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The European Golden Shoe or the European Golden Boot is awarded to the player who scores the most number of goals in any of the European top division leagues. Ciro Immobile won the award in 2020 while Lionel Messi won three Golden Shoes on the trot before that.
This time around, one of the candidates has a clear lead over the rest of the competition. The award is granted based on points earned for goals scored over the course of a season. The weightage of points per goal is in favour of Europe's top five leagues.
While a player in Europe's top-five leagues (as per UEFA's rankings) gets two points per goal, players in leagues ranked between 6 and 22 get 1.5 points per goal. Those plying their trade in any league below the 22nd ranked one, get 1 point per goal.
Let's take a look at the top five players in the race for the Golden Boot for the 2020-21 season without further ado.
#5 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 26 goals
Widely regarded as the heir apparent to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe has been living up to that tag and then some. The Paris Saint-Germain forward continues to be prolific in front of goal and is the leading goalscorer in Ligue 1.
Mbappe has scored 26 goals for Paris Saint-Germain in 30 appearances in the Ligue 1 this term. He averages a goal every 88 minutes in Ligue 1 and has been PSG's best player this season. Mbappe's current contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires next summer and he is yet to sign an extension.
There are rumours linking him with an exit but with Neymar putting pen to paper on a new deal, PSG are expected to prioritize extending Mbappe's contract as well.
#4 Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt) - 27 goals
Andre Silva has been the surprise package of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season. After failing to impress at Sevilla and AC Milan, Silva showed a lot of promise during his loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2019-20 season, scoring 12 goals and providing three assists from 25 appearances in the Bunde.
Eintracht Franckurt gave him a permanent deal at the start of the 2020-21 season and Andre Silva has been banging in goals for fun. The Portuguese striker, who is now being courted by several European giants, including Manchester City, has scored 27 goals in 31 appearances in the Bundesliga this term.
The 25-year-old averages a goal every 99 minutes and is in stellar form ahead of the Euros.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - 29 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is 36-years-old. Juventus have had a poor season by their standards but if they didn't have a prolific Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks, it could have been even worse. Ronaldo is the leading scorer in Serie A, but Juventus sit fifth in the table with just one game remaining in the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 29 goals from 33 appearances in Serie A this term. The Portuguese legend averages 93 minutes per goal this season. Ronaldo's numbers are a testament to how he has been able to evolve his game in his 30s as his body starts to tire out.
It remains to be seen if Ronaldo will kick on at Juventus beyond the end of the season as the Bianconeri, given their present situation, are a fair bit away from mounting a challenge on all fronts. Ronaldo cannot be around forever either and it may be best for both parties to part ways despite the man's generous contributions over the last three years.
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 30 goals
Lionel Messi has been clocking incredible numbers since the turn of the year. After the implosion at Barcelona last summer, which was followed by Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board of directors deciding to resign, the club took a while to settle down in the new season.
Although the columns these days are dominated by how Barcelona bottled their La Liga title challenge towards the end of the season, the fact that they even clawed their way back into the title race is quite an achievement. The main credit for their resurgent form since the turn of the year goes to Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi has scored 30 goals in La Liga in 35 appearances. He averages a goal every 100 minutes. The Argentine will be devastated with how Barcelona couldn't make the most of their chances at the home straight after doing all the hard work in the build up to it.
It remains to be seen whether or not Lionel Messi will stay at the club. One thing is for certain and it is that the Argentine is simply irreplaceable.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - 40 goals
Inarguably the best striker in the world right now, Robert Lewandowski has been clocking unbelievable numbers for Bayern Munich over the last two seasons. The Polish international had an excellent season in terms of productivity in 2019-20 scoring 34 goals in the league, but he missed out on the European Golden Shoe to Ciro Immobile.
This time, however, he has made doubly sure that he won't miss out on the honour. Lewandowski holds a 10 goal lead over Lionel Messi. He has scored 40 goals in just 28 appearances in the Bundesliga. He averages a goal every 59 minutes. That is just unreal, isn't it?
