Luis Suarez Names His Top Five Strikers of All Time, Snubs Ronaldo
- Luis Suarez named his top five greatest strikers of all time but surprisingly left out Cristiano Ronaldo
- The former Liverpool and Barcelona star included two Brazilian legends, a Uruguayan icon and Lionel Messi in his list
- His decision to exclude the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has sparked debate among football fans
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Liverpool and Barcelona legend Luis Suarez has sparked debate after excluding Cristiano Ronaldo from his list of the greatest strikers in football history.
As is the case in every major sport, football fans are always debating who the greatest players ever to play the game are, with several players names all in contention.
Source: Getty Images
Having won five Ballon d'Or awards while scoring 926 goals for both club and country, Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the first names that would come to mind for all football fans picking the best to ever do it.
Despite Ronaldo's five Ballon d'Or wins and an astonishing 926 career goals, Suarez opted for a different selection when asked to name his top five strikers.
In an interview with Bleacher Report, the Uruguayan forward, widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, picked his five best strikers in history.
5: Romario
First on Suarez's list was Brazilian legend Romario, who is viewed as one of the greatest goalscorers in history having scored 700 official goals during his impressive career.
“Number five is Romario,” Suarez said. “[The] finish time for him is amazing.”
Romario made just 65 appearances for Barcelona and yet found the back of the net 39 times, averaging a goal every 139 minutes.
Comparatively, Suarez scored a goal every 122 minutes on average for Barcelona.
4: Ronaldo Nazario
It comes as no surprise that Suarez paid tribute to Ronaldo when picking the greatest strikers ever given the Brazilian's legendary status within football.
The two-time Ballon d’Or winner scored 371 goals in 580 appearances for club and country and is viewed by many as one of the best players of all time.
3: Diego Forlan
Despite not making it at Manchester United, Forlan was almost unplayable later in his career when representing his national team alongside Suarez.
“For me, he’s one of the best,” confessed Suarez.
“I played with him, [he’s a] really good striker, he played for the team. He liked to shoot from wherever you want. He’s really good and he’s number three.”
Forlan and Suarez played 58 matches together, with both men playing an essential role to their nation's victory in the 2011 Copa America.
2: Gabriel Batistuta
“Number two is Batistuta. [My] favourite player when I was a child,” Suarez explained.
“Really good number nine, he took free-kicks, I loved his character as well.”
At the peak of his powers in the nineties, Batistuta is a player perhaps overlooked by some.
The Argentine forward scored a breathtaking 204 goals in 331 appearances while representing Serie A side Fiorentina.
1: Lionel Messi
Who else did you expect to top the list than Messi?
The Barcelona legend is arguably the greatest player of all time and is a close friend of Suarez's and therefore was always going to make it into his top five strikers list.
“Number one for me is Messi," Suarez said confidently.
Having played together at both Barcelona and current club Inter Miami, Suarez and Messi have a massive 285 appearances together and have combined to score a total of 113 goals.
Source: YEN.com.gh
