Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe wins European Golden Shoe

Story By: BBC

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

The France international scored 31 league goals in his debut season in Spain, meaning he also won La Liga’s top scorer prize.

A double in Real’s final game of the season secured Mbappe top spot in the rankings ahead of Sporting striker Victor Gyokeres (39 goals) and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah (29 goals).

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Though Gyokeres scored eight more league goals than Mbappe, he finished runner-up because a weighted-points based system decides the rankings.

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

Goals from those who play in leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in Uefa’s coefficient, including the Portuguese Primeira Liga, are worth 1.5 points.

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Mohamed Salah won the PL Player of the Season Award and Golden Boot Award Photo Courtesy: Getty Images
Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting runs with the ball (Photo by Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Mohamed Salah needed a hat-trick in Liverpool’s final Premier League match against Crystal Palace on Sunday in order to share the prize with Mbappe. The Egypt international scored once in a 1-1 draw.

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).

Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid controls the ball during LaLiga match (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Gyokeres – who has been heavily linked with a summer move to Arsenal – had no chance of catching Mbappe because Sporting’s league campaign ended the previous weekend.

After scoring in his side’s 3-1 defeat of Lisbon rivals Benfica in the Portuguese Cup final on Sunday, the Sweden international finished the season with 53 goals in 51 games in all competitions.

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Harry Kane (L) of Bayern Munich and goalkeeper Yann Sommer of FC Internazionale watch the ball as it enters net (Photo by Marco Mantovani/Getty Images)

The top five in the rankings were as follows: Mbappe (62 points), Gyokeres (58.5), Salah (58), Robert Lewandowski (54), Harry Kane (52).

Robert Lewandowski Photo Courtesy: AP
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