By Martin Graham
Kylian Mbappe secured the European Golden Shoe for the first time in his career following a brace in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday. The French forward ended his debut campaign in Spain with 31 league goals, earning him the title of La Liga’s top scorer.
His two goals in Real’s final fixture ensured he finished above Sporting’s Victor Gyokeres and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for the award. Although Gyokeres scored more goals, the prize uses a points system based on league difficulty to determine the winner.
Points system boosts Mbappe over Gyokeres and Salah
Despite scoring 39 times in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, Gyokeres placed second in the standings due to the scoring coefficient. League goals in Europe’s top five divisions – Spain, England, Germany, Italy, and France – are awarded two points each, while goals from leagues ranked sixth to 22nd, including Portugal’s, are multiplied by 1.5.
That system gave Mbappé 62 points, ahead of Gyokeres with 58.5. Salah finished third with 58 points after netting once in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday. He needed three goals in that match to equal Mbappe’s total but fell short.
Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane rounded out the top five, collecting 54 and 52 points, respectively.
Historic win for Madrid forward
Mbappe becomes just the third player from Real Madrid to receive the Golden Shoe. Hugo Sanchez first achieved the feat during the 1989-90 campaign, while Cristiano Ronaldo earned it three times during his spell at the club.
Although Gyokeres scored a total of 53 goals across all competitions this season – including one in Sporting’s 3-1 victory over Benfica in the Portuguese Cup final – his league campaign concluded the previous weekend, leaving him unable to overtake Mbappe.
The final standings highlight Mbappé’s dominant season in one of Europe’s top competitions, earning him individual recognition in his first year wearing the white shirt of Madrid.
