Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi received his fourth European Golden Shoe award on Friday after scoring 37 times in La Liga in 2016-17.
- Messi had also won the award in 2012-13 (46 league goals), 2011-12 (50) and 2009-10 (34)
- Now Messi has
- This year's golden shoe drew him even with Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the award record-holders.
- The only time a non-Spanish league player won the Golden Shoe in the last decade was when Suarez shared the prize with Ronaldo while playing for Liverpool in 2013-14.
- The Golden Shoe is awarded by European Sports Media, an association of European sports newspaper and magazines.
European Golden Shoe
- The European Golden Shoe was formerly known as the European Golden Boot.
- It is an association football award presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league.
- It was incepted in the 1967–68 season and was originally called Soulier d'Or, which translates from French as Golden Shoe or Boot.
- It has been given to the top goalscorer in all European leagues that season. Originally presented by L'Équipe magazine
- It has been awarded by the European Sports Media since the 1996–97 season.
