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What’s the story?
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has moved three goals clear of rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the 2018-19 European Golden Shoe.
In case you didn’t know…
Messi and Ronaldo have won the European Golden Shoe award nine times between them, with the Barca star winning it five times, while the Portuguese has four to his name.
Messi won it last year after scoring 34 goals in La Liga, while Ronaldo has also previously won it in 2007-08, 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
Both superstars are once again in the running to be top-scorer in Europe, with the Portuguese currently right behind his Argentine counterpart.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet when Juventus played against Frosinone on Friday, and Messi also reciprocated by scoring the only goal during Barcelona’s narrow 1-0 win over Real Valladolid on Saturday evening.
Also See: Champions League | La Liga Top Scorers | Serie A Top Scorers
The heart of the matter
By scoring against Frosinone, Ronaldo took his Serie A goal tally to 19, making him the top-scorer in the Italian top flight.
However, the Juve star is still behind Messi, who scored his 22nd La Liga goal of the season on Saturday. That means the Argentine has now moved three goals clear of the Portuguese in the race for the European Golden Shoe.
With both players occupying first and second spots, it is fair to say that this could once again turn out to be a two-horse race between the pair.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo and Messi are closely followed by Sergio Aguero, Mohamed Salah and AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek, all of whom have 17 league goals.
What’s next?
Both Messi and Ronaldo will be in action in the midweek as Barcelona and Juventus go up against Lyon and Atletico Madrid respectively in the Champions League.
