Top 5 contenders for the 2017-18 European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe is a personal recognition given to the leading goal-scorer in league matches from the top division of all of Europe's leagues. The number of goals scored is multiplied by the respective league's UEFA coefficient rankings to determine the winner.
That means, if two players have scored the same number of goals, then the winner will be the player who plays in the league having a higher ranking. Thus, goals scored in Europe's top five leagues are given priority.
It is an accolade every forward aspires to win at the beginning of each season. The award is currently held by Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who won it for a joint-record fourth time, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
The race will go down to the wire this year because we have five players who are currently tied with 24 goals and are in contention to win it. We take a closer look at the contenders and analyse their chances:
Honourable mention: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, 23 goals)
#5 Edinson Cavani (PSG)
The Argentinian is one of the best strikers in the world. He was the Serie A top scorer in 2012-13 when Napoli finished second, behind Juventus in the league. He was also the Ligue 1 top scorer last year when PSG lost out on the title to AS Monaco. Cavani also became PSG's all-time top scorer recently and has 163 goals to his name as of now at PSG.
Cavani has largely profited from Neymar's arrival this season. The two of them, along with Kylian Mbappe have been a force to be reckoned with this campaign. Cavani has scored 24 goals in 25 games this season, averaging almost a goal per match!
With the league title almost wrapped up, they would want to finish the season on a high, despite exiting early from the UEFA Champions League. The only big game remaining in the league for them is a home tie against Monaco. All-in-all, Cavani will be a strong contender this season.