Yekini missing as Ronaldo, Weah, Batistuta named in all-time best 'Number 9' strikers in football

- Rashidi Yekini scored several goals for club and country during his remarkable career

- The late Nigerian legend has missed out as GOAL names 20 all-time best ‘Number 9’ strikers

- Brazilian stars Ronaldo, Romario are listed, including Ivorian legend Didier Drogba

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Nigeria’s Rashidi Yekini has been ignored among the all-time best strikers in the latest compilation by top football outlet, GOAL.

The late Nigerian legend who wore jersey number 9 for Nigeria scored over 200 goals during his remarkable career including 37 for the Super Eagles.

Goal scoring is an art, a special talent that can’t just be found in a footballer, but there are strikers who find the back of the net for fun.

The number 9 jersey is more or less ‘sacred’ only reserved for a particular striker who can, in a twinkle of an eye, get the ball in the back of the net.

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Alan Shearer who scored 260 goals in 441 Premier League appearances and struck 30 goals in 63 games for England was mentioned.

Liberian legend George Weah who won the Ballon d’Or in 1995 revolutionized the number 9 shirt in the 1990s bringing greater emphasis on power, speed and skill.

Of course, Ronaldo Nazario de Lima who many consider as one of the greatest strikers of all-time was named in the list.

Better known as 'The Phenomenon' in Brazil, Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best Number 9s ever to grace a football pitch.

Here is the list.

1. Alan Shearer – England

2. Ronaldo – Brazil

3. Robert Lewandowski – Poland

4. Gabriel Batistuta – Argentina

5. George Weah – Liberia

6. Harry Kane – England

7. Marco van Basten - Netherlands

8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Sweden

9. Ruud van Nistelrooy – Netherlands

10. Karim Benzema – France

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11. Gerd Muller – Germany

12. Christian Vieri - Italy

13. Miroslav Klose - Germany

14. Fernando Torres - Spain

15. Ian Rush - Wales

16. Didier Drogba - Ivory Coast

17. Sergio Aguero - Argentina

18. Romario | Brazil

19. Hernan Crespo - Argentina

20. Luis Suarez - Uruguay

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Diego Maradona once had his say on the unending debate between countryman Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over who the better player is.

Football fans across the globe are split between these two legends who have dominated the football space for almost a decade and a half.

Messi and Ronaldo share a staggering 11 Ballon d’Or titles between themselves with the Argentine having six while his Portuguese counterpart has five in his kitty.

Babajide is a digital publishing expert, an avid sports content thinker, researcher and writer. He is a graduate of Guidance and Counselling, having bagged his B.SC (ED) from the Ekiti State University. He can be reached on Twitter @JideOrevba

Source: Legit.ng