The race for the European Golden Shoe

The European Golden Shoe is an award given out to the top scorer in European leagues since 1967/1968. The award is handed out by European Sports media.

Coefficients are given out to leagues based on their UEFA ranking. Hence, fewer goals scored in a tougher league are ranked higher than more goals in a weaker league.

The goals are multiplied by a factor of 2 in the leagues ranked one to five (La liga - Ligue One), while leagues ranked six to twenty one (Russian Premier League - Belarus Vyseyshaya) are multiplied by a factor of 1.5 and leagues ranked twenty two and below are multiplied by one.

The award has been won by some of the most legendary players of the past such as Eusebio, Gerd Muller and Marco Van Basten, as well as modern icons like Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who is also the current holder of the award, after winning it for a record fifth time at the end of the just concluded season.

As we approach the midpoint of the European football season, we present the top ten contenders for the European Golden Shoe.

Disclaimer - All stats correct as at December 6, 2018

#21 Luuk de Jong ( PSV Eindhoven )

League - Netherlands Eredivisie

League coefficient ( x1.5 )

12 goals (18 points)

Luuk de Jong in action for PSV Eindhoven

The 28-year-old has been nothing short of a striking revelation since arriving the Phillips Stadium in 2014, scoring 78 goals in 138 Eredivisie appearances.

So far this season, he has scored 16 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions, with 12 of those coming in just 13 Dutch league matches to help PSV sit top of the Eredivisie, with their only dropped points so far this season coming over the weekend when they lost to Feyenoord.

If de Jong continues at this rate, then he would undoubtedly be in with a shout for the European Golden Boot come the end of the season (although he has a distinct disadvantage because of his league's coefficient).

#20 Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)

League - Germany Bundesliga

League coefficient (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

Easily one of the best attacking midfielders in the world on his day, Marco Reus can hold his own with the most creative players on the globe, but he has been unlucky with a career blighted by injuries.

When fully fit however, few can match the 29-year-old's playmaking abilities, and Dortmund have benefited immensely from having him within their ranks, and at no time has this been more evident than this season.

The German international has been at the heart of the enthralling football played by BVB this season under Lucien Favre, captaining the side and providing inspiration from the middle of the park to help Dortmund sit nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga standings.

He has brought his creative side to the fore, contributing four assists to the Dortmund cause, but perhaps even more importantly, he has scored a total of nine goals from just 13 Bundesliga matches, and was on target in the 3-2 Die Klasiker victory over Bayern Munich a fortnight ago.

#19 Sebastien Haller (Eintratch Frankfurt)

League - Germany Bundesliga

League coefficient (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

The 24-year-old Haller has been an instrumental part of Frankfurt's successes, playing a role as the club won the DFB Pokal in his debut campaign with the club last season.

So far this season, he has scored nine goals in 13 Bundesliga matches (which is the exact amount he scored in 31 matches last term), while also contributing a whopping 7 assists to help Frankfurt sit 5th on the standings just a point behind giants Bayern Munich.

He has represented France across all youth levels but is yet to make his senior bow, but at this rate, it would be hard to imagine Didier Deschamps overlooking him for too long.

#18 Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

League - Spain La Liga

League coefficient (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

The Uruguayan international is so adept at scoring goals throughout his career that he has arguably been the standout striker in the world over the last decade.

A serial winner at both club and international level, the 31-year-old built his legacy as a premier striker during stints with Ajax and Liverpool, but it is wih Barcelona where he exploded to another level, helping the Balugrana to a treble in his debut season with the club.

Suarez is also no stranger to finishing as top scorer, having won the Golden Boot in the Dutch League, La Liga and Premier League (the only man in history to have achieved such feat), while he is also a two-time winner of the European Golden shooe (the only man in the last decade to beat the eternal duo of Mess and Ronaldo to the award).

He has faced a lot of criticism in recent seasons for his tendency to start seasons slowly and laborious play, but players of the caliber of Luis Suarez have seen it all, and he took the ciriticisms square on the chin, bouncing back in the only way he knows how - scoring goals and silencing the critics.

