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The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 - not necessarily in that order - are generally referred to as the top five leagues in Europe. That's because of a multitude of reasons ranging from the global appeal of the leagues, their perceived competitiveness and the presence of world-class players across positions.
Many fine players over the years have plied their trade in one or multiple top-five leagues during their careers. While it is not uncommon to succeed in one top-5 league and struggle in another, several world-class players have found success in multiple top-five leagues. That is impressive because each league presents unique challenges.
Recently, Stevan Jovetic made history by becoming only the second player ever to score in each of Europe's top-five leagues. Interestingly, only a handful of players have ever played in all five competitions.
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On that note, here's a look at ten top players who have scored at least 30 goals in multiple top-five leagues in Europe. Without further ado, let's get started:
#10 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has been a prolific scorer for Arsenal since his arrival at the club in 2018, but his recent form may not suggest so.
Nevertheless, the 32-year-old is one of a handful of players to score 50 goals at the Gunners' Emirates Stadium. Despite his recent lean patch, Aubameyang is closing in on 100 goals for Arsenal, with 64 of these strikes coming in the Premier League.
The 2018-19 Premier League Golden Boot winner was also a prolific scorer in the Bundesliga, netting almost 100 goals in 144 games, all for Borussia Dortmund. Aubameyang scored 31 times in the 2016-17 Bundesliga to win the Torjegarkannone award.
Despite rumours linking him with an exit from Arsenal this summer, Aubameyang is expected to stay put and help the Gunners recover from a wretched start to the new campaign. Arsenal are bottom of the league table, without a point or a goal scored after three games.
#9 Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah has been an inspired signing for Liverpool, registering a stellar tally of 127 goals and 49 assists in just four seasons at the club. Salah's staggering exploits have helped the Reds win the Champions League and Premier League titles in successive seasons.
The Egyptian winger, who is one goal away from 100 strikes in the Premier League, is the first player to score in five consecutive opening weekends of the competition.
Despite Liverpool enduring an underwhelming campaign in 2020-21, Salah was one of their rare bright sparks, scoring 31 goals across competitions.
The 29-year-old had arrived at Anfield after netting 35 times in three Serie A seasons for AS Roma. That came after he failed to break into the Chelsea first team. But the Blues' loss has turned out to be Chelsea's gain.
With most of their key players back and Salah in rousing form - two goals in three games - Jurgen Klopp's men will fancy their chances of a second Premier League title in three years.
#8 Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane is arguably one of the best players to have graced the game. The 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship winner was never a prolific scorer. But he has scored some key goals for three different top-5 league clubs during his illustrious club career.
Zidane, who won the Ballon d'Or award in 1998, scored only 35 league goals in his five-season stint at Real Madrid. But the 2002-03 La Liga winner is still remembered for his memorable winner in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow.
The Frenchman, a two-time Serie A winner with Juventus in the late 90s, scored 24 league goals in five seasons with the Bianconeri. Before that, he tallied 31 Ligue 1 strikes in seven seasons in the competition with two different clubs.
#7 Neymar
Neymar is one of the best wingers in the game at the moment. After making heads turn with his performances with Santos, the Brazilian arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2013 and has never looked back.
The 29-year-old struck a devastating attacking partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, scoring goals and winning titles galore. Neymar, a two-time La Liga and continental treble winner, scored 68 goals and bagged almost 50 assists in the competition in four seasons.
Seeking a new challenge, Neymar made a world-record transfer to PSG in the summer of 2017, where he has scored 56 league goals and won a Ligue 1 three-peat. Recently, Neymar became the first player to score 20 Champions League goals for two different clubs.
Reunited with his good friend Messi this summer, Neymar will look for a big campaign in multiple competitions.
#6 Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez is one of the most prolific centre-forwards in the game, especially since the turn of the century.
Following his staggering exploits with Ajax, Suarez arrived at Liverpool in 2011. After taking some time to get going, the Uruguayan soon hit top gear, scoring 31 Premier League goals in 2013-14 to take the Reds to the brink of a first league title in more than two decades before they spectacularly imploded.
Suarez, who netted 69 Premier League goals, landed at Barcelona that summer, where he would hit greater heights. During a highly successful six-season stint, Suarez scored almost 200 goals, including 144 in the La Liga, as he won four league titles and a continental treble.
