European Golden Shoe: Lionel Messi possibly handed incredible boost to win record sixth Golden Boot

What's the story?

Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, has been handed an incredible boost in the race for the European Golden Shoe courtesy of Paris Saint-Germain star, Kylian Mbappe.

In case you didn't know

Messi and Mbappe are favourites in the race to win the European Golden Shoe, with the Argentine ahead of the Frenchman by 8 points.

The winner is determined by a points table and is calculated by multiplying a player's domestic league goal tally by the ranking of the league in terms of difficulty. While the Serie A, Premier League, Ligue 1, and LaLiga all have a 2.0 ranking, the Eredivisie's been given a 1.5 difficulty factor.

Messi, who is currently the top goal-scorer, boasts of having scored 46 goals in all competitions for Barcelona, 34 of which were netted in LaLiga.

The Argentine maestro's goal-scoring exploits have helped the Catalan giants to yet another league title and could potentially help the side to a domestic treble, provided he performs in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

The heart of the matter

Mbappe's chances of winning the European Golden Shoe may have been squandered when he was sent off during PSG's defeat to Rennes in the French Cup final last weekend.

The Frenchman was shown a straight red after a horror tackle on Damien Da Silva, in a game that saw the Ligue 1 champions lose 6-5 on penalties.

According to Sport English, the Frenchman could be banned for the rest of the season, giving Messi the ultimate opportunity to win a record sixth Golden Shoe.

Messi has 34 goals (68 points) in LaLiga so far while Mbappe has 30 goals (60 points) in Ligue 1.

What's next?

While PSG has five more games to play in the French top flight, Barcelona has three to play until the LaLiga campaign ends.

PSG are scheduled to face Montpellier in Ligue 1 tonight, while Barcelona has a crucial semi-final clash against Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday night.