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Luis Suarez pips Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gonzalo Higuain to land scorer award for third time

Barcelona ace did it with Ajax and Liverpool...latest gong means he's come up trumps in three different countries

LUIS SUAREZ is Europe's top league goal scorer in a calendar year for the third time.

The Barcelona hitman fired 40 goals, two more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic and four more than Gonzalo Higuain.

Luis Suarez...top of the charts with 20 goals in 2016
1
Luis Suarez...top of the charts with 20 goals in 2016Credit: Getty Images

The cut-off point for the International Federation of Football History and Statistics award is when teams on the Continent stop for their winter break. It means even if Zlatan scores three on Saturday for Man United against Middlesbrough, taking his tally to 41, his goals won't count in the contest.

Suarez previously topped the annual scoring chart in 2010 with Ajax and again in  2014 with Liverpool.

No one else has managed to achieve the feat three times.

Cristiano Ronaldo (2014 and 2015), Lionel Messi (2012 and 2013) and Mario Jardel (1999 and 2000) are each two-time winners.

Suarez also holds the record for winning the title three times with three different clubs in three different countries.
His total of 40 goals with the FC Barcelona was fantastic in the season and was enough to beat the great totals from Ibrahimovic, Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ballon d’Or 2016 winner.

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Suarez, meanwhile, has used Spain’s winter break to record a summer hit in his native Uruguay.

The striker teamed up with Uruguayan band Marama to star in the video of their latest hit “Pasarla Bien” or “Having Fun”.

After recording the video, Suarez said the experience had brought him one step closer to achieving a lifelong dream.He commented: "If I hadn't been a footballer, I would have been a singer."

WHO SCORED THE MOST LEAGUE GOALS IN 2016

1 Luis SUAREZ (Barcelona)                                        40 goals

2 Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Paris SG)                                  38

3 Gonzalo HIGUAIN (Napoli)                                   36

4 Cristiano RONALDO (Real Madrid )                       35

5 JONAS (Benfica)                                                       32

6 Eran ZAHAVI (Maccabi Tel Aviv)                                  31

7 Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Bayern Munich)        30

8 Vincent JANSSEN (AZ Alkmaar)                                  27

Nemanja NIKOLIC ( Legia Varsovie )                         27

10 – Lionel MESSI (FC Barcelona)                                     26

Islam SLIMANI ( Sporting Portugal)                          26

Luuk DE JONG (PSV Eindhoven)                               26

13 –Hary Kane (Tottenham)    25

16 NEYMAR Barcelona)                                             24

Jamie VARDY (FC Leicester City)                                        24

Sergio AGUERO (Manchester City FC)                              24

Karim BENZEMA (Real Madrid CF)                                   24

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