Mbappe wins European Golden Shoe for first time

Kylian Mbappe won the European Golden Shoe for the first time since scoring twice for Real Madrid in their 2-0 defeat of Real Sociedad on Saturday.

In his first season in Spain, the French international scored 31 league goals, earning him the La Liga title.

In Real’s final game of the year, Mbappe won the title with a double, beating out Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sporting’s Victor Gyokeres (39 goals).

Because a weighted-points ranking system determines the rankings, Gyokeres finished second overall in the league despite scoring eight more goals than Mbappe.

Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 goals scored by players in Europe’s top five leagues are worth two points.

One point is exchanged for goals in Uefa’s rankings’ sixth to twenty-second leagues, including the Portuguese Primeira Liga, for goals scored in those leagues.

In Liverpool’s final Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Mohamed Salah and Mbappe both needed a hat-trick to share the trophy. In a 1-1 draw, the Egypt international scored once.

Mbappe is just the third Real player to win the award, after Hugo Sanchez (1989-90) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15).

Because Sporting’s league campaign ended the previous weekend, Gyokeres, who has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, had no chance to catch Mbappe.

The Sweden international finished the season with 53 goals in 51 games overall after scoring in his side’s 3-1 defeat of Lisbon rivals Benfica on Sunday.