Top goalscorers across Europe biggest leagues will want to be given the European Golden Shoe award for the 2019-2020 season and the battle for such an honour is still heating up.
The Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1, the Spanish La Liga and a host of other top European leagues have ended the 2019-2020 season but a top league like the Italian Serie A still has at least two matches to end the season.
As it stands, the usual suspects have already geared up to be named the best goalscorers in Europe and be given the Golden Shoe award, an award that is being held by FC Barcelona talisman, Lionel Messi since the end of 2018-2019 season.
Without much ado, here are the current standings of the top 10 goalscorers in Europe, one of which is most likely to win this season’s European Golden Shoe award.
Note that the counted goals are the goals the footballers scored in their various domestic leagues.
- Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich – 34 goals
Robert Lewandowski was on fire in the just concluded German Bundesliga 2019-2020 season. The 31-year-old Bayern Munich and Poland striker showed this season that he was ready to rub shoulders with the best goalscorers in the world and he did it in style earning the Golden boot in Germany with a whopping 34 goals. This has kept him at the top of the best goalscorers chart in Europe.
- Ciro Immobile – Lazio – 34 goals
Lazio’s Ciro Immobile was the goals champion in Italy for two seasons – 2013-14 and 2017-18. He lost the crown to Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2018-2019 season, when the Portuguese joined the league from Real Madrid. However, this season, the 30-year-old Italian striker has been contending neck to neck with Juventus’ Ronaldo in Italian Serie A, and hence, he is contending not just to win the Golden Boot in Italy but to win the European Golden Shoe. He still has two league matches to play before the end of the season in Italy, a goal would catapult him to the number one spot.
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Juventus – 31
Though he won the Golden boot in Italy last season, Cristiano Ronaldo was not this close to winning his 5th European Golden Shoe award. Lazio’s Immobile has been given the Portuguese football icon a tough run for the Golden Boot in Italian Serie A and he has just two league matches left to prove that though he is 35-year-old, he is the king of goals in Europe.
- Timo Werner – RB Leipzig – 28 goals
Timo Werner is the youngest footballer in the top five of the high flying goalscorers in Europe. The 24-year-old German striker surpassed his career-best of 21 goals he scored in 2016-2017 by scoring 28 goals for RB Leipzig in the 2019-2020 season. His form was so enticing that Chelsea football club had to pay a whopping €53 million to bring him to the Premier League this summer.
- Lionel Messi – Barcelona – 25 goals
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is a very consistent high flying goalscorer on this list. In fact, he has won the European Golden Shoe a record 6 times. However, this season, the 32-year-old Argentine football icon had to make do with the 5th spot as he continued his dominance in Spanish La Liga.
- Erling Haaland – Red Bull Salzburg/Borussia Dortmund – 29 goals
Erling Haaland is the youngest player in the top-10 of the high flying goalscorers in Europe. He would have been in the 3rd spot but since he scored 16 of his 29 goals in the Austrian league, which is not a top European league and which one goal is valued 1.5 points as against 2 points in other top leagues, he has to settle for the 6th spot on the list.
The 20-year-old Norway striker joined German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in January 2020 and continued with his amazing form by scoring an extra 13 goals for Dortmund before the German Bundesliga ended.
- Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan – 23 goals
Romelu Lukaku has been unstoppable since he left Manchester United in August 2019. The 27-year-old Belgium striker was struggling for form and game time at United until he was forced to move to Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan on a 5-year deal. In his first full season at the club, he has scored 23 goals so far in the league with two matches in hand and he is most likely to move up in the ranking before the Italian Serie A officially ends.
- Jamie Vardy – Leicester City – 23 goals
Jamie Vardy was on fire for Leicester City this season. The 31-year-old England striker brought out the kind of Vardy that was seen in 2015-2016 season when he led Leicester to win their first Premier League title. However, his 23 goals in the season were not enough to help the club to finish in Premier League’s top-4. The best he got for himself was Premier League Golden Boot and a Europa League qualification.
- Shon Weissman – Wolfsberger – 30 goals
Shon Weissman would have been on the 4th spot of this list but for the fact that a goal scored in a league like Austrian league where he currently plays, counts 1.5 points instead of 2 points in Europe top 5 leagues – Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1, he has to make do with the 9th spot despite having 30 goals this season. The 24-year-old Israeli striker is the top scorer in Australia this season.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Arsenal – 22 goals and Danny Ings – Southampton – 22 goals
Gabon and Arsenal’s 31-year-old striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and England and Southampton’s 28-year-old striker, Danny Ings, are joint on the 10th spot this season. Ings hit his career-best this season which has given him the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with the best goalscorers in Europe. While in the case of Aubameyang, he has been a consistent goalscorer from his days at Borussia Dortmund until date.
