The FIFA Club World Cup has been held annually since its relaunch in 2005, bringing together the champions from each of the six continental football confederations—AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA—alongside a club from the host nation.

The tournament originally debuted in 2000 but was suspended from 2001 to 2004 due to the collapse of FIFA’s marketing partner. It returned in 2005 and quickly became a global stage for club supremacy.

Starting in 2025, the tournament has undergone a major transformation. Now held every four years, it features 32 teams, mirroring the structure of the men’s FIFA World Cup.

The ongoing 2025 edition in the United States marks the beginning of this expanded format.

Over the years, the Club World Cup has hosted some of football’s biggest stars, many of whom have made their mark as top scorers.

Club World Cup: Golden Boot Winners Through the Years

1. 2000: Nicolas Anelka (Real Madrid) and Romario (Vasco da Gama) each scored 3 goals.
2. 2005: Four players shared the top scorer award with 2 goals—Amoroso (São Paulo), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Mohammed Noor (Al Ittihad), and Alvaro Saborio (Saprissa).
3. 2006–2008: Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly), Washington (Urawa Red Diamonds), and Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) stood out with 3 goals each.
4. 2009: Denilson (Pohang Steelers) led with 4 goals.
5. 2010: Mauricio Molina (Seongnam) scored 3 goals.
6. 2011: Adriano and Lionel Messi both netted 2 goals.
7. 2012: Cesar Delgado (Monterrey) and Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) each scored 3 goals.
8. 2013: Another four-way tie with 2 goals apiece—Delgado again, Dario Conca (Guangzhou Evergrande), Ronaldinho (Atlético Mineiro), and Mouhcine Iajour (Raja Casablanca).
9. 2014: Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos (both Real Madrid), and Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul) all scored twice.
10. 2015: Luis Suárez set the record for most goals in a single edition, scoring 5 for Barcelona.
11. 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo netted 4 goals.
12. 2017: Ronaldo shared the top spot again with 2 goals, alongside Mauricio Antonio (Urawa Reds) and Romarinho (Al Jazira).
13. 2018: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) and Rafael Santos Borré (River Plate) scored 3 goals.
14. 2019: Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd) and Hamdou Elhouni (Espérance) also scored 3 goals.
15. 2020: André-Pierre Gignac (Tigres) netted 3 goals.
16. 2021: Four players shared the award with 2 goals—Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea), Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Abdoulaye Diaby (Al Jazira), and Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras).
17. 2023: Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad), and Ali Maaloul (Al Ahly) each scored 2 goals.

All-Time Leading Scorers

1. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record with 7 goals in 8 appearances.
2. Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema follow closely with 6 goals each.
3. Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Cesar Delgado have 5 goals apiece.
4. Messi and Suárez each added a goal in the 2025 group stage, raising their totals to 6.

Other notable scorers with four goals include Pedro, Denilson, Salem Al-Dawsari, Tsukasa Shiotani, Mohamed Aboutrika, and Hussein El Shahat.

As the 2025 edition continues, new names may soon join the ranks of the tournament’s top performers—making Club World Cup history in the United States. (Vanguard)