for Tigres UANL.
Andre-Pierre Gignac has scored 105 goals in Ligue 1 for Lorient, Marseille and Toulouse in Ligue 1, and has scored 120 goals for Tigres in Liga MX. He is Tigres' all-time leading goal scorer.