Despite his slow start, Suarez has bounced back in recent weeks, and was one of the players who stepped up and helped Barcelona cope with Messi's injury enforced absence.

He has scored nine goals in 13 La Liga matches this season, while also contributing four assists to help Barca consolidate their spot atop the standings.

#17 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

League - Spain La Liga

League coefficient (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

Anyone anywhere in the world who does not instantly recognize Lionel Messi has probably been living under a Rock for the last 15 years or had his/her memory wiped out - the Argentine's impact has been that far reaching.

Ever since he burst onto the scene as a funny looking but mesmerizing talented 18-year-old at the 2005 U20 World Cup hosted in the Netherlands, it has all been an upward trajectory for Lionel Messi in a way arguably not ever seen or maybe again.

Messi's records are so numerous that repeating them here would be an exercise in futility, while his rivalry with Ronaldo has been the stuff of myths and legends, and if you did not witness it first hand, it would be tempting to discard it as an old wives tale.

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest player of all time, but beyond that, he is unarguably the greatest playmaker of his generation (and possibly in history), seeing spaces that no one else sees, and having the wherewithal to exploit them with pin-point dead accurate passes.

Beyond his playmaking abilities, Lionel Messi is also a goalscorer of the highest proportions, and this is perhaps best evidenced by the fact that he has won European Golden Boot a record breaking five times.

Having been snubbed off the individual awards for the last couple of seasons (and not even making a podium finish this year), Lionel Messi has begun the season like a house on fire. He had a shoulder injury earlier in the campaign which halted his progress, but he returned earlier than expected and is almsot on a one-man mission to restore his pride of place as the best player in the world.

In just 12 La Liga matches, Messi has scored nine goals, also adding seven assists to help Barcelona sit top of the La Liga standing, and you can bet that he is odds on favorite to be among the major contenders for his record breaking sixth European Golden Boot once the season comes to an end.

#16 Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

League - Serie A

League coefficient - (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

Ciro Immobile has been one of the most consistent performers in Serie A over the last three years, and got reward for his efforts when he finished as the joint-top scorer (alongside Mauro Icardi) with 28 goals last season.

His performances since his arrival in Lazio in 2016 have been nothing short of exceptional, as he has risen to almost iconic status at the Stadio Olimpico, endearing himself to the hearts of the Biancocelesti faithful.

Immobile currently has nine goals and one assist from 14 Serie A matches thus far this season to help the Rome based club lie fifth on the standings as they chase down a Champions League spot which they narrowly missed last season.

#15 Harry Kane (Tottenham)

League - England Premier League

League coefficient - (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

Arguably the most lethal striker in Europe over the last three seasons, Harry Kane was the EPL Golden Boot winner in consecutive seasons in 2016 and 2017, but for an unfortunate injury last season might have made it three on the trot.

He endured a couple of loan spells early on in his career, but became established in the Spurs lineup in 2014 following the struggles of big money flop Roberto Soldado, and since then the 25-year-old has not looked back.

Incredibly, he outscored both Ronaldo and Messi in the calendar year of 2017, and has broken a plethora of goalscoring records in just a few years of playing top-flight football.

Harry Kane is a goalscorer of the highest proportions and he established his pedigree at the World Cup where he was named the Golden Boot winner, and with him in their ranks, Spurs can be confident of achieving their season's objectives.

#14 Junior Moraes (Shaktar Donetsk)

League - Ukraine Premier League

League coefficient (x1.5)

11 goals (19.5 points)

Moraes (R) in action for Shakhtar Donetsk in the UCL

The 31-year-old Brazilian has been something of a journeyman throughout his career, putting in shifts in leagues as diverse as Brazil, Romania, Bulgaria and China.

He signed for Shaktar Donetsk at the start of the current season having run down his contract with eternal rivals Dynamo Kyiv and he has been nothing short of brilliant for The Miners.

Moraes has scored 11 goals from 13 matches to help Shaktar sit top of the UPL standings, holding a healthy seven point gap on Dynamo Kyiv.

