Lionel Messi is set to become the first player to win the European Golden Shoe for a third successive season.
The Barcelona forward finished LaLiga with 36 goals and could only realistically be caught by Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, with the World Cup winner needing to score four in his side’s final fixture, away to Reims in Ligue 1 on Friday night.
But the France forward was only able to net once in a 3-1 loss, and that saw Messi all but confirmed as the top scorer in European leagues for the third year in a row and a for a record sixth time in total.
Former Rangers and Scotland striker Ally McCoist claimed the award in successive seasons in 1992 and 1993, with Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo later matching that achievement – although those two shared the prize with Diego Forlan (Villarreal) and Luis Suarez (Barcelona), respectively, in their second years.
Messi last year became the first footballer to win the European Golden Shoe on five occasions, surpassing four-time winner Cristiano, and has now claimed the award for a sixth time.
The Argentine has 50 goals in all competitions this term and can add to that tally if he nets in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against Valencia in Seville.
Barca’s captain leads the European league standings on 36, with Mbappe second on 33 and Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella in third on 26.
Barca have already congratulated Messi on Twitter, but Quagliarella will have one last opportunity to catch him as the Italian faces former club Juventus in the final round of Serie A on Sunday.
