Golden glory: Kylian Mbappe wins European Golden Shoe in debut season with Real Madrid

French striker Kylian Mbappe has claimed the European Golden Shoe for the very first time in his career and that too in some fashion. The 25-year-old forward, hit a brace in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday (24 May), in their final La Liga match of the season.

The match was played at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian. With those two goals, Mbappe finished the season with 31 goals in La Liga, making him the top scorer not only in Spain but also across the five major leagues in Europe.

The European Golden Shoe is given to the player who scores the most goals in league matches across Europe, but it’s based on a certain points system.

Goals scored in Europe’s top five leagues: La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 are worth two points each. Conversely, goals from lower-ranked leagues like Portugal’s Primeira Liga are worth 1.5 points.

Also Read | PSG beat Reims to win French Cup ahead of Champions League final

Even though Sporting CP’s Victor Gyokeres scored 39 league goals in the Portuguese league, he earned 58.5 points (39 goals × 1.5 points per goal) compared to Mbappe’s 62 points (31 goals × 2 points per goal).

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah came close as well. He needed a hat-trick in Liverpool’s final match against Crystal Palace to equal Mbappe’s score. However, Salah only managed one goal in a 1-1 draw, ending with 58 points.

Mbappe's Golden Shoe win is historic as he became the only third Real Madrid player ever to win this title, after Hugo Sanchez in 1989-90 and Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it thrice with Los Blancos.

Kylian's performance at Anoeta Stadium sealed not just a win for Real Madrid, but a personal milestone that places him among Europe's elite forwards. With this, the French star has added another feather to his growing list of achievements.