#13 Edinson Cavani (PSG)

League - France Ligue 1

League coefficient (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Long in the shadow of Zlatan Ibrahimovic ever since his 2013 arrival from Napoili, the Uruguayan international was forced to play out wide to accomadate the more established Zlatan for much of his early PSG career.

The Swedish record goalscorer's departure in 2016 offered Cavani the chance to be the main striker of the team, and he has flourished since then in his more preferred central role.

In each of the first two season following Ibrahimovic's departure, Cavani won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot, scoring 35 goals and 28 goals respectively.

He has however faced criticism for his non-performance in the Champions League knockout rounds (which is where PSG have their sights set on), and the arrivals of Neymar and Mbappe might have robbed him off his first-team status to some degree, but he is still delivering the goods.

So far this season, he has scored ten goals in his Ligue 1 matches, helping PSG set a new French record of winning their first twelve matches consecutively, in what is likely to be a procession to an eighth consecutive French league title.

#12 Nicolas Pepe (Lille)

League - France Ligue 1

League coefficient - (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Not much was known about Nicolas Pepe in seasons gone by (his wikipedia page is rather sparse), but this season, he has been breathtaking to say the least, and is one of the most sought after players in Europe, with most of the major clubs competing with each other to get his signature.

So far this campaign, the 23-year-old Ivorien international has scored 10 goals and registers five assists in 16 Ligue 1 matches, and reports have emanated that Arsenal have identified him as a priority signing ahead of next campaign, and if he is to keep up this from, it is hard to see Lille holding on to him for much longer.

#11 Luka Jovic (Frankfurt)

League - Germany Bundesliga

League coefficient - (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

The 20-year-old Serbian international is currently on loan in the Bundesliga from Benfica, but he has taken to the Commerz-bank arena like a fish to water.

He had a fairly impressive debut campaign with Frankfurt, scoring eight league goals in 22 Bundesliga appearances, while also appearaing five times in the triumphant DFB Pokal run in 2018 scoring the decisive goal in the semi-final win over Schalke. His performances saw him rewarded with a spot on the Plane to the World Cup in Russia with Serbia.

Thus far this season, he has taken his goalscoring exploits a notch higher, and in October became the youngest ever player in Bundesliga history to score five goals in a single matchj when he did so in the 7-1 victory over Dusseldorf.

Jovic currently has 10 Bundesliga goals this term to help his club to fifth place on the standings, while he has also contributed five goals in as many matches in the Europa League to help his side sit top of their group having impressively won all their matches thus far.

At this rate, it is hard to imagine Frankfurt not taking up their option of making his move permanent at the end of the season.

#10 Paco Alcacer (Borussia Dortmund)

League - Germany Bundesliga

League coefficient - (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Unarguably one of the best loan signings of the season. Alcacer has been nothing short of spectacular since his loan transfer from Barcelona, and having struggled to nail down a regular spot at Camp Nou for two seasons, the 25-year-old has become the darling of the Wesfallenstadion.

He has scored 10 league goals in just 281 minutes played (at an astonishing ratio of 28 minutes/goal) to keep Dortmund top of the standings, and it came as no surprise when the club activated its option of making the two-year loan deal permanent barely four months into the contract.

#9 Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)

League - Spain La Liga

League coefficient - (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Looking nothing like the player who struggled at Liverpool, Iago Aspas has become reborn since returning to the Balaidos fotr Celta Vigo.

He has been constantly in among the goals since his return to La Liga (albeit some way off behind Ronaldo and Messi), and Celta have benefited immensely from his productivity.

His impressive form for La Celeste saw him rewarded with a debut international capo for Spain in 2016, and since then he has become established in La Furia Roja, making their 23-man squad to the World Cup in Russia.

Aspas scored 22 goals in 34 La Liga matches last season to help Celta book a Europa spot, but he seems intent to take it a notch higher this term, having netted ten times in just 14 matches.

