Cristiano Ronaldo was again on target in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza to take his total for the season to 24 goals. That strike took the ahead of  longstanding leader, Aleksandrs Čekulajevs, at the top of the ESM Golden Shoe rankings.

Ronaldo is currently on course to beat the record he set last year of most goals (40) ever scored in a season in La Liga.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi drew a rare blank as his Barcelona side laboured to a goalless draw at struggling Villarreal. The Argentinian is still the most likely to challenge Ronaldo for the Golden Shoe, lying just two goals behind his great rival.

POS PLAYER TEAM GOALS FACTOR PTS

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 24 x 2 = 48
2. Aleksandrs Cekulajevs (JK Trans Narva) 46 x 1 = 46
3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 22 x 2 = 44
4. Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 19 x 2 = 38
5. Burak Yilmaz (Trabzonspor) 25 x 1,5 = 37,5
6. Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow) 24 x 1,5 = 36
7. Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 17 x 2 = 34
8. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04) 16 x 2 = 32
9. Demba Ba (Newcastle United) 15 x 2 = 30
Olivier Giroud (Montpellier) 15 x 2 = 30
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Milan) 15 x 2 = 30
Lukas Podolski (Köln) 15 x 2 = 30
13. Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero (Manchester City) 14 x 2 = 28
Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid) 14 x 2 = 28
Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 14 x 2 = 28
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund) 14 x 2 = 28
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 14 x 2 = 28
18. David Lafata (FK Jablonec) 18 x 1,5 = 27
Jérémy Perbet (Mons) 18 x 1,5 = 27
Artjoms Rudnevs (Lech Poznán) 18 x 1,5 = 27
21. Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 13 x 2 = 26
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 13 x 2 = 26
23. Mostafa Abdellaoue (Tromsö IL) 17 x 1,5 = 25,5
Bas Dost (Heerenveen) 17 x 1,5 = 25,5
25. Ole Martin Arst (IK Start Kristiansand) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 12 x 2 = 24
Gérman Gustavo Denis (Atalanta) 12 x 2 = 24
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit St.Petersburg) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Rade Prica (Rosenborg) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach) 12 x 2 = 24
Roberto Soldado (Valencia) 12 x 2 = 24
Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Blackburn Rovers) 12 x 2 = 24

* Standings last updated 29/01/2012
**Rules
Only the leading five countries – Spain, Italy, Germany, France and England – 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.