UEFA European Championship (informally known as the Euros) is widely regarded as one of the most fiercely contested international tournaments in world football. It is the second most watched international tournament after the FIFA World Cup and was first held in 1960.
Scoring goals in a tournament as fiercely contested as the Euros is difficult, but there are certain players who have scored more goals than others. Since its inception, a Golden Boot has been awarded at the end of the Euros to the highest scorer in that particular tournament. In 12 Euros held so far, there have been 12 Golden Boot winners. In four instances, the award has been shared by more than one player.
Here is a list of all the Golden Boot winners in all the previous editions of UEFA Euros.
| Hosts | Player | Goals |
| France (1960) | Milan GalićDražan JerkovićFrançois HeutteViktor PonedelnikValentin Ivanov | 2 |
| Spain (1964) | Ferenc BeneChus PeredaDezső Novák | 2 |
| Italy (1968) | Dragan Džajić | 2 |
| Belgium (1972) | Gerd Müller | 4 |
| Yugoslavia (1976) | Dieter Müller | 4 |
| Italy (1980) | Klaus Allofs | 3 |
| France (1984) | Michel Platini | 9 |
| West Germany (1988) | Marco van Basten | 5 |
| Sweden (1992) | Dennis BergkampHenrik LarsenKarl-Heinz RiedleTomas Brolin | 3 |
| England (1996) | Alan Shearer | 5 |
| Belgium and Netherlands (2000) | Patrick KluivertSavo Milošević | 5 |
| Portugal (2004) | Milan Baroš | 5 |
| Austria and Switzerland (2008) | David Villa | 4 |
| Poland and Ukraine (2012) | Fernando Torres | 3 goals, 1 assist (189 minutes) |
| France (2016) | Antoine Griezmann | 6 goals, 2 assists |
| Held in 11 cities across Europe (2020) | Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 goals, 1 assist |
Which Golden Boot winner has the most goals in a single season of the Euros?
France legend Michel Platini has scored the most goals in a single edition of Euros in the tournament’s history. The French forward bagged nine goals as he led his side to victory in the Euro 1984.
FAQ's On UEFA Euro Golden Boot winners
A. Two new criteria for deciding the Euro Golden Boot winner have been put in place since Euro 2008. Firstly, if two or more players have equal number of goals, the player with the most assists gets the Golden Boot. If the players have equal number of assists too, then the player with the least gametime among them takes the award.
A. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most goals in Euro’s history with 14 to his name. Cristiano Ronaldo has also played in the Euros for a record five times. The Portuguese shares the record with German legend Lothar Matthaus.
A. There are many great forwards in Euro 2024 who can easily win the Golden Boot, but three players look like outright favorites. The top favorite to win the Golden Boot is France’s talisman Kylian Mbappe. The 25-year-old is well on his way to obliterating Miroslav Klose’s World Cup goal record of 16 and will be looking to replicate his form in the Euros to get France past the finishing line. The other two favorites are Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo. A conducive group stage for England will surely give Kane an early start and the English lineup is strong enough to challenge for the title this year. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo is an experienced customer and has been scoring goals for fun for ages. Although his form with the national team hasn’t been the best by his lofty standards, Portugals number 7 is built for the big occasions and will look to fire at the right moment.
