It’s official: UAE striker Ahmad Khalil is the top goalscorer on the planet this year, better than Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar!
Khalil is leading the race to win the International Federation of Football History and Statistics’ (IFFHS) 'World’s Top Goalscorer’ award with 13 goals. The award is based on goals scored at club level in continental competitions (domestic figures do not count) and for national sides.
The 24-year-old Al Ahli striker is two goals ahead of second-place China and Shandong Luneng marksman Yang Xu and four ahead of Brazil and Barcelona ace Neymar in third.
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the IFFHS award for the past two years, heads a list of six players who have scored eight goals each in fourth place.
This includes former Al Ain striker, Asamoah Gyan, who has continued his prolific form for his country Ghana and new side Shanghai SIPG after plundering an astonishing 95 goals in 81 games for the Arabian Gulf League champions.
Lionel Messi, a ubiquitous presence at the top of most goalscoring charts, has registered on the scoresheet âonly’ seven times this year. This includes three goals for his country Argentina and two apiece in the Champions League and Uefa Super Cup for Barcelona.
Khalil’s four goals in the UAE’s 10-0 thrashing of Malaysia in a 2018 World Cup qualifier last Thursday means he has now scored eight goals in nine games for his country in 2015. In addition, he has netted five times for his club Al Ahli in their march to the Asian Champions League quarter-finals.
Khalil also led the IFFHS goalscoring charts at the end of last season with nine goals. In total, the UAE hitman has scored 52 times in 133 appearances for the Red Knights since beginning his career with the Dubai club in 2006.
Meanwhile, his international career, which began in 2008, has yielded 34 goals in 71 appearances.
