The 2021/22 European Golden Shoe race is over after a season during which the continent’s most prolific goalscorers have been all vying to win one in every of soccer’s most prestigious particular person awards.
Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski noticed off the problem of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to complete on the high of the European Golden Shoe rankings final season.
READ MORE: European Golden Shoe 2022/23: Present standings and previous winners
Lewandowski scored an astonishing 41 league targets from 29 appearances, giving him 82 Golden Shoe factors and the best profitable rating since Ronaldo in 2014/15.
Manchester United star Ronaldo and Messi – who has moved from Barcelona to PSG – each entered the brand new marketing campaign anticipating to problem once more within the standings for essentially the most targets in Europe.
READ MORE: Who would be the European Assists King for 2021/22?
Messi’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe and a fellow younger star in Erling Haaland have been additionally anticipated to be within the combine to high the Golden Shoe rankings and take the crown from Lewandowski.
Together with Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah began the season as the highest Premier League candidates, although shock winners have additionally emerged prior to now.
This web page was up to date all through the 2021/22 season with common updates on the European Golden Shoe standings, and the ultimate consequence can now be seen under.
2021/22 EUROPEAN GOLDEN SHOE STANDINGS
Robert Lewandowski has clinched back-to-back European Golden Shoe titles after one other spectacular season.
The Bayern striker scored in his facet’s final sport of the Bundesliga marketing campaign in opposition to Wolfsburg on Could 14, together with his future on the membership trying unsure amid switch hypothesis.
Lewandowski due to this fact completed the league season with 35 targets to his title from 34 appearances, a complete which noticed him rating essentially the most targets in Europe for 2021/22.
Given the Bundesliga season is shorter than the opposite main divisions in Europe, Lewandowski completed earlier than lots of his rivals had accomplished their top-flight campaigns, however an enormous lead meant his victory by no means appeared doubtful.
Lewandowski secured European golden boot glory as soon as extra although he fell barely in need of his historic 41-goal whole final season.
He led the Golden Shoe race for many of the season, however whereas he was secure on the high, the chasing pack behind him was rotating commonly, proper up till our remaining standings.
PSG sensation Kylian Mbappe, the Ligue 1 high scorer, in the end claimed second place with 28 targets and 56 Golden Shoe factors.
It was a outstanding 12 months for the World Cup winner, who additionally had 18 assists within the high flight to tie Thomas Muller for the very best artistic whole in Europe’s top-five leagues.
A hat-trick as PSG thrashed Metz 5-0 on the final day of the Ligue 1 season noticed Mbappe leapfrog Karim Benzema and Ciro Motionless to complete as better of the remaining behind Lewandowski.
It was the second-best purpose whole of his profession, behind solely the 33 he scored in 2018/19, and the attacker appears to be like a probable winner of the Golden Shoe sooner or later.
Benzema (27 targets) recorded the very best league goalscoring marketing campaign that he has had in 13 seasons with Actual Madrid, impressively beating the 24 targets he netted in 2015/16.
The France ahead posted highest Primera Division whole and was probably the most distinguished challengers to Lewandowski in these standings for a lot of what was a elegant marketing campaign.
Benzema could have taken second over Mbappe had he not had his schedule rigorously managed by Carlo Ancelotti within the remaining weeks of the season after the home title was secured, with a Champions League remaining in opposition to Liverpool in thoughts.
Lazio ahead Motionless, a former winner of this award, fantastically scored 27 occasions within the league this season to high the charts in Serie A.
He has topped 20 targets in Serie A in 5 of his six seasons for Lazio and stays a prolific striker who persistently options within the Golden Shoe race.
Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder challenged Mbappe in Ligue 1 for a lot of the season and he completed with 25 targets to assert a formidable fifth-place end within the Golden Shoe, boosted by a hat-trick in opposition to Brest within the penultimate sport of the season.
Ohi Omoijuanfo, who performed for Molde and Pink Star Belgrade over the course of the marketing campaign, got here sixth and was the highest-placed finisher exterior Europe’s fop-five leagues.
