It's been several years since the Golden Shoe race has been this competitive, an award from European Sports Media for Europe's top goalscorer.

Kylian Mbappé narrowly missed out, despite scoring twice in his team's win over Real Sociedad. The French forward has surged ahead, netting goals in all of Real Madrid's last five matches and tallying nine goals, bringing his season total to 29 and his Golden Shoe score to 58.

This performance allows him to overtake a former leader who was once the favorite but has struggled recently. Mohamed Salah has scored only once in his last eight games, during Liverpool's 5-1 victory over Spurs on April 27.

Salah now sits third with 28 goals and a score of 56. He could still catch up to Mbappé by scoring at least two goals in Liverpool's final match against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Assuming no major upsets, such as Alexander Isak scoring six or more against Everton, Salah is set to win the Premier League Golden Boot for the fourth time.

Sporting's prolific Swede could match Larsson's feat

Viktor Gyökeres of Sporting Clube leads with 39 goals and a Golden Shoe score of 58.5 (Primeira Liga goals have a coefficient of 1.5, while those in LaLiga, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 are worth 2).

In Sporting Clube's 34 league games this season, Gyökeres failed to score in only 11. He has recorded five hat tricks and five braces, and he will claim his first Golden Shoe and the club's third, unless Salah scores twice or more against Palace.

If he maintains his lead, Gyökeres will become the second Swedish player to win the award, following Henrik Larsson, who won it in 2000–01.

Harry Kane is out of contention, currently fourth with 52 points from 26 goals for Bayern Munich.

Several players could climb the rankings as the Premier League and LaLiga seasons end this weekend. Besides Salah, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak, Mateo Retegui, Robert Lewandowski, and Ante Budimir all have one final opportunity to boost their standings.

2024-25 ESM Golden Shoe standings

58.5 points: Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting Clube) 39 goals

58 points: Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) 29 goals

56 points: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) 28 goals

52 points: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) 26 goals

50 points: Mateo Retegui (Atalanta) 25 goals

50 points: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) 25 goals

46 points: Alexander Isak (Newcastle) 23 goals

42 points: Erling Haaland (Manchester City) 21 goals

42 points: Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund) 21 goals

42 points: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) 21 goals

42 points: Ante Budimir (Osasuna) 21 goals

42 points: Ousmane Dembélé (PSG) 21 goals