Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Top 8 Natural Finishers in Football

A big money move for Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer from AC Milan in Italy to Paris St. Germain in France had a few shaking their heads. It seemed like a lot of money to be shelled out each week for a player already into his 30s. But Ibrahimovic has shown his great ability and begun to pay back Carlo Ancelotti for having such faith in him.

The best way for any forward to repay faith in a large transfer fee is, of course, is in their own currency—goals.

In that regard, Zlatan has come up big, thumping in nine goals in his first seven Ligue 1 games for PSG, and 10 for eight in all competitions.

Though for years he has divided fan opinion over whether he is a technically-gifted genius or a showboat who chokes on the biggest stages, one thing which cannot be disputed is his finishing skill.

Here is Zlatan Ibrahimovic amongst the eight greatest finishers world football has seen over the past 20 years or so.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG

With almost 200 league goals in his 369 league appearances, Zlatan makes a compelling case to be seen as a top goalscorer despite all the opinions that the media or fans might have.

Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and now PSG have all felt the benefit of having Ibrahimovic in their team.

The Swedish forward has scored at least a dozen league goals in every season bar one since 2002-03 and has fired in 107 goals in all competitions over the past four seasons.

A great strike rate from a great player who can pull out every kind of finish in the book.

Leo Messi, Barcelona

Hugely talented in almost every area on the attacking side of football, Leo Messi is the best player on the planet.

We could go back over his past few seasons—Messi has hit a completely mind-boggling 211 goals in the past four campaigns—but really, the simple statistic of 73 goals in just 60 games last season, a European goalscoring record, tells you everything about the Barcelona forward.

Sure, he plays in one of the best teams on the planet and is presented with ample chances to score each game, but he still has the capability and the consistency to put them away on such a regular basis.

A great finisher.

Robbie Fowler, Retired

Sometimes described by fans as the most natural finisher to ever play for Liverpool, Robbie Fowler was a goalscoring phenomenon from a young age.

In just his second game for the Reds as a teenager, he scored five goals in a single match in the League Cup—a sign of things to come.

Injury and falling out of favour under a new managerial regime led to him leaving the Reds and he left behind the most prolific spell of his career, but still scored over 230 goals in England before embarking on a mini tour of the footballing world before retiring.

Fowler scored 171 times in his first spell at the Reds, including surpassing the 30-goal mark three seasons in a row from 1995 to 1997.

Gabriel Batistuta, Retired

"Batigol" was one of the finest forwards the world has ever seen, and his finishing prowess was his greatest asset.

Unlike some strikers on the list who relied on movement and great finishing alone to score their goals, Gabriel Batistuta had pace, power, aerial ability and everything in between.

His best spell was with Fiorentina in Italy where he scored 207 goals in 332 games, but he also hit 56 in 78 for his country, Argentina. Even in his final year as a professional, playing in Qatar, he scored 25 goals in just 18 matches.

A truly great finisher.

Thierry Henry, New York Red Bulls

Former Arsenal and Barcelona forward Thierry Henry took his time to show himself as one of the world's best forwards, but while with the Gunners in England he hit 174 goals to become the club's greatest ever goalscorer.

His trademark side-footed finish across the goalkeeper proved impossible for a whole host of teams to stop.

Blistering pace and good movement down the inside-left channel frequently created chances for him, but Henry also showed terrific dribbling ability and marvelous technique from all over the pitch.

Romario, Retired

One of the few players who claim to have scored over 1,000 career goals—although not all officially recognized—Romario was a real maverick forward. He was a strong and controversial character, but a great striker with an instinctive ability to score goals.

In Europe, he was hugely prolific with PSV, earning himself a move to Barcelona where he scored 30 times in 33 league games.

Even as a veteran, back in Brazil with the likes of Flamengo and Vasco da Gama, he scored huge numbers of goals.

Romario was a master at the one-on-one situation with a goalkeeper, with his composure and unerring finishing ensuring he almost always came out on top in such an instance.

55 goals in 70 games for Brazil wasn't bad, either.

Ronaldo, Retired

Maybe the best out and out striker the world has ever seen, Ronaldo was a masterful player at his peak.

Pace, strength, dribbling ability, two-footed, good in the air, composure—Ronaldo really did have it all.

His league goalscoring record at every club he played for was simply astonishing, despite the injuries he suffered in his later years.

34 in 34 for Cruzeiro, 42 in 46 for PSV and 34 in 37 for Barcelona marked him out as likely the most lethal striker on the planet at the time.

Ronaldo's finishing was simply sublime, regardless of position in the box, time or space on the ball.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Schalke

We finish with another still-active striker in Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Despite never quite being trusted on a regular basis with the biggest clubs he has played for, Huntelaar's finishing ability can absolutely not be questioned.

His link-up play and movement outside the penalty area has definitely improved later on in his career, but even from a young age with Heerenveen and Ajax he was always prolific because of his ability to finish off any number of chances.

Last season Huntelaar scored 48 goals in 47 appearances for his current team Schalke.

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