Some of the greatest strikers of all-time have graced the Premier League over the years.
Indeed, the likes of Thierry Henry, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and Wayne Rooney are all-time greats, while Michael Owen was even a Ballon d’Or winner at one point.
Speaking to Goal, Riccardo Calafiori has been comparing some greats of the game, and he’s made an interesting comparison between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a former Liverpool striker.
Ibrahimovic is a legend of the game, but according to Calafiori, Liverpool once had a striker who was even better.
Indeed, Calafiori was asked to pick between Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he gave an interesting answer here.
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Riccardo Calafiori picks Luis Suarez over Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Calafiori was asked to pick between the two legendary strikers.
Andrea Pirlo reckons Zlatan was better than Suarez, but Calafiori sees this differently.
Suarez is an all-time great striker, and there are a lot of similarities between these two players’ career paths.
Both men initially made their names in Europe with Ajax, both have played for Barcelona, while each striker has played for one of the biggest clubs in England as well.
It’s a tough call between these two, but Calafiori reckons Suarez just about has the edge here.
Luis Suarez compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Calafiori picked Suarez over Ibrahimovic, and while that is a controversial call in some ways, the stats make for interesting reading here.
These two strikers are so closely matched in so many ways, but, based on peak performance, Suarez just about edges it here.
Liverpool signed Suarez for £23m back in 2011 in what has to be considered one of the Premier League’s great bargains.
Luis Suarez Zlatan Ibrahimovic
854 Club games 637
519 Club goals 405
143 International games 121
69 International goals 62
73 Champions League games 124
27 Champions League goals 48
7 League titles 11*
2 European Golden Boots 0
1 Champions League wins 0
40 Most goals in a league season 38
*Ibrahimovic won 13 league titles, but two of Juventus’ titles were stripped
Ibrahimovic has won more league titles than Suarez, but Suarez is a Champions League winner.
That said, Ibrahimovic does have a better goal record than Suarez in the Champions League, which is interesting considering Ibrahimovic never won Europe’s biggest prize.
Both players are generational talents, and while Calafiori prefers Suarez, any fan would be well within their rights to make the case for Ibrahimovic being the superior striker.