Vietnamese-Brazilian striker joins Ronaldo, Haaland among top 10 goal scorers of 2024

Son's impressive tally of 40 goals for Nam Dinh FC and Vietnam national football team placed him at eighth, above Kylian Mbappe (10th), according to Daily Mail.

Son shares the number of goals with Jonathan David of Lille OSC and Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiakos. He ranked higher than El Kaabi and below David. Mbappe, who scored 39 goals across matches for PSG, Real Madrid, and France national team, rounded out the top 10.

Nguyen Xuan Son scores the opening goal from a penalty as Vietnam beat Singapore 3-1 in the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup semifinals at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho Province on Dec. 29, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa

Five of Son's 40 goals came recently in the 2024 ASEAN Cup, where he made an explosive debut, scoring twice in Vietnam's 5-0 win over Myanmar in the group stage. The 27-year-old striker currently leads the scoring board with five goals, outpacing Singapore's Shawal Anuar and his teammate Nguyen Tien Linh. Son can improve his tally as Vietnam will face Thailand in the two-legged final this week.

The top scorer of 2024 was Viktor Gyökeres, with a staggering 62 goals for Sporting Lisbon and Sweden national team. At the club level, Gyökeres excelled with 18 goals in the Portuguese league this season and five in the Champions League, including a memorable hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over Manchester City in November.

Gyökeres is the first player since Robert Lewandowski in 2021 to surpass 60 goals in a calendar year. The 26-year-old striker, standing at 1.89 m, found his breakthrough after transferring to Sporting in 2023, where he registered 70 goals and 21 assists in just 77 games.

Gyökeres finished 2024 with 13 more goals than Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who ranked second with 49 goals. The third spot went to Harry Kane with 46 goals, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 43, then Wu Lei and Robert Lewandowski, who both scored 42 goals.

Lionel Messi's record of 91 goals in 2012 for Barcelona and Argentina national team remains unbroken. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, holds the record of being the top scorer in a calendar year five times, leading in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2023.

Top 10 goal scorers of 2024:

1. Viktor Gyökeres (62 goals)

2. Erling Haaland (49)

3. Harry Kane (46)

4. Cristiano Ronaldo (43)

5. Wu Lei (42)

6. Robert Lewandowski (42)

7. Jonathan David (40)

8. Nguyen Xuan Son (40)

9. Ayoub El Kaabi (40)

10. Kylian Mbappé (39)