Lionel Messi clinches Golden Shoe award for fifth time with 34 La Liga goals to finish ahead of Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane in rankings
- Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has clinched the European Golden Shoe for a fifth time
- Messi scored 34 times in La Liga while Mohamed Salah finished second with 32
- The Argentine came off the bench late on as Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0
- Tottenham’s Harry Kane came third while three players were tied for fourth place
Lionel Messi has been confirmed as the European Golden Shoe winner for a fifth time after finishing the 2017-18 season with 34 La Liga strikes.
The Barcelona superstar wins the award for a fifth time after edging out competition from Premier League duo Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane with 68 points in the Golden Shoe scoring system.
Messi came off the bench late on as Barcelona ended their victorious league campaign by beating Real Sociedad 1-0 at the Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi has won the European Golden Shoe award for a fifth time this campaign
The Argentine was all-but assured of winning the award but the conclusion of the Serie A season confirms it as Ciro Immobile and Mauro Icardi’s slim chances of catching him were ended.
Salah’s outstanding first season at Liverpool resulted in 32 goals while Tottenham’s Kane reached the 30-goal mark despite missing some matches through injury.
Three players tied for fourth on 29 goals scored – Lazio’s Immobile, Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah won the Premier League Golden Boot with 32 goals this season
Tottenham’s Harry Kane finished with 30 goals – good enough for third in Golden Shore race
The Golden Shoe award is given based on a points system which allows players in stronger domestic leagues to win even if they score fewer goals than a player in a weaker league.
So while Benfica’s Jonas scored 34 times this season, the strength of Portugal’s Primeira Liga means he tallied just 51 points, 17 less than Messi.
In comparison, while Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo managed just 26 goals in La Liga this season his Golden Shoe score is 52 points.
Messi came off the bench late on as Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Sunday evening
Messi also wins La Liga’s top scorer award for a fifth time in the process, two more than his rival Ronaldo has managed during his time in Spain.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s league total of 34 goals is only the joint-fifth highest he has managed in La Liga during his career.
Messi scored 50 goals in 2011-12, 46 in 2012-13, 43 in 2014-15 and 37 in 2016-17. He tallied 34 strikes in the 2009-10 season.
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