Messi wins fifth European Golden shoe

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi finishes as the top-scorer in the continent with 34 strikes in La Liga to win the European Golden Shoe and the Pichichi trophy.

Messi, who accepted the Best Player of La Liga Santander for April from the hands of former Barca legend Xavi at the Camp Nou, came off the bench late in Barca’s 1-0 victory at the Camp Nou yesterday.

Messi’s closest competitors in terms of goals were Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, who scored 32 goals and 30 goals respectively. Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi finished with a goal tally of 29 goals. Messi’s closest challenger in La Liga was once again Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 26 goals after making a slow start in the league. The Portuguese won three Pichichi trophies in his career.

Messi will also receive the Pichichi Trophy for becoming La Liga’s top-scorer for 2017-18 season. The latest Pichichi means that Messi have won the award five times in his career. Messi also broke the 30-goal mark for the seventh time in La Liga inside nine seasons.