We have a new leader at the head of the ESM Golden Shoe standings – three of them in fact. Roma’s Edin Dzeko, Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi were all on target last weekend and have edged clear of previous frontrunner, Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani.

The leading trio have scored each 18 goals this season, which though six fewer than Cavani, ranks higher than the Uruguayan due to the higher coefficient of the Italian and Spanish leagues relative to Ligue 1.

The title for Europe’s leading goalscorer is still up for grabs, though, with several big names including Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and last year’s winner, Luis Suarez, still very much in contention. One should not discount Robert Lewandowski who has 16 for the season, nor even four-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo who, by his own prolific standards, has not quite hit the heights this season.

POS PLAYER TEAM GOALS FACTOR PTS
1. Edin Džeko (AS Roma) 19 x 2 = 38
Gonzalo Higuaín (Juventus) 19 x 2 = 38
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 19 x 2 = 38
4. Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain) 25 x 1,5 = 37,5
5. Luis Suárez (FC Barcelona) 18 x 2 = 36
6. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) 17 x 2 = 34
Andrea Belotti (Torino FC) 17 x 2 = 34
Bas Dost (Sporting Clube de Portugal) 17 x 2 = 34
Anthony Modeste (1.FC Köln) 17 x 2 = 34
Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) 17 x 2 = 34
11. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) 16 x 2 = 32
Romelu Lukaku (Everton FC) 16 x 2 = 32
Dries Mertens (SSC Napoli) 16 x 2 = 32
14. Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais) 21 x 1,5 = 31,5
15. Diego Costa (Chelsea) 15 x 2 = 30
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) 15 x 2 = 30
Mauro Icardi (Internazionale) 15 x 2 = 30
18. Christian Gytkjaer (Rosenborg BK) 19 x 1,5 = 28,5
19. Jermaine Defoe (Sunderland AFC) 14 x 2 = 28
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) 14 x 2 = 28
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 14 x 2 = 28
22. Matt Derbyshire (AC Omonia Nicosia) 18 x 1,5 = 27
Łukasz Teodorczyk (RSC Anderlecht) 18 x 1,5 = 27
24. Ciro Immobile (Lazio Roma) 13 x 2 = 26
André Silva (FC Porto) 13 x 2 = 26
26. John Owoeri (BK Häcken) 17 x 1,5 = 25,5
27. Evgeni Kabaev (Sillamäe Kalev) 25 x 1 = 25
28. Iago Aspas (RC Celta de Vigo) 12 x 2 = 24
Radamel Falcao (AS Monaco) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Bafétimbi Gomis (Olympique Marseille) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Azdren Llullaku (CS Gaz Metan Mediaş) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Cenk Tosun (Besiktas JK) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Timo Werner (RasenBallsport Leipzig) 12 x 2 = 24
34. Gerard Gohou (FC Kairat Almaty) 23 x 1 = 23
Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ Runavik) 23 x 1 = 23
36. Sebastian Andersson (IFK Norrköping) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Mikhail Gordeichuk (BATE Borisov) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Guillaume Hoarau (BSC Young Boys) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Nicolai Jørgensen (Feyenoord) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Vitali Rodionov (BATE Borisov) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Pieros Sotirou (APOEL Nicosia FC) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
42. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) 11 x 2 = 22
Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) 11 x 2 = 22
Nikola Kalinić (ACF Fiorentina) 11 x 2 = 22
Sadio Mané (Liverpool FC) 11 x 2 = 22
Konstantinos Mitroglou (SL Benfica) 11 x 2 = 22
‘Welthon’ Fiel Sampaio (Paços de Ferreira) 11 x 2 = 22
48. Vidar Orn Kjartansson (Malmö FF) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Páll Klettskard (KÍ Klaksvik) 21 x 1 = 21
Jelle Vossen (KRC Genk) 14 x 1,5 = 21
51. Federico Bernardeschi (ACF Fiorentina) 10 x 2 = 20
Marco Borriello (US Cagliari Calcio) 10 x 2 = 20
Iago Falqué (Torino FC) 10 x 2 = 20
Marek Hamsik (SSC Napoli) 10 x 2 = 20
Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 10 x 2 = 20
Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) 10 x 2 = 20
Andrija Kaludjerović (FK Žalgiris Vilnius) 20 x 1 = 20
Moussa Marega (Vitória Guimarães SC) 10 x 2 = 20
Giovanni Simeone (Genoa CFC) 10 x 2 = 20
60. Mostafa Abdellaoue (Aalesunds FK) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Deni Alar (SK Sturm Graz) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Marcus Berg (Panathinaikos) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Ideye Brown (Olympiakos Piraeus) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Reza Ghoochannejhad (sc Heerenveen) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Younés Hamza (Xanthi FC) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Nemanja Nikolic (Legia Warszawa) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Viktor Prodell (IF Elfsborg) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Orlando Sá (Standard Liège) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Emilio Jose Zelaya (Ethnikos Achnas) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
70. Andrew Mitchell (Dungannon Swifts FC) 19 x 1 = 19
Rauno Sappinen (FC Flora Tallinn) 19 x 1 = 19
Vjatseslav Zahovaiko (Paide Linnameeskond) 19 x 1 = 19

Standings last updated 21/02/2017

Rules

Only the leading five countries – Spain, Italy, Germany, England and Portugal – in the UEFA rankings have two as their multiplier. This is to emphasise the difference in (international) performance level between clubs from those countries and those of other nations.A player cannot play first in a summer league (e.g. Norway) and then in a winter league (e.g. Spain) and combine the points totals for each season.