It’s been a delightful month, but unfortunately we are now entering the last spots of our Welcome to World Class series.
Over the past four weeks, we’ve used our groundbreaking metric to first define what “world class” Actually means, before revealing which players most deserve the description in 2020.
Goalkeepers, full-backs, midfielders of all kinds, as well as left-wing forwards, have all received the treatment in the past. Now it’s the strikers’ turn.
After narrowing down our long list and shortlist, we can finally offer you the definitive ranking of the top five forwards on the planet right now.
Romelu Lukaku’s career has been marked by peaks and valleys.
From breaking onto the scene as a 16-year-old, top scorer in the Belgian top-flight, to slowly building his reputation with a string of Premier League loans, to becoming the unfair target of ridicule at Manchester United, it’s been quite a journey.
Since joining Inter last summer, Lukaku has been nothing short of amazing. His 34 goals in all competitions matches the amount Ronaldo scored in his first Milan campaign and at times he single-handedly dragged the Nerazzurri into the title chase last season.
Recently, Lukaku admitted that he considers himself one of the top five scorers on the planet. Who are we to disagree?
Romelu Lukaku ranks fifth in the 90-minute Welcome to World Class striker list. Learn more about why Lukaku is world class here.
For years, Karim Benzema operated in the shadows as a facilitator of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo-centric attack.
Since CR7’s departure in 2018, Benzema has finally taken center stage at the Santiago Bernabeu, proving to his skeptics that he is without a doubt, World class.
Over the past two seasons he has led the rankings for Real by far, while playing a key creative role and working harder than ever.
His manager, Zinedine Zidane, admittedly appreciates everything he has done for the club, calling him the best French striker of all time in a recent interview. If he’s good enough for Zizou, he’s good enough for number four on our list.
Karim Benzema sits fourth on the 90-minute Welcome to World Class forward list. Learn more about why Benzema is world class here.
His trophy may not exist, but that’s not the only measure of a world-class player.
Harry Kane follows Jimmy Greaves, Gary Lineker, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer in a rich tradition of record-breaking English scorers.
Before Kane hangs up his boots, he’s likely to break many more records, but it’s not just the goals that make him such a devastating player.
As he’s shown time and time again in 2020, Kane is also an incredibly smart playmaker. So good in fact, he even tricked us into believing that Tottenham were real title contenders for a few weeks …
Harry Kane ranks third in the 90-minute Welcome to World Class striker list. Learn more about why Kane is world class here.
The label of “generational talent” has been thrown far too often in 2020, but if one player deserves it, it’s probably Kylian Mbappe.
Since entering the scene as a precocious 17-year-old for Monaco, Mbappe has continued to hit the jaw of our collective on the ground with his brilliance.
It took him just 137 appearances to hit a century of strikes for Paris Saint-Germain and he is also the youngest player to score ten, 15 and 20 goals in the Champions League.
At 22 still, it is scary to think of what Mbappe could achieve before he retires.
Kylian Mbappe is second in the 90-minute Welcome to World Class striker list. Learn more about why Mbappe is world class here.
Here he is, the man who broke our metric. The only player to have obtained the maximum score in each of our 10 categories.
Few could argue that Robert Lewandowski doesn’t deserve to be considered the best player in the world right now. A brief overview of its statistics is enough to blow your mind. Last season Lewandowski had a ridiculous 55 goals and ten assists in 47 appearances.
This unreal outing also led to success with Bayern Munich securing a famous treble, mainly thanks to the indescribable form of their offensive talisman.
It’s hard to imagine anyone, regardless of their position, replicating Lewandowski’s recent performances anytime soon and it’s right that he is at the top of our list.
Robert Lewandowski ranks first in the 90-minute Welcome to World Class striker list. Learn more about why Lewandowski is world class here.
