- Cristiano Ronaldo topped the rankings after an impressive year with Al-Nassr
- The Portuguese has been the top scorer in world football a record five times since 2011
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has been confirmed as world football's top scorer in 2024.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough year for club and country, scoring an extraordinary 62 goals in games for the Portuguese giants and his national team, Sweden.
Gyokeres, who has five goals in six Champions League games this campaign, has 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 former Coventry striker's most notable efforts was 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 left for Manchester United, the Swede has been linked with a move to Old Trafford, but his surprising form has also seen a number of European clubs show interest.
“Of course (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 approach and the adaptation was difficult… but I thought about it, I talked to those around me and they helped me a lot.
Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has been confirmed as world football's top scorer in 2024
Erling Haaland ended his recent goal drought by scoring his 49th goal of the year in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Leicester.
Cristiano Ronaldo took home the award last season, but this time he could only finish fourth
“It started to feel more and more like the right thing to do: play for a top team and have more opportunities during games. In the end, it seems like it was the best choice for me.”
The forward is the first player to score more than 60 goals in a year since Robert Lewandowski in 2021. The Barcelona star is one of seven players to top the annual calendar rankings in the last 13 years.
Lionel Messi's total of 91 in 2012 remains an all-time record and is likely to remain that way for some time. For his part, Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record of being the top scorer on occasions (5).
The Portuguese's most recent victory came in 2023, when he scored 54 times. Ronaldo's total of 43 in 2024 for Al-Nassr and Portugal was only enough for fourth place.
Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappé broke into the top ten with 39 goals, while Lille striker Jonathan David was France's most prolific striker with 40.
The lesser-known pair, Ayoub El Kaabi and Rafaelson, operating in Greece and Vietnam respectively, achieved the same mark, while Wu Lei scored two betters for the Shanghai port and the Chinese national team.