Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins his record fifth Golden Shoe award for leading all of Europe’s soccer leagues in scoring last season, breaking the tie he had with Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite being overlooked for Ballon d’Or, Messi scored 34 goals in La Liga last season to lead Barcelona to another glorious title in the 2017-18 campaign.
Argentina forward also won the award in 2009-10(34 goals), 2011-12(50), 2012-13(46) and 2016-17(37). He currently leads Europe’s top leagues with 17 goals this season and Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 572 goals in 655 games.
The striker who scored ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Tottenham’s Harry Kane responded after receiving the award, “I dreamt of playing football and enjoying success, I love the game but I never imagined I would have so much. I enjoy the work, the effort and I am with the best team of the world and play with the best teammates, so everything is much easier”.
The Argentine acknowledged that his career exceeds his expectations and he feels good physically and emotionally.
The recent hat-trick of Messi against Levante in a scintillating 5-0 Barcelona victory makes him score three or more goals on 49 occasions in his career.
