Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe: The player with the best mins-per-goal record in each year of the 21st century
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo changed the game in terms of goalscoring.
At their peaks, the superstar duo were scoring more than a goal a game and making that astonishing achievement look irritatingly easy.
But the downside of their prolificacy is that it’s slightly boring scouring the archives in search of the top goal-getter in each year of the 21st century, as it’s normally one or the other sitting top of the pile from 2007 onwards.
So how can we spice it up a bit and add an element of intrigue? Well, we think we’ve found a way.
Using Transfermarkt, we’ve worked out the footballer with the best minutes-per-goal record across all club competitions in each completed year of the 21st century.
Of course, Messi and Ronaldo still crop up on a number of occasions, but not as regularly as before.
Only players who scored 10 or more goals while representing a team in one of Europe’s top five leagues were considered for selection in each year.
Let’s begin…
11 goals | 93 mins-per-goal
28 goals | 83 mins-per-goal
20 goals | 103 mins-per-goal
13 goals | 85 mins-per-goal
16 goals | 87 mins-per-goal
26 goals | 99 mins-per-goal
15 goals | 97 mins-per-goal
18 goals | 105 mins-per-goal
19 goals | 85 mins-per-goal
32 goals | 93 mins-per-goal
58 goals | 77 mins-per-goal
53 goals | 84 mins-per-goal
79 goals | 65 mins-per-goal
59 goals | 71 mins-per-goal
54 goals | 75 mins-per-goal
13 goals | 52 mins-per-goal
15 goals | 76 mins-per-goal
49 goals | 79 mins-per-goal
15 goals | 76 mins-per-goal
41 goals | 81 mins-per-goal
17 goals | 69 mins-per-goal
56 goals | 68 mins-per-goal
So, Ronaldo is the only player to finish top of the pile on three occasions, while Messi achieved the feat twice.
However, neither of the superstar pair can lay