The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military * Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a

football boot Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the outsole to aid grip. From simple and humble beginnings football b ...

. From its inception in the 1967–68 season, the award, originally called "Soulier d'Or", which translates from French as ''Golden Shoe'' or ''Boot'', has been given to the top goalscorer in all European leagues during a season. Since 1997, it has been calculated using a weighting in favour of the highest ranked leagues. Originally presented by ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor was ...

'' magazine, it has been awarded by the European Sports Media since the 1996–97 season.

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

has won the award a record six times, all while playing for

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

History

Between 1968 and 1991, the award was given to the highest goalscorer in any European league. This was regardless of the strength of the league in which the top scorer played and the number of games in which the player had taken part. During this period

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalscor ...

Dudu Georgescu Dudu Georgescu (born 1 September 1950) is a retired Romanian footballer who played as a forward and a former coach. Club career Dudu Georgescu was born in Bucharest on 1 September 1950. He started his career at Progresul București, making his ...

and Fernando Gomes each won the Golden Shoe twice. Following a protest from the Cyprus FA, which claimed that a Cypriot player with 40 goals should have received the award (though the official top scorers for the season are both listed with 19 goals), ''L'Équipe'' issued no awards between 1991 and 1996. Since the 1996–97 season, European Sports Media have awarded the Golden Shoe based on a points system that allows players in tougher leagues to win even if they score fewer goals than a player in a weaker league. The weightings are determined by the league's ranking on the

UEFA coefficients In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wo ...

, which in turn depend on the results of each league's clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons. Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

coefficients list are multiplied by a factor of two, goals scored in the leagues ranked 6 to 22 (previously 9 to 21) are multiplied by a factor of 1.5, and goals scored in leagues ranked 22 and below are multiplied by a factor of 1. Thus, goals scored in higher ranked leagues will count for more than those scored in weaker leagues. Since this change, there have only been two winners who were not playing in one of the top five leagues (

Henrik Larsson Edward Henrik Larsson (born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona. Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Hels ...

2000–01 Scottish Premier League The 2000–01 Scottish Premier League (known as the 2000–01 Bank of Scotland Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Scottish Premier League, the top level of football in Scotland. It began on 29 July 2000 and conc ...

and Mario Jardel,

1998–99 Primeira Divisão The 1998–99 Primeira Divisão was the 65th edition of top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 23 August 1998 with a match between Chaves and Académica Coimbra, and ended on 30 May 1999. The league was contested by 18 clubs with Por ...

and

2001–02 Primeira Liga The 2001–02 Primeira Liga was the 68th edition of top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 11 August 2001 with a match between Varzim and Benfica, and ended on 6 May 2002. The league was contested by 18 clubs with Boavista as the de ...

). Although the Golden Shoe could be shared among multiple players in the past, in the 2019–20 season this rule was changed to give the award to the player with the least minutes played, should there be a tie on points. If tie persists, number of league assists and, then, the less penalties scored, would be counted. If the tie ultimately persists, the award would be shared.

Winners

;Notes

Statistics

Multiple winners

is the only player to win the award six times, all with

. He also holds the all-time record for goals in a single season with 50 in 2011–12, which accumulated to a record 100 points. Bayern Munich's

was the first player to win the award twice, in 1969–70 and 1971–72. Messi was the first player to win the award three times, and Messi again was the first and so far only player to win it five and six times. Only Messi (2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19) has won the award in three consecutive seasons.

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

(2003–04 and 2004–05), Messi (2011–12 and 2012–13; 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19),

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

(2013–14 and 2014–15),

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is c ...

(2020–21 and 2021–22) and

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland i ...

(1991–92 and 1992–93) have won the award in consecutive seasons.

Diego Forlán Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichich ...

( Villarreal and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in ...

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

(

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and Barcelona),

Mário Jardel Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro (; born 18 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most noted for his positioning on the field and his heading ability. He was a legend for Grêmio, pla ...

(

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional fo ...

) and Ronaldo (

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

) are the only players to have won the award with multiple clubs. Ronaldo and Suárez are the only players to win the award in two different leagues, with each having won the award while playing in both the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

Winners by club

Winners by nationality

Winners by league

2022–23 season standings

Notes

References

External links

Official website - European Golden ShoeList of winners since 1980–81ESM Golden Shoe
at WorldSoccer.com {{featured list European football trophies and awards Awards established in 1967

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...