'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The European Golden Shoe, also known as the European Golden Boot, conceptualized in 1968, is awarded to the top goal-scorer in all European football leagues in a season.
Since 1997, the UEFA co-efficient of the league in which a player plays is also taken into account by using it as a multiplier to the player's goal tally for the season.
In other words, a player from one of the top leagues in Europe gets a higher standing in the Golden Shoe rankings (thanks to the higher co-efficient of the league in which he plays) than someone scoring the same number of goals but in a 'lesser' league.
During the course of the award's history, several prominent and big-name players have won the coveted award. Lionel Messi (6) holds the most Golden Shoe awards followed by Cristiano Ronaldo (4). Last season, Ciro Immobile of Lazio (36 goals) won the Golden Show award.
Top 5 players in the 2020-21 Golden Shoe Standings (Top-5 leagues only)
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 season in Europe's top-5 leagues started belatedly. Nevertheless, the Golden Shoe standings of the season already feature a bevy of players from these five leagues.
On that note, let us have a look at the top five top-5 league players in the 2020-21 Golden Shoe Standings in ascending order.
#T5 Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) - 9 goals
Son Heung-Min has burst off the blocks this season, amassing nine goals in as many games in the 2020-21 Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, while striking up a devastating partnership up front with Harry Kane.
The 28-year-old winger's best return in a Premier League season is 14 goals, which he scored in 2016-17, a tally he could surpass by Christmas this year if he continues scoring at the same rate.
Son Heung-Min notched up his first career quadruple in the Premier League leaders' 5-2 win at Southampton on Matchday 2 to open his account for the season. The South Korean international has since scored five more in his next seven games to surge up the Golden Shoe Standings for the season.
#T5 Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - 9 goals
The stock of French starlet Kylian Mbappe continues to be on the rise, as the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has already conjured two goal-contributions per match in Ligue 1 after seven games (9 goals and 5 assists) this season.
Mbappe may not have opened his account in the Champions League this season, but in Ligue 1, which is often derided as the Farmer's League, the 21-year-old has amassed nine goals, a tally that includes three braces.
The three-time Ligue 1 player of the year, the first one to do so in three consecutive years, could be on course to better his 33-goal tally garnered in 2018-19 and possibly win his first Golden Shoe award if he continues his hot streak for the rest of the season.
#T2 Dominik Calvert-Lewin (Everton) - 10 goals
English striker Dominik Calvert-Lewin has outshone the likes of Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane, and Mohamed Salah to top the goal-scoring charts in the 2020-21 Premier League.
The 23-year-old Englishman has scored in all but two leagues this season as Everton capitalized on his exploits to emerge as the surprise Premier League leaders after four matchdays, before slightly falling off the pace.
To put his numbers into perspective, Calvert-Lewin scored only 24 times in 114 Premier League games across four previous seasons. If he can keep up his blistering rate of scoring, Calvert-Lewin could become the first Premier League player in seven years to win the Golden Shoe.
#T2 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - 10 goals
Norwegian striker Erling Braut Haaland has taken the football world by storm since he marked his Champions League debut for Salzburg with a hat-trick last season.
Now at Borussia Dortmund, the 20-year-old has scored at better than a goal per game in all competitions (33 goals in 31 games), a tally that includes ten goals in this season's Bundesliga.
Remarkably, Haaland — who started his 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign with a hat-trick against Augsburg — recently remarked that he has massive room for improvement and needs to be more clinical in front of goal.
"I still need to become a much better footballer; that’s what drives me on every day. My finishing needs to improve; I need to be more clinical, more ruthless. I also need to get better in linking up with my teammates. I know that," he said.
European defenses have been suitably warned, as Erling Braut Haaland has emerged as one of the top contenders for the coveted Golden Shoe award this season.
#T2 Zlatan Ibrahimovich (AC Milan) - 10 goals
Like a bottle of good wine, Zlatan Ibrahimovich has only got better with age. Despite turning 39 earlier this year, the evergreen Swede has amassed ten goals in the Serie A this season to propel AC Milan to the league summit.
Remarkably, Ibrahimovich has conjured that tally despite missing two games because of contracting COVID-19.
The much-traveled Swede has scored in each of his six Serie A matches this season, which includes braces in as many as four games, with his latest two-goal haul inspiring league leaders AC Milan to their first win at Napoli in a decade.
If Ibrahimovich continues his good run for the rest of the season, the Swede could become the oldest Golden Shoe winner in history, and Milan could end Juventus' nine-year Serie A stranglehold.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - 11 goals
Robert Lewandowski is arguably the hottest striker on the planet at the moment. After scoring a staggering 55 times in all competitions to inspire Bayern Munich to their second continental treble last season, the prolific Pole has started the 2020-21 campaign from where he left off.
He may have scored 'only' thrice in four Champions League games this season but has already plundered 11 goals in six Bundesliga games - a tally that includes two hat-tricks - before drawing a rare blank against Werder Bremen last weekend.
After scoring 34 Bundesliga goals last season to narrowly miss out on the Golden Shoe award, the prolific Pole has launched another bid for the elusive award this season.
Incidentally, Lewandowski is also on course to break Gerd Muller's long-standing record of most goals in a season (40) if he continues his blistering pace of scoring for the rest of the campaign.