Leverkusen ahead Patrik Schick and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic completed degree on 24 targets. Each of these gamers have been quick starters this season which made them a everlasting fixture on the leaderboard.
Finishing the highest 10 have been the 2 payers who in the end completed degree within the Premier League golden boot race with 23 targets. They have been Liverpool ahead Mohamed Salah, who was the chief for many of the marketing campaign in England, and his Tottenham rival Son Heung-min.
Strikes on the final day of the EPL season for that duo meant outgoing Dortmund star Erling Haaland, who might be becoming a member of them in England with Man Metropolis subsequent season, completed eleventh after racking up 22 strikes regardless of an injury-hit season.
So Lewandowski as soon as once more completed high of the distinguished Golden Shoe standings and the main league seasons throughout Europe have now come to an in depth.
Lewandowski turns into the tenth participant to win the Golden Shoe twice – a complete solely bettered by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have been unable to problem this season.
After not producing a winner since 1972, the Bundesliga has now come out on high for 2 straight campaigns, and the stage is ready for one more intriguing battle in 2022/23.
2021/22 European Golden Shoe
Who’re the earlier European Golden Shoe winners?
Lionel Messi has received essentially the most European Golden Shoe titles.
The PSG ahead has triumphed on six events, most lately in 2018/19 for Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo is his closest challenger with 4 profession wins, although the Man Utd attacker has not come out on high since 2014/15 when he was at Actual Madrid.
9 gamers have two awards apiece, together with Luis Suarez and Thierry Henry.
Messi holds the document for many targets and factors in a season as effectively. He remarkably scored 50 targets in 2011/12, incomes himself 100 factors.
Ronaldo has come closest to breaking that, scoring 48 targets for 96 factors when he final received the crown greater than six years in the past.
Argentina ahead Messi is the one participant in European Golden Shoe historical past to win the title three years in a row, doing so from 2016/17 till 2018/19.
Ronaldo, although, is one in every of solely 4 gamers to have received the title with totally different golf equipment. The others are Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan and Mario Jardel.
Robert Lewandowski turned the primary Bundesliga winner since 1972 final season, together with his 41 targets being the very best tally for six seasons.
That got here after Ciro Motionless received the 2019/20 European Golden Shoe, scoring 36 targets for Lazio in an incredible Serie A season.
It was his first title, with the striker changing into the primary Serie A participant to have essentially the most targets in Europe since Francesco Totti triumphed for Lazio’s rivals Roma in 2006/07.
Ligue 1 has not produced a winner since Josip Skoblar in 1971, a statistic the likes of Messi and Mbappe are hoping to alter quickly.
What are the European Golden Shoe guidelines and weightings?
Solely league targets are eligible for the European Golden Shoe, with every strike incomes factors in a weighted system relying on the standard of league.
The 5 elite leagues – Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 – all carry a weighting of two, which means {that a} participant might be awarded two factors for each purpose they rating in these competitions.
For the leagues ranked sixth to 21 in Uefa’s coefficients rankings – which incorporates the top-flights in Portugal, Netherlands and Russia – targets scored are given a weighting of 1.5, and targets scored in a league outwith the highest 21 are given a weighting of 1.
That was not at all times the case within the European Golden Shoe. From 1968 till 1991, the award merely went to the best goalscorer on the continent, whatever the power of league.
Awards weren’t initially handed out between 1991 till 1996, when the brand new system got here into power. Since then, solely two gamers enjoying exterior what have been the 5 highest-ranked leagues on the time have ever received the Golden Shoe – Henrik Larsson (2000/01) and Mario Jardel (2001/02).
The Golden Shoe has been tied prior to now, most lately when Suarez and Ronaldo shared the honour in 2013/14. Going ahead, although, the award might be given to the participant who has performed the fewest minutes if two of them find yourself on the identical variety of factors.
This web page covers the 2021/22 European Golden Shoe race.
Final season’s standings may be discovered right here and if you wish to see the ultimate outcomes for the 2019/20 European Golden Shoe, comply with this hyperlink.