Golden Shoe 2020-21: Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo and Europe’s top scorers

A key player for Montpellier over the course of the past three seasons, Gaetan Laborde continued to find the back of the net in Ligue 1.

Lille’s Ligue 1 title challenge was fuelled in part by the goals of veteran striker Burak Yilmaz, with the Turkey international defying the march of time.

Brazil-born playmaker Joao Pedro scored 18 goals in Serie A last season and went close to matching that tally by maintaining his early-season form all year.

Strasbourg forward Ludovic Ajorque enjoyed his best ever season in Ligue 1, cracking double figures in the goal charts and he will be eager to continue that form into 2021-22.

Former Bayer Leverkusen striker Kevin Volland has been enjoying his time in Ligue 1 since signing for Monaco ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. The Germany international regularly reaches double figures and scored at a rate that saw him complete his best season ever.

Sasa Kalajdzic was in fine form for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in 2020-21. The Austrian continued his successful efforts on the pitch in this second season for the club.

One of Sassuolo’s stalwarts, Domenico Berardi was a key player in 2020-21 and continued his uptick in form in front of goal.

Though never previously prolific, Patrick Bamford is quickly maturing into one of the best strikers in the Premier League, thanks in no small part to Marcelo Bielsa.

A reported target for Barcelona, Lautaro Martinez has formed a frightening partnership with Romelu Lukaku at Inter and though he didn’t quite match his team-mate, his numbers in 2020-21 were impressive.

Former Borussia Dortmund forward Alexander Isak has thrived in La Liga and managed to improve his scoring record in 2020-21.

Bruno Fernandes has been a breath of fresh air for Manchester United and the attacking midfielder is central to much of the Red Devils’ good play. As well as setting up his team-mates, the Portugal international gets on the scoresheet himself and is the main penalty taker, meaning he got his share of goals over the season.

Now an elder statesman of the Napoli team, Lorenzo Insigne has been expected to assume more responsibility and he has certainly added goals to his game again. The diminutive Italy international chips in with plenty of assists too and he surpassed his form from 2016-17, when he bagged 18 goals.

Goalscoring exploits with Sevilla have been replicated at Monaco and Wissam Ben Yedder is now club captain with the principality team. He was marginally off 20 goals in 2019-20, but cracked the second decade in 2020-21.

Netherlands international is entering into his prime and surpassed his previous high of 19 Ligue 1 goals. His prowess in front of goal has alerted the attention of Barcelona, who are keen to bring the Dutchman to Catalunya.

Towering forward Wout Weghorst has been one of the most consistent scorers in the Bundesliga since his arrival in 2018 and in 2020-21 he enjoyed his best season yet.

He may be into his thirties and deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona, but Luis Suarez remains one of the best strikers in La Liga and his goals helped deliver the Liga title for Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah has been forced to share the goals with Sadio Mane in recent seasons, but the Egyptian remains a terrific threat and is now closing in on a century of league goals for the Reds after his 22 strikes this season.

In 2020-21, Colombia international Luis Muriel bettered his tally from the previous year when he hit 18 goals in Serie A and he remains a key figure for Atalanta, thriving in Gian Piero Gasperini’s high-octane system.

Having seemingly scored at will between 2014 and 2018, Tottenham’s Harry Kane failed to crack the 20-goal mark in the Premier League in the previous two seasons. However, the England star remains a potent threat in front of goal and won the Premier League Golden Boot.

Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno hit the ground running in 2020-21, brimming full of confidence after scoring 18 goals in La Liga the previous season. The Spain international is the focal point for The Yellow Submarine and scored an important goal against Real Madrid as they secured a point in November.

Romelu Lukaku continues to shine at Inter and his worth to the club is reflected in the fact that he reached the 50-goal milestone for the club, doing so in fewer games than the legendary Ronaldo Nazario. The Belgium international considers himself among the top five strikers in the world and he will be eager to back up that claim by challenging for top scorer awards into the future.

Andre Silva struggled to live up to expectations at AC Milan and Sevilla, but he appears to have found his groove in the Bundesliga, where he is one of the main goal threats for Eintracht Frankfurt.

One of the greatest goalscorers of all time, Lionel Messi got off to a slow start in 2020-21, but he improved in the second half of the season. Unfortunately for him, however, he had to settle for second best again.