The race for the European Golden Shoe - December 2018 watch

Lionel Messi is the current holder of the European Golden Boot
Lionel Messi is the current holder of the European Golden Boot

#19 Sebastien Haller (Eintratch Frankfurt)

League - Germany Bundesliga

League coefficient (x2)

9 goals (18 points)

Sebastien Haller
Sebastien Haller

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)

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez

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.

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