Top 5 players apart form Messi and Ronaldo who can break the 30-goal barrier in the 2015/16 season

The Premier League is up and underway already and the other major leagues will soon follow suit. European competitions started way back in July with the playoffs and Super Cups in the various leagues have already been done and dusted.Barcelona have secured their first trophy of the season by defeating Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup and their superstar Lionel Messi is already underway with two goals for the season. The Argentine added a third to his tally when La Liga champions lost to Athletic Bilbao in the two-legged Spanish Super Cup 5-1.His alter ego Cristiano Ronaldo will be eager to kickstart his campaign with the La Liga which begins on August 22, but will have some catching up to do by then. But one can definitely count upon the Portuguese skipper to be on the mark from the word ‘go’.Ronaldo has scored 50 goals and more in the past five seasons and it will take a brave man to bet his money against the 30-year-old repeating that feat in the 2015/16 campaign. The same goes for Messi as well. The only time he failed to cross the 50-goal mark was the injury ravaged 2013/14 season. Even then he managed a more than decent return of 41 goals.So it’s no wonder that the pair have shared the last seven Ballon d’Or titles between them and in all likelihood will do battle yet again for the year 2015 as well. There’s no denying that the remarkable form of these two football greats have overshadowed other lethal goalscorers in the modern game. 50 goals for the season is inhuman – let’s leave that for Messi and Ronaldo; but who are the others that can shine for their team and score at least 30 goals across all competitions in the 2015/16 season.Here we take a look at the Top 5 contenders and with the amount of goals that Messi and Ronaldo set up for their teammates, don’t be surprised to find a few Barcelona and Real Madrid players in the lsit.

#1 Luis Suarez

Suarez is one of the most lethal finishers in the modern game

Who better to start off than the Uruguayan, Luis Suarez, who joined Messi and Ronaldo recently in being shortlisted for the UEFA European Player of the Year award. The 28-year-old is one of football's most lethal finishers at present and equally one of the most divisive figures in the game.

Controversies have followed Suarez throughout his career, but there's no denying his supreme talent. The footballing world began to take notice of the South American after his exploits in the 2008/09 season where he scored a remarkable 49 goals from 48 games playing for Dutch side Ajax. He followed it a fine showing at the 2010 World Cup, but the tournament ended in controversial circumstances for Suarez however as he handled a goalbound header from a Ghanian player thus paving the way for Uruguay to reach the semi-finals.

Liverpool signed Suarez during the 2010/11 winter transfer window and though the forward took some time to settle into the rhythm of the English game, he soon became an Anfield fan favourite. He scored in excess of 30 goals during his final two years with the Merseyside club and that is in spite of missing some games due to the ban he picked up for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic during a league game.

Suarez had the same issue after he moved to Barcelona. He picked up a four-month ban from footballing activities for biting Italy's Giorgio Chillieni during the 2014 World Cup which meant Suarez couldn't feature for his new club until late October. Yet again he took some time to get used to his new surroundings with his first goal for the Catalan club coming one month later.

However, he finished the season with 25 goals in 43 appearances and with Barcelona almost certain to feature in the latter stages of all competitions they compete in, Suarez will plenty of have chances to score plenty more. Like Messi, Suarez also opened his account for the 2015/16 season with a goal in the UEFA Super Cup and a look at his career trajectory proves that he's only getting better.

Season	Club	Matches	Goals
2010/11	Ajax Liverpool	24 13	12 4
2011/12	Liverpool	39	17
2012/13	Liverpool	44	30
2013/14	Liverpool	37	31
2014/15	Barcelona	43	25

#2 Neymar Jr

Messi has stated that Neymar can be the best player in the world

The second player to feature on the list is another Barcelona player, Brazilian skipper Neymar. He, along with Messi and Suarez, formed the most devastating forward line in the 2014/15 season, contributing immensely to the Spanish club’s dream treble winning campaign. Dubbed MSN, the trio scored 122 goals between them, accounting for 70% of the club’s tally of 175 goals in the season.

A lot of Brazilian starlets have been dubbed ‘The Next Pele’ at a very young age only to falter with time. But Neymar is one who has thrived under that pressure. The world began to take serious notice of the prodigy when he won the South American Footballer of the Year award in 2011 at the age of just 19. He also won the FIFA Puskas award for the Goal of the year.

He won the continental prize yet again in 2012 and it was certain by then that one of Real Madrid or Barcelona is going to grab hold of him. The Catalan club won the race for Neymar and are reaping the rewards already.

The tax controversy regarding his transfer fee is still going on, but Neymar has not let it affect his game. The Brazilian skipper now seems to be fully settled at the Nou Camp after a difficult start to life in Spain.

