Jonathan David again sets Canadian record for goals in a top-5 European league

Jonathan David set a Canadian record and became his club’s joint top scorer in all competitions after scoring Lille OSC’s equaliser against rivals RC Lens in their northern derby. David set the Canadian record for most goals in a top-5 European league when he scored his 16th goal of the 2022-23 season. The Saturday 4 March goal was also his 50th in all competitions for Lille as he equaled Eden Hazard as the club’s top scorer in the 21st century.

David originally set the Canadian goalscoring record back in 2020-21 when he scored 13 goals in his first Ligue 1 season, which was the most ever by a Canadian player in the established top leagues of either England, France, Germany, Italy or Spain. He improved on that mark last year when he scored 15 goals in 2021-22.

David has been the recipient of many individual honours at the professional and international levels. In 2019, he was named to the Best XI in the Concacaf Gold Cup group stage as well as awarded the Top Scorer award and named to the All-Star Team. With Lille OSC, he helped his team lift the Ligue 1 title in 2020-21 and the Trophée des Champions in 2021.

The Canadian forward has made 38 international “A” appearances and has scored 22 goals with 11 assists for Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team since 2018. He was 15 years old when he made his debut in the Canadian youth program in 2015 and he 18 years old when he scored his first international “A” goal for Canada in his debut match on 9 September 2018 against the US Virgin Islands. He set a Canadian record with six goals scored at the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup and helped Canada finish first in the 2021-22 Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Lille OSC has competed in France since 1944 and has won 11 titles since it was formed: four league championships including the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title; six French Cups (Coupe de France); and most recently in 2021 the Trophée des Champions.