Last summer, the 34-year-old moved to Atletico Madrid and scored 21 league goals to help the Rojiblancos win their first La Liga title in seven years.
The all-time Uruguay top scorer will look for an encore this season to help Atletico keep the rebuilding Real Madrid and Barcelona teams at bay.
#5 Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo Nazario is arguably one of the most lethal strikers to have graced the sport. During his prime, the two-time FIFA World Cup winner was unstoppable, thanks to his blistering speed and prowess with the ball at his feet.
The Brazilian first made head turns with his performances with Ajax in the early 90s, which helped him earn a move to Barcelona. In his lone season with the Blaugrana, Ronaldo scored a staggering 47 goals in all competitions before he was inexplicably let go.
After scoring almost 50 Serie A goals for Inter Milan, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner returned to La Liga, but this time with Real Madrid. Although he didn't replicate his 34-goal La Liga campaign with Madrid, Ronaldo registered three successive 20-goal league campaigns before injuries began to take their toll.
Back in the Italian top flight in the summer of 2006, Ronaldo scored only nine league goals for AC Milan in two seasons before he suffered a season-ending injury. The two-time La Liga winner eventually retired from the game three years later.
#4 Edin Dzeko
Edin Dzeko is one of the most prolific scorers in the top-five leagues in Europe, finding success in three different countries.
After helping Wolfsburg to the 2008-09 Bundesliga title, for whom he scored 66 league goals in over 100 games, Dzeko arrived at Manchester City in 2011. Although he failed to replicate his Bundesliga exploits, the Montenegrin striker scored exactly 50 league goals, helping City win their first two titles in the Premier League era.
The 35-year-old then moved to AS Roma in 2015. He top-scored 29 times in the 2016-17 Serie A, narrowly missed out on winning a third top-five league, as Roma finished four points behind champions Juventus. The following season, Dzeko became the first player to score 50 goals in the Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A.
Now with Inter Milan after an underwhelming 2020-21 campaign, the 35-year-old is 14 strikes away from 100 goals in the Italian top flight, a milestone he could achieve this campaign with the defending champions.
#3 Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o is another prolific goalscorer of the 21st century. After failing to break into the Real Madrid first team, the Cameroonian was snapped up by Barcelona following a four-season stint with Mallorca. And Eto'o didn't look back from there.
In five seasons with the club, the now-retired player scored 130 goals, including 108 strikes in La Liga, as Pep Guardiola's men became the first Spanish team to win the continental treble.
Eto'o then landed at Inter Milan, where he became the first player to win consecutive continental trebles with two different clubs. After 33 Serie A goals in two seasons, the Cameroonian was on the move again.
He went on to play for Chelsea and Everton in the Premier League a few years later, but struggled with the physical nature of the competition before retiring in 2018.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
One of the greatest players to have graced the game, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored goals and won titles galore during an illustrious near two-decade-long career.
Ronaldo first burst onto the scene at Manchester United, scoring over 100 goals in six seasons, 84 of them in the Premier League, before moving to Real Madrid following a world-record transfer in the summer of 2009.
The five-time Ballon d'Or and Champions League winner is the all-time top-scorer in Real Madrid and Champions League history. He is also one of only two players to score 300 La Liga goals.
After a highly successful nine-season stint with the Merengues, Ronaldo had a decent three-season stint at Juventus. The two-time La Liga winner added two Serie A titles to his burgeoning trophy cabinet.
Last season, Juventus failed to win Serie A for the first time in a decade despite Ronaldo winning his first Capocannoniere award and becoming the first player to top score in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. In the process, he also became the first Juventus player to score 100 goals in their first three seasons at the club.
Ronaldo has made a sensational return to Manchester United this summer after being strongly linked with an exit from Juve. He'll hope to replicate his stellar goalscoring exploits at his old stomping ground and help deliver their first Premier League title since 2013.
#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the best strikers to have graced the game, scoring over 500 goals during an illustrious career at eight different clubs in six different countries.
The Sweden international is still going strong at the age of 39. He won league titles in Spain (1), Italy (4), France (4) and Netherlands (2). Ibrahimovic narrowly missed out on one in England, finishing second in the Premier League with Manchester United.
Now at AC Milan, Ibrahimovic is three strikes away from 150 Serie A goals. He has scored over 100 Ligue 1 goals (all with PSG), 16 in the La Liga in his lone season at Barcelona and 17 in the Premier League with Manchester United.