He scored 39 goals in 51 appearances last season and Barca coach Luis Enrique opined that Neymar should have been shortlisted for the European Footballer of the Year award in place of Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi himself has stated that “Neymar can be the best in the world” and if there’s one player who can the break the stranglehold Messi and Ronaldo have on the Ballon d’Or, it is Neymar.

He is yet to make his competitive debut for the club this season as he is suffering from mumps.

Season	Club	Matches	Goals
2010	Santos	60	42
2011	Santos	47	24
2012	Santos	47	43
2013/14	Santos Barcelona	23 41	13 15
2014/15	Barcelona	51	39

#3 Sergio Aguero

Aguero scored a brilliant goal against Chelsea to kick-start his season in style

Yet another South American makes the list with Messi’s national teammate and Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero one of the top contenders to reach the 30 goal mark in the 2015/16 season. When he’s fit and running, there’s no stopping Aguero as Chelsea found out in their clash on Sunday.

Aguero is one of those rare Latin American players who have excelled more in the Premier League than in Spain. He was good at Athletico Madrid no doubt – After all City paid £38 million for his services. But since arriving in England, he has already crossed the goals tally he achieved at Atletico having played less than 70 games than with the Spanish club.

His diminutive figure notwithstanding he has lit up England with his performances. He played a key role in City winning the league titles in the 2011/12 and 2013/14 seasons and finished the 2014/15 season as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals.

And if his performance against the reigning league champions is anything to go by, Aguero looks up to the task this season as well. Pellegrini has all the confidence in him as well having let go off Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic in the transfer window.

Season	Club	Appearances	Goals
2010/11	Atletico Madrid	41	27
2011/12	Manchester City	48	30
2012/13	Manchester City	40	17
2013/14	Manchester City	34	28
2014/15	Manchester City	40	32

#4 Robert Lewandowski

Lewandowski celebrates after scoring against Hamburg in Bayern Munich’s 2015/16 Bundesliga opener

The stats don't lie. Robert Lewandowski may not be the first time that comes to your mind when one talk about the greatest strikers around, but he has been there ad thereabouts the 30 goal mark in the past four seasons. That despite having switched clubs between two of Germany’s most illustrious clubs.

Lewandowski is yet another player who took some time to settle before turning out to be a consistent goalscorer. And the Polish striker has definitely earned his rise to the top grinding it out in the lower leagues.

He was top scorer in Poland’s third tier and second tier football leagues in 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively before moving to first division side Lech Poznan in the summer of 2008. He was the second top scorer in the league in his debut and went one better in the 2009/10 season before moving to Borussia Dortmund.

Lewandowski struggled in his first season in Germany and hardly figured in the club’s league triumph in the 2010/11 season. But he soon became Jorgen Klopp’s star man in attack as they won the league yet again in 2011/12.

He was instrumental in one of Borussia’s most successful spells in history as they reached the Champions League final in 2012/13 where they were beaten by rivals Bayern Munich, whom Lewandowski joined a year later. And despite his apparent problems with Pep Guardiola, he shined for Bayern in his debut season.

He has already opened his account for the 2014/15 season with 2 goals in 3 matches.

Season	Club	Appearances	Goals
2010/11	Borussia Dortmund	43	9
2011/12	Borussia Dortmund	47	30
2012/13	Borussia Dortmund	49	36
2013/14	Borussia Dortmund	47	28
2014/15	Bayern Munich	49	25

#5 Karim Benzema

Still only 27, Benzema is yet to reach the peak years of his career

It’s hard to believe Karim Benzema is just 27 years old and is yet to reach the peak years of his career. Real Madrid fans will be hopeful that the forward can better his more talked about teammates in Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale starting this season.

He is an ever present in the starting line up and is hardly injured. Playing with quality players up front he’s never short of getting quality balls to score from. So it’s a bit surprising to see that he has scored more than 30 goals in a season only once in the past 5 campaigns.

New manager Rafael Benitez would like to address the issue as well and look to get the best out of the forward. The BBC (Bale, Benzema, Cristiano) trio is essential to Real’s chances if they are to stop the Barcelona juggernaut.

Talks of a move to Arsenal have not completely died out yet but as of now Benzema will be entering his seventh season at the Santiago Bernabeu and will be hopeful that can emerge from the shadows of Ronaldo and Bale.

Season	Club	Appearances	Goals
2010/11	Real Madrid	48	26
2011/12	Real Madrid	52	32
2012/13	Real Madrid	50	20
2013/14	Real Madrid	52	24
2014/15	Real Madrid	46	22