Michael Olunga Outscores Lionel Messi In 2023: "We're Proud"

• Striker Michael Olunga, who plies his trade in Qatar for al Duhail had a stellar performance in 2023
• The Harambee Stars captain shared statistics showing that he was ranked among the world's top goal scorers
• Impressively, Olunga, who runs the Michael Olunga Football Academy beat Argentina's Lionel Messi

Harambee Stars skipper Michael Olunga is over the moon after he outscored Argentina's Lionel Messi in 2023.

How did Olunga beat Messi?

Olunga, who plays as a striker for Qatari league club Al-Duhail, scored 35 goals to finish the year 2023 as the world’s 22nd top scorer.

Messi, on the other hand, scored 28 goals to rank as the 52nd top scorer in a list topped by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo, who plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League's Al Nassr, scored 54 goals to take first place ahead of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, who came second and third, respectively, after scoring 52 goals each.

Olunga also beat phenomenal football powerhouses, including the likes of Atlético Madrid's Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Luis Suárez (Grêmio), Napoli's Victor Osimhen, Igor Thiago (Club Brugge) and Lazio's Pedro.

Egypt's national pride and Liverpool ace Mo Salah scored one goal more than Olunga over the period.

The only other African ahead of Olunga is Denis Bouanga of Gabon, who has 40 goals.

"Thanks 2023, No;22. Working Hard for a better 2024. Let's go," Olunga captioned a screengrab of the list.

Following the announcement, fans went all out to congratulate the footballer who, in 2023, helped Al Duhail claim the QNB Qatar Stars League.

He also finished as the league's top scorer with 22 goals.

Sam Vidambu:

"You are ours. We are proud of you bro."

Peter Mutinda Kasuva:

"Hongera sana, this is the spirit."

Diazo Debruyne:

"No EPL striker ahead of you except Haaland and Salah. Congratulations engineer Michael Olunga."

Givan Ojuang:

"Congratulations engineer Michael Olunga for uplifting our flag proud of you bro."

Kaysongs Ke:

"Just one goal behind Mo Salah."

Kelvin Thuranira:

"Putting Kenya on the football map isn't an easy task, congratulations."

Finessekid Ruby:

"Would love to see you in action in the EPL. I strongly believe you will do better."

Michael Olunga enjoys githeri in village

In late 2022, the striker landed in Kenya from Qatar and headed to the village.

He shared a photo enjoying a meal of githeri while seated outside.

Many Kenyans praised him for his humility, drawing comparisons to Senegalese forward Sadio Mane.