Viktor Gyokeres (foto: Getty Images)
Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres could become the first Golden Boot winner from a lower-ranked league since 2002, edging past Salah and Mbappe with one game left in Portugal.
The race for the European Golden Boot in the 2024/25 season is turning into one of the most thrilling title fights in decades, with Viktor Gyokeres potentially on the verge of making history.
The Sporting Lisbon striker currently leads the standings with 57 points, ahead of Kylian Mbappe (La Liga) and Mohamed Salah (Premier League), who both sit just one point behind. With each league approaching its final fixtures, the Golden Boot will be decided in the final moments of the domestic campaigns.
Gyokeres has scored 38 league goals this season, but because the Portuguese league has a UEFA coefficient of 1.5, his goals count for slightly less than those in La Liga and the Premier League, which are valued at 2 points per goal. Mbappe and Salah both have 28 league goals (56 points) but have the benefit of the full coefficient.
Should Gyokeres hold on, he would be the first player since Mario Jardel in 2002 to win the Golden Boot from outside one of Europe’s top-rated leagues. Jardel scored 42 goals in the Portuguese top flight during the 2001/02 season with Sporting, the very same club Gyokeres now represents.
Fixtures remaining:
- Viktor Gyokeres: Sporting vs Guimaraes (home)
- Mohamed Salah: Brighton (away), Crystal Palace (home)
- Kylian Mbappe: Sevilla (away), Real Sociedad (home)
Gyokeres has the advantage of a single home match with the Portuguese title on the line—a match where motivation will be sky-high. Meanwhile, Salah and Mbappe each have two games remaining, giving them a mathematical edge, particularly if they find form in the closing rounds.
The race promises to be the tightest since the early 2000s, and with history on the line, all eyes will be on the final weekend.