The race for the 2024-25 European Golden Shoe: Gyokeres, Haaland, Lewandowski…

Viktor Gyokeres, Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland feature in European Golden Shoe ranking for the 2024-25 season

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Thierry Henry are some of the legendary goalscorers who have claimed the European Golden Shoe in the 21st century – but who will get their hands on the prize in 2024-25?

The award is invariably handed out to superstars at clubs in Europe’s major leagues, but players from across all the top-flight leagues in Europe are eligible in a complex coefficient ranking system.

Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the UEFA coefficients list are multiplied by two, goals scored in the leagues ranked sixth to 22nd are multiplied by 1.5, and goals scored in leagues ranked 22nd are down count for one.

Here’s the current European Golden Shoe top 10.

10. Alioune Ndoye – 22pts

Kicking things off in Latvia, Senegalese striker Ndoye leads the line for lesser-known outfit Valmiera, who finished fourth in the recently concluded Virsliga.

He ended the season with 22 goals in 32 league appearances as his team finished in the qualification spots for next year’s UEFA Conference League.

Expect to see Ndoye drop out of the top 10 as leagues across central Europe catch up. PSG’s Bradley Barcola, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Fiorentina’s Moise Kean are snapping at his heels already.

9. Omar Marmoush – 22pts

Arguably the story of the season so far, Eintracht Frankfurt forward Marmoush has burst into life in spectacular fashion and has notched more goals and assists than his Egypt team-mate Salah so far.

Only Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane has notched more goal contributions across all of Europe’s major leagues.

His seven goals are impressive, but we’re all about the goals in this ranking – and 11 in the Bundesliga count for 22 points in this ranking system.

8. Pall Klettskard – 23pts

Back to the footballing nether worlds, we’ve reached the Faroe Islands.

Veteran striker has never scored in 14 international appearances for the Faroes, but his record in the domestic club game is altogether more impressive.

He’s scored just shy of 200 league goals for Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag – try saying that in a hurry – across three stints with the club since making his debut back in 2007.

Twenty-three of those goals were scored in the 2024 Faroe Islands Premier League, which wrapped up in October. KI finished runners-up but Klettskard was the top goalscorer.

7. Mateo Retegui – 24pts

Born and raised in Argentina, having developed his skills in River Plate and Boca Juniors’ academies, Retegui has turned out to be Italy’s great new hope thanks to his parentage.

He showed promise for Genoa last season after returning to the motherland but he’s exploded into life since signing for Atalanta in the summer as a last-gasp replacement for his Azzurri team-mate Gianluca Scamacca.

Gian Piero Gasperini has a proven track record of getting the most out of attack-minded players and he’s struck gold once again. Retegui’s 12 Serie A goals are only bettered by two players in Europe’s major leagues.

6. Erling Haaland – 24pts

Manchester City’s wildly prolific Norwegian hasn’t had the best time of it of late, scoring just two goals in his last seven appearances from an xG of 8.03xG. Coincidentally enough, that downturn started – much to the pleasure of Arsenal fans – after he told Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” back in September.

But he unsurprisingly features in the upper echelons of this list thanks to his outrageous start, in which he notched 10 goals from his first five outings.

Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions might be suffering an almighty wobble at this moment but it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see their No.9 banging in back-to-back hat-tricks again soon.

He won the European Golden Shoe in 2022-23 and you’d be daft to write him off competing for it again.

READ: The top 10 goalscorers in the history of Europe’s top five leagues

5. Viktor Gyokeres – 24pts

Here he is.

No player from outside of Europe’s top five leagues has won the Golden Shoe award since Mario Jardel scored 42 goals in the Primeira Liga back in 2001-02. Over two decades later it could well be another Sporting forward that does it.

European football’s hottest property has scored a ridiculous tally of 16 goals from 11 appearances so far, drawing blanks just twice as Sporting maintain a 100% domestic win record.

With just 1.5 points per goal, you imagine he’ll need to score 40+ if he’s to challenge the European royalty at the top of this list. But with by some distance the best goals-per-minute ratio (every 60 minutes) of any player in the top 10, he might just do it.

READ NEXT: The 10 players with the most goals & assists in Europe in 2024-25: Salah, Marmoush…

TRY A QUIZ:Can you name the top 50 goalscorers across Europe’s major leagues since 2000?

4. Reginaldo Ramires – 25pts

Back to Latvia.

The aforementioned Ndoye didn’t finish as the 2024 Virsliga’s top scorer, because he was beaten to it by Brazilian forward Ramires.

He scored 25 goals in total, having moved from FK Auda to Riga FC midway through the campaign. Still only 23, you wonder if scouts might be considering a move to take him to a more high-profile league.

3. Alex Tamm – 28pts

Another 23-year-old, Tamm is a full Estonia international and a free agent following the expiration of his contract with Kalju FC following the conclusion of the 2024 Estonian Meistriliiga.

He notched 28 goals in 35 games and ended the season as the league’s top scorer. One to keep tabs on?

2. Harry Kane – 28pts

England’s captain is mounting a convincing campaign to retain the award, a feat only achieved by Henry, Messi, Ronaldo and Lewandowski in the 21st century. Esteemed company.

No player since the year 2000 has reached the milestone of 50 goals in any of Europe’s major leagues quicker than Kane in the Bundesliga. Last weekend’s hat-trick against Augsburg takes him to 14 goals for the campaign.

1. Robert Lewandowski – 30pts

The last man who retained the award back in 2022, Lewandowski is gunning to win it for a third time in five years.

Hansi Flick is once again getting the very best out of Poland’s all-time top goalscorer, who has arguably peaked well into his thirties. He’s formed an irresistible trident alongside Raphinha and Lamine Yamal and is firing Barcelona’s title charge with 15 goals from 14 outings.