Olunga, who plays as a striker for Qatari league club Al-Duhail, scored 35 goals to finish the year 2023 as the world’s 22nd top scorer. Messi, on the other hand, scored 28 goals to rank as the 52nd top scorer in a list topped by Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League’s Al Nassr, scored 54 goals to take first place ahead of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, who came second and third, respectively, after scoring 52 goals each. Olunga also beat phenomenal football powerhouses, including the likes of Atlético Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Luis Suárez (Grêmio), Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Igor Thiago (Club Brugge) and Lazio’s Pedro.
Egypt’s national pride and Liverpool ace Mo Salah scored one goal more than Olunga over the period.
The only other African ahead of Olunga is Denis Bouanga of Gabon, who has 40 goals. “Thanks 2023, No;22. Working Hard for a better 2024. Let’s go,” Olunga captioned a screengrab of the list.
Following the announcement, fans went all out to congratulate the footballer who, in 2023, helped Al Duhail claim the QNB Qatar Stars League.
He also finished as the league’s top scorer with 22 goals.
