Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo tended to steal the headlines and demolish yet more records and defences this year, but both will finish behind another gluttonous goalscorer at the top of the club and country total on the final day of 2019.
As Spurs discovered to their cost on the stroke of half-time in what would become a humiliating 7-2 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Champions League in October, Robert Lewandowski needs only the slightest sight of goal to inflict precise pain.
Spurs had been ahead and level before Lewandowski turned and struck with the most lethal of finishes on a grim night for Mauricio Pochettino that hastened the manager's departure and underlined the striker's capacity for brilliance.
With 54 goals in 58 games for Bayern and Poland, Lewandowski has comfortably the most goals and the highest ratio of strikes to appearances this calendar year.
He has been helped by Lionel Messi's injury travails this season, but his more talked-about rival missed the chance to overtake him during December, ending on 50 goals from the same number of games as Lewy.
The youngest player on the list could justifiably be expected to dominate the ranks for the next ten years.
Kylian Mbappe turned 21 on December 20 and celebrated by scoring twice for Paris Saint Germain the following day to end on 31 goals in 29 Ligue 1 matches in 2019.
There is a chance Mbappe will be overtaken by Raheem Sterling should the Manchester City striker find the festive fixtures fruitful. Sterling's 41 goals from 61 games put him three behind Mbappe going into City's final matches of the year, when they visit Wolves on December 27 and host Sheffield United on December 29.
Even if he does, Mbappe might claim bragging rights given that he has taken notably fewer games – 49 – to reach 44 goals.
Ronaldo has hit 39 goals in 49 matches and has the distinction of being the only leading scorer to have picked up international silverware this year.
The Juventus goal machine captained Portugal to glory in the inaugural Nations League, sending them on their way on home soil with a hat-trick in the semi-final against Switzerland on June 5, including two goals in the final three minutes of normal time.
Ominously for Portugal's foes at Euro 2020, Ronaldo has had his most prolific year at international level, scoring 14 times and closing in on the record for a player of 109 national goals, set by Iran's Ali Daei.
He scored four in Lithuania in a Euro Qualifier in September, including a 15-minute second-half hat-trick.
Ronaldo reached 99 goals for his country without being fully fit and can become the second male player ever to reach 100 international goals when Portugal begin their preparations for the tournament in March.