Golden Boot: All-Time Winners and 2021/22 Standings

The Golden Boot stands as one of football’s most prestigious individual honors, awarded to Europe’s leading goal scorer of the season. The current holder is Robert Lewandowski. Across history, Argentina’s Lionel Messi has claimed the trophy a record six times, with Cristiano Ronaldo close behind on five.

This article from Goal provides the standings for the 2021/22 season and offers a complete look at all Golden Shoes in the award’s long lineage. The prize has been handed out since 1968, tracing back to the era of Eusebio, who was the first winner after netting 42 goals in a single campaign. The piece also highlights the evolution of scoring across Europe and the factors that have influenced how the award is calculated over the years.

PUNCTUATION SYSTEM

To determine the winners, Goal summarizes the historical point system used to convert goals into merit. In the major European leagues such as German, Spanish, English, Italian, and French competitions, each goal has been valued at 2 points. In several other leagues across the continent, a goal is worth 1.5 points. A broad group of leagues – including those in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Croatia, Scotland, Greece, the Netherlands, Israel, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Belarus, and Ukraine – assigns 1.5 points per goal. A further set of leagues – covering Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Wales, Hungary, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, and Montenegro – use a 1-point-per-goal scale. The system reflects league strength, quality of opposition, and historical performance, creating a nuanced ranking beyond raw goal totals.

GOLD BOOTS 2021/22: THE CLASSIFICATION

1. Robert Lewandowski, 33 goals for Bayern Munich (68 points),
2. Ciro Immobile, 27 goals for Lazio (54 points)
3. Karim Benzema, 27 goals for Real Madrid (54 points)
4. Ohi Omoijuanfo, 33 goals for Red Star Belgrade (49.5 points)
5. Patrik Schick, 24 goals for Bayer Leverkusen (48 points)
6. Kylian Mbappe, 24 goals for PSG (48 points)
7. Dusan Vlahovic, 23 goals between Fiorentina and Juventus (46 points)
8. Mohamed Salah, 22 goals for Liverpool (44 points)
9. Erling Haaland, 21 goals for Borussia Dortmund (42 points)
10. Martin Terrier, 21 goals for Rennes (42 points)
11. Wissam Ben Yedder, 20 goals for Monaco (42 points)

ALL GOLD BOOTS WINNERS

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Source: Goal