Salah, Kane or Lewandowski – Who will win the race for the European golden boot?

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Just six points between top four 

©TM/IMAGO

Goalscorers often take all the plaudits in football and sometimes rightly so. The feeling of scoring a goal is a moment to savour for players, teams and fans – even if it has been somewhat watered down by the introduction of VAR. For strikers, winning a golden boot is a much sought-after accolade, and one that is a great indication of them being at the top level in their field. Winning that award in any of the major leagues is an incredible achievement, but there is one goalscoring accolade in club football that tops them all – the European Golden Boot.

Harry Kane won the prestigious trophy last season scoring 36 goals and therefore accumulating 72 points. All goals scored in Europe’s top-five leagues (Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga & Ligue 1) are multiplied by 2 as those divisions have a co-efficient of two. Goals in the leagues ranked between sixth and 22nd are multiplied by 1.5, whilst in all leagues below that they are multiplied by just 1. Incredibly in the 2011/12 season, the great Lionel Messi managed to accrue 100 points, scoring 50 league goals. In total, the Argentine won the European Golden Boot six times. As we approach the 2024/25 campaign’s run-in, this season looks as though it will be an extraordinary race for the European Golden Boot, with many prolific goalscorers all still in with a chance.

Currently leading the way with 46 points is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Despite being 32 years of age, the Egyptian king is showing no signs of slowing down, and has scored 23 Premier League goals already this season. Just four behind behind Salah in second is Bayern Munich striker Kane – the Englishman has 21 Bundesliga goals, converting to 42 points. Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski and Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui currently share third spot – both on 40 points. Erling Haaland looks as though he could miss out on the Premier League golden boot for the first time since joining Manchester City in 2022, but still has time to turn things around, and remains fifth in the race for the European Golden boot, with 38 points. Don’t put it past the Norwegian to score a late flurry of goals and rise up the list.

Another Man City player is in joint-sixth position, with Omar Marmoush on 36 points. Although, 30 of those points came from the goals he scored with Frankfurt in the Bundesliga before his January move to the Premier League. He is level with Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood, whom also has 36 points. Both Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak share eighth place with 34 points. Rounding off the top 10 is Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres. The first player on the list from a club outside the top-five leagues, the Swede has scored 22 league goals which gets multiplied by a 1.5 co-efficient to take his current points to 33.