Kylian Mbappé still has a personal goal in the final round of La Liga. While there's nothing left to fight for with Real Madrid, the match against Real Sociedad still holds significance for him personally. He can still win the Golden Shoe at the expense of Viktor Gyökeres.
The European Golden Shoe, or “Soulier d’Or,” is one of the most prestigious individual accolades in world football.
Awarded annually to the top goalscorer across all European leagues, the trophy is more than just a celebration of pure goal volume it also takes into account the difficulty of the league in which a player is competing. This is why the award uses a weighted points system, ensuring that a goal scored in La Liga or the Premier League, for instance, carries more value than one scored in a lesser-known European competition.
Under the current rules, goals scored in the so-called "top five leagues" the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and French Ligue 1 are multiplied by a factor of 2.0. Goals in slightly less competitive leagues, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga or the Dutch Eredivisie, receive a 1.5 multiplier. All other leagues use a factor of 1.0, regardless of the number of goals scored.
This season, the race for the Golden Shoe has been particularly dramatic, with several high-profile players chasing the coveted award. As it stands, the top five contenders are:
1. Viktor Gyökeres – Sporting CP – 39 goals – 58.5 points
2. Kylian Mbappé – Real Madrid – 29 goals – 58 points
3. Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – 28 goals – 56 points
4. Harry Kane – Bayern Munich – 26 goals – 52 points
5. Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona – 25 goals – 50 points
Viktor Gyökeres, the Swedish international who joined Sporting CP in the summer of 2023, has taken Portuguese football by storm. With 39 league goals to his name, his total may outnumber those of his rivals, but due to the 1.5 weighting of the Portuguese league, his total converts to 58.5 points. It’s an impressive tally and one that would win the award in many other seasons but he is far from safe.
Right behind him is Kylian Mbappé, who, despite officially being linked to Real Madrid already, is still completing his final season with Paris Saint-Germain. The French superstar has racked up 29 goals in Ligue 1, which translates into 58 points with the 2.0 coefficient. This means that a single goal on the final matchday would be enough to push him ahead of Gyökeres and into pole position for the Golden Shoe.
Mbappé’s final match away to Metz is crucial not just as a swan song in Ligue 1 but as a potential crowning moment for a player already considered one of the best of his generation. With PSG having already secured the league title, the focus for Mbappé is now entirely individual. The Golden Shoe would mark his first win of the award, despite multiple prolific seasons. The scenario is simple: one goal makes him the winner, two would likely seal it definitively.
However, the Frenchman is not the only one with a chance. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is still in the race, currently sitting third with 28 goals and 56 points. Liverpool have two remaining Premier League matches, which gives the Egyptian winger a theoretical ceiling of 32 goals and 64 points enough to win the award outright if he scores five more goals in the last two games. It’s a tall order, but not outside the realm of possibility for a player known for his explosive form.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski, both former Golden Shoe winners, are mathematically still in the top five but are now out of the running. Their seasons have ended, and they can no longer add to their tallies. Kane’s first campaign with Bayern Munich was individually successful, with 26 goals in the Bundesliga, but his team missed out on silverware. Lewandowski, now 35, had a solid season at Barcelona, but his 25-goal haul won’t be enough to compete for the top prize this time around.
The next few days will be decisive. All eyes will be on Mbappé and Salah as they attempt to surpass Gyökeres’ mark. For Gyökeres himself, the situation is now out of his hands. Having already played his final match for Sporting this season, he will anxiously await the results of the final rounds in Spain and England, hoping that his remarkable goal-scoring campaign holds up against the firepower of his elite challengers.
Whether the Golden Shoe ends up in Lisbon, Paris, Liverpool, or somewhere else, this season’s edition has once again proven that the race for Europe’s top scorer is one of the most thrilling narratives in football.
