European Golden Boot winners of the last decade
The European Golden Boot award is given to the top goalscorer in a European top-flight season. First started in 1968, the award was presented by French magazine L'Equipe for three decades.
Since 1997, European Sports Media has presented the award after taking into consideration the competitiveness of the league where a player plays in. The top six leagues have a coefficient of 2; the next 17 leagues have a coefficient of 1.5, and the remaining leagues have a coefficient of 1.
These coefficients are multiplied by the goals scored by a player to determine his final position in the Golden Boot standings. Thanks to the introduction of the coefficients, a player in one of the tougher leagues can win the award by scoring fewer goals than one playing in one of the 'easier' leagues.
That makes sense, owing to the wide chasm in the level of competition in various leagues across the continent.
Over the years, especially in the last decade, many fine players have won the European Golden Boot award. On that note, here's a look at the last ten winners of the prestigious award in ascending order:
#1 2011-12 - Lionel Messi (50 goals)
Lionel Messi was the crown jewel of Pep Guardiola's dream Barcelona team of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Argentine was one of the key players as Guardiola's men won three consecutive La Liga and two Champions League titles in three years.
Determined to make it four in a row, Lionel Messi produced one of the all-time best seasons by any player in club history. He became the first player in Europe's top five leagues to plunder 50 league goals in a season; Messi scored a staggering 73 across competitions that campaign.
Lionel Messi's 2011/12 season still defies belief:
🏟 Games: 60
⚽️ Goals: 73
🅰️ Assists: 33
How is that even possible 😂 https://t.co/l5bGNO86En
Messi kicked off his Liga campaign with a brace against Villarreal before scoring three hat-tricks in his next ten games. Then he netted five more hat-tricks, with a quadruple against Espanyol taking him to 50 league goals for the season.
Despite Messi's blistering exploits - winning his second Golden Boot in three years - Barcelona's hopes of a La Liga four-peat were ended by Real Madrid. In the Champions League, the holders crashed out against eventual champions Chelsea in the semis.
#2 2012-13 - Lionel Messi (46 goals)
Seemingly continuing from where he left off the previous season, Lionel Messi produced another stellar campaign in 2012-13. He won his third Golden Boot award in the process.
The Barcelona ace scored a staggering 46 league goals. He commenced the campaign with braces against Real Sociedad and Osasuna. Although he scored only one hat-trick, Messi moved to 28 goals at the end of the first half of the season.
He scored in a staggering 21 consecutive games. If not for a hamstring injury forcing him to miss six games, Messi would have broken his record from the previous season.
#TBT to when #Messi scored in 21 consecutive league matches.
( 41 G/A in 21 games ).
Greatness 👑🐐 https://t.co/sNQXtsQyoo
Unlike in 2011-12, Barcelona wouldn't be denied this time, roaring to their fourth La Liga title in five years, finishing 15 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid.
#8 2013-14 - Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez (31 goals)
With Lionel Messi enduring a slightly 'down' season, scoring only 28 league goals, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez jointly won the Golden Boot award.
Both Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Suarez (Liverpool) scored 31 league goals apiece that campaign to win the Golden Boot award that year. It was Ronaldo's third Golden Boot award, while it was Suarez's first.
Ronaldo opened his campaign with six goals in his first six games, reaching 20 at the halfway mark. He looked good for more, but a red-card suspension and injury meant he missed eight games in the second half.
Meanwhile, Suarez had a belated start to his campaign, missing the first five games due to a suspension. However, the Uruguayan soon got going, scoring three hat-tricks, as Liverpool failed to win the Premier League title by a whisker.
Seven years ago today, Luis Suarez scored FOUR against Norwich 😳
And every single goal was special 🤯
https://t.co/5k4XdmrJBM
Despite their stellar exploits, Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez did not win a league title that season.
#7 2014-15 - Cristiano Ronaldo (48 goals)
After he had to share the Golden Boot award the previous season, Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't in the same benevolent mood in 2014-15, winning his fourth Golden Boot award.
The Real Madrid ace produced one of his career-best campaigns, scoring 61 goals in all competitions, including 48 in the league. He amassed eight hat-tricks in La Liga that season, including a quadruple and a five-goal haul.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 5 goals against Granada.
Living Legend! http://t.co/phBi3BQ19s
Ronaldo closed the season with three hat-tricks in his last four league games. But Barcelona pipped Real Madrid to the La Liga title by two points in a titanic title race that went down to the last day.
As if to add insult to injury, Cristiano Ronaldo endured Champions League heartbreak as well, with holders Real Madrid getting knocked out by Juventus in the semis.