The Goal Race: Who Will Win the 2023-24 Golden Shoe Award?

Scoring is never an easy feat in football, as it takes a lot of strength, decisiveness, and firepower to actually deliver a huge goal that is needed by a team in a given game. This is why football players are rewarded for their scoring prowess with the Golden Shoe by the end of the campaign. But who will be the big winner to look out for by the end of the 2023-24 season?

What is the Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Shoe is an annual scoring title awarded to the best scorer in the whole of Europe. This is different from the Golden Boot award – which is an accolade awarded to the best-scoring players in the respective European leagues. The Golden Shoe takes all the consideration for various European competitions, such as the domestic tournament, the Champions League, and the respective domestic leagues in each country. This was first awarded in 1968 and has seen a total of 55 annual winners over the years.

Lionel Messi, hailed as one of the greatest football players of all-time, is the winningest player in the history of the Golden Shoe. His time with Barcelona has seen him win a total of six awards in his run with the Spanish Giants. Messi also holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season since the Golden Shoe was awarded with a total of 50. He accumulated a total of 100 points in that win, which was his second at the time.

Lionel Messi is the winningest player for the Golden Shoe Award image

The Golden Shoe is one of the most prestigious awards in football, especially in Europe. A point system was also implemented over the years to cut down the chances of a tie ending up at the end of the season. The defending champion, Erling Haaland, is the youngest player to ever win the Golden Shoe award at the age of 22 since Ronaldo Nazario pulled off that feat at the age of 20 in 1996-97.

Who Are the Top Scoring Candidates for the Golden Shoe This Season?

This season is somewhat of a clear race so far, and it does seem that it will take a lot of miracles for this to end up in a tight run. However, we have seen wild twists in football over the years, and no one should ever say that the Golden Shoe race can't become a promising game that will have fans excited and at the ready.

Here are the top players who are gunning for the Golden Shoe Award this season:

Harry Kane - Bayern Munich

Harry Kane image

Let’s set aside the fact that Bayern is actually losing ground in the Bundesliga and the club is on the verge of ending its 11-year dominance in the German top flight. The former Tottenham Hotspur star has brought his fiery goalscoring talent to Germany, and he has done a great job to keep his fire alive with a total of 30 goals this season as of the time of writing. Replacing Robert Lewandowski’s scoring role in the club, Kane has become a massive fan favorite in the league, and continues to make his chase for the 40-goal mark in the league that was set by Gerd Muller.

Lautaro Martinez - Inter

Nothing beats the experience of a World Cup winner in your own squad, and that is what exactly Lautaro Martinez brings to the table for Inter – who are gunning for a promising push in the Italian Serie A this season. His appetite for deadeye scoring has been a wonder for the club so far, and the marksman has proved to be the game changer for the Nerazzuri. His presence made it clear that Inter didn’t really need Romelu Lukaku after all, and now he is leading the charge towards a possible championship finish and a chance at the Golden Shoe with 23 goals at this point.

Lautaro Martinez image

Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain

Kylian Mbappe image

While everyone already knows that he is going to move on from Paris Saint-Germain by the end of the season, no one can deny the fact that he is still making some noise in the big stage with the runaway champions at this point. Mbappe is automatic, and he continues to drop massive goals down the stretch for the defending French champions. So far, he has tallied a total of 21 goals in the current stretch, and more games to go means more goals for the French star now than ever.

Serhou Guirassy - Stuttgart

No one has heard of Guirassy until this season came up for Stuttgart, and he has really stepped up well for the team with his exceptional performances in the season. With a total of 21 goals under his belt, Guirassy has truly taken the German top flight by storm since moving on loan from Rennes last season. He is truly a bonafide scorer, and his massive surge this season has seen him make some promising strides that was never expected of him in the first place.

Serhou Guirassy image

Erling Haaland - Manchester City

Erling Haaland image

Of course, this wouldn’t be a discussion if the defending Golden Shoe winner isn’t on the list. But then again, Erling Haaland should already be at the top of the list if it wasn’t for his untimely injury. But then again, it should not be a huge deal as we have seen Haaland fire up some insane performances down the stretch to break the Premier League record in goals. This is why he is still expected to be the fiery star who can shake up the goals race by the end of the season even if he only has 18 goals as of the time of writing.

Who Will Win the Golden Shoe for the 2023-24 Season?

The 2023-24 season has Harry Kane as the clear favorite to win by a huge margin. However, it should be noted that football remains an unpredictable sport, and no one should ever call this race over until it truly is over. This is why the Golden Shoe should still be a fun race to watch as the season continues to get intense between the top leagues in Europe. Who knows, maybe an unexpected name will come out on top to finish the campaign.

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