#8 Kryzytof Piatek (Genoa)

League - Italy Serie A

League coefficient (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Perhaps the biggest revelation of the season in all of Europe. Piatek is a 23-year-old Polish international, who had spent all of his previous professional career in the Polish leagues.

After scoring 21 goals during the 2017/2018 Estraklassa in Poland which saw him finish as the third highest goalscorer in the Polish top division, Genoa paid €4 million for his services to Cracovia at the start of June.

Owing to his relatively obscure past, not much was expected from Piatek on his arrival in Serie A, but he has absolutely shocked everyone with his performances thus far, and currently sits joint-top the Serie A scorers chart with ten goals, higher than established superstars such as Mauro Icardi, Eden Dzeko and Ciro Immobile.

Earlier this season, he became the first man since the legendary Gabriel Batistuta to score in each of his first seven Serie A matches, and he is surely looking like a bargain for the price he was bought.

Piatek has scored almost half of Genoa's goals in Serie A this season, and if the club is to challenge for a top half finish, Piatek's goals would be crucial to that.

#7 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)

League - England Premier League

League coefficient (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Establishing himself as an elite striker with his performances for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, the Gabonese international finished as the Bundesliga top scorer in 2017 with 31 goals from 32 matches ahead of Robert Lewandowski.

He fell out with the BVB board, and was agitating for a move away from Germany, literally begging for one of Europe's big sides to come and take him away.

It therefore came as a surprise when none of the established European clubs sought his services, especially seeing as most of them including Chelsea and Manchester United had problems in the striking department.

As it happened, Arsene Wenger was the one with the foresight to bring the 29-year-old to the EPL, splashing a club record fee to sign him on transfer deadline day in January 2018.

To say that Auba has repaid the investment would be a massive understatement, as he has scored 20 goals in just 27 EPL matches.

This season, Aubameyang has been exquisite, sitting top of the Premier League scorers chart with 10 goals (which is no mean feat when you consider the quality of attackers on display in the league). And his goals are a crucial factor in the club's 19-match unbeaten run.

#6 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

League - Italy Serie A

League coefficient (x2)

10 goals (20 points)

Are there still any words in the dictionary to describe this man? Attempting to convey Ronaldo's greatness in words would be an exercise in futility for any mere mortal, and literary giants such as Shakespeare and Charles Dickens would have loved to be alive in this time to pen odes in celebration of this extra-terrestrial.

Cristiano Ronaldo has broken, set and reset records throughout his career, and his personal milestones (alongside Messi) are so great that there is a website dedicated to just the stats of the pair.

He is the all-time record goalscorer for Real Madrid, as well as the Portuguese national team and the Champions League, as he seems to have mastered the art of goalscoring, making it look so easy (maybe Morata and Lukaku could look to him for some pointers).

His numerous Golden Boots serve as illustration of his prowess in front of goal, and even at the grabd 'old' age of 33 he still seems to be waxing strong.

When Ronaldo was transferred to Juventus for a club and league record fee in the summer, many scoffed at the Old Lady for expending such amount on a player many saw to be past his prime, and Ronaldo's early season struggles seemes to lay credence to their spurious claims.

However, keen followers of Ronaldo's career know that impossible as a word does not exist in his dictionary, and he uses criticism as a springboard to silence his critics.

He has rediscovered his scoring boots, and currently sits joint-top of the Serie A scorers charts with 10 goals from 14 matches, and while he may have lost out on the individual awards to Luka Modric this year, his personal battle with Lionel Messi, and as such he would be keen to add a fifth European Golden Shoe to his burgeoning collection to match the Argentine's haul (and despite turning 34 next February, don't count against him achieving that).

#5 Neymar (PSG)

League - France Ligue 1

League coefficient (x2)

11 goals (22 points)

Regularly touted as the next global superstar after Messi and Ronaldo exit the scene, Neymar completed a shock record breaking transfer to PSG in the summer of 2017 to facilitate his claim to Ballon d'Or glory, as being in Barcelona meant he would always be in Messi's shadow.

