Michael Frey – Swiss striker hit more than Messi, Mbappé, Ronaldo and Salah in 2021

43 league goals in 34 Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich – the still reigning FIFA world player and 34-year-old striker Robert Lewandowski scored everything short and sweet over the entire calendar year 2021. If you look at the goal statistics of the top 15 leagues in the world, Lewandowski is not followed by other superstars such as Messi, Ronaldo or Mbappé – before that, there are two strikers related to Switzerland in the league ranking.

For example, Arthur Cabral, who was still FC Basel, is the sixth most successful goal scorer in 2021 with 26 league goals in 38 games for FCB. Immediately behind him is the 27-year-old Swiss Michael Frey in seventh place with 25 goals in 35 games for Royal Antwerp in the highest Belgian league. This puts Frey far ahead of the next Swiss national team striker Haris Seferovic, who has scored 19 goals in 26 games for Benfica Lisbon and is on 32nd place on the list of goalscorers for 2021. The odds of the striker who was born in Münsingen could be even better: Frey has not scored for Antwerp in the last four games – the longest dry spell since January 2021.

It is no longer a secret that Michael Frey has shown himself in outstanding form this year. At the latest after the third game of the first half of the season on August 8, 2021, when he shot Standard Liège alone with five goals, Frey was again an issue with football fans in this country.

A lot has been discussed and written about a nomination for the Swiss national team in recent months. Frey, who has 14 games for the U-21 national team, never made a secret that it is one of his big dreams to play for the A-team. This debut almost came true in the fall. National coach Murat Yakin already had the 27-year-old on the list for the games against Northern Ireland and Lithuania – but shortly before the squad was announced on October 1, Yakin backed down and instead nominated the weaker Cedric Itten and Albian Ajeti. “Itten and Ajeti already have a connection to the current squad,” said Yakin at the time as a reason. There were even rumors from the national team that top performers in the Swiss national team had spoken out against Frey’s nomination. In the past, the 27-year-old was sometimes offended by coaches and teammates with his direct and emotional nature.

Will Frey still be able to shoot his way into the national team for the World Cup in Qatar with his dream quota? Rather unlikely. But maybe the Swiss striker will soon be found in the top five league’s list of goalscorers – because his goal rate has certainly not gone unnoticed, even at larger clubs.