KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Lionel Messi has joined Cristiano Ronaldo in leading the pursuit of Robert Lewandowski in the chase