Things however did not go to plan in his debut season in France, as Neymar could only watch on helplessly as the moneybags crashed out of the round of 16 in the UCL to Real Madrid in embarrassing fashion.

He also faced criticisms of his unprofessionalism, with bustups with teammates, as well as abuse of his star status not rubbing off well with a lot of fans.

Despite the intense prayers of over 200 million football crazy Brazilians for Neymar to become fit in time for the World Cup, he once more disappointed, and received much stick for his play-acting as Brazil got eliminated by Belgium at the quarter-final stage.

PSG is so dominant in the French league that they are expected to win it every season without breaking a sweat, and this is reflective in that three of their forwards find themselves near the summit of the scorers chart.

So far this season, Neymar has scored 11 goals in 12 matches while laying on a further 5 assists as PSG look all but certain to claim the French league for the seventh time in the last eight years.

#4 Florian Thauvin (Marseille)

League - France Ligue 1

League coeffcient (x2)

11 goals (22 points)

The World Cup winner has been a steady performer for Marseille in the last three seasons, and was one of the most consistent players in their Europa League final run last season with his displays on the wings earning him plaudits.

So far this season, he has scored 11 Ligue 1 goals and laid on two assists in 15 matches, and his performances have caught the eye across Europe, leading to interest from clubs such as Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

#3 Christhian Stuani (Girona)

League - Spain La Liga

League coefficient (x2)

11 goals (22 points)

Having wandered across the divisions in Spain for the best part of the last decade, Stuani made a leap to England, joining then Championship side Middlesbrough and helping the club gain promotion in his debut season.

Their return to the top flight was however shortlived, and Boro soon found themselves back in the second tier after just one season.

Stuani was on the move again, this time returning to Spain to join up newly promoted Girona. The Catalans were competing in their first ever La Liga camapign, but played nothing like it, gaining notable scalps in their first season, in what was an eventual 11th place finish.

A lot of their notable achievements was down to Stuani's contributions in front of goal as the Uruguayan scored 21 goals in 33 matches to finish fourth on the scorers chart behind superstars and legends Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez.

Anyone who thought his performance was a fluke has gotten a rude shock, as the 32-year-old has continued from where he left off, and currently tops La Liga's scorers charts with 11 goals from 12 matches.

#2 Emiliano Sala (Nantes)

League - France Ligue 1

League coefficient (x2)

12 goals (24 points)

The Argentine has been in fine form for Nantes ever since his 2015 transfer from Girondins Bordeaux.

He has scored 42 league goals for the club in 116 Ligue 1 matches, and in October 2018 became the first Nantes player to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick since Mamoddou Diallo in February 2006.

So far this camapign, Sala has scored 12 goals and laid on two assists in 15 Ligue 1 matches, and the 28-year-old finds himself joint-top of the scorers chart in France.

#1 Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

League - France Ligue 1

League coefficient (x2)

12 goals (24 points)

What a year it has been for Kylian Mbappe.

The prodigiously talented Frenchman burst onto world consciousness with his performances for Monaco in thier fairytale 2016/2017 season where they won the Ligue 1 title ahead of French moneybags PSG as welll as made it to the semi-final of the UCL.

Mbappe broke a number of Champions League records in that magical run, and his performances sealed him a mega move to PSG which made him the second most expensive player of all-time (behind teammate Neymar), as well as the most expensive teenager in the history of football.

Since then, Mbappe's career rise can only be described as the stuff of legend. He has been named the Golden Boy, become a World Cup winner, he was also the first teenageer to score in a World Cup final since Pele almost exactly sixty years ago, has been nominated for the Ballon d'Or, won the inaugural Trophee de Kopa, and been established as a bonafide global star - all before he turns 21.

Mbappe has achieved more than most people achieve in three generations in just three years of being a professional footballer, and with him currently leading the race for the European Golden Boot, winning it would only serve as a side bar in what is destined to be an illustrious career.

Kylian Mbappe is the next big thing in football, and it is safe to say that he has the world at his feet (literally).

Edited by Emeka Monyei

The race for the European Golden Shoe - December 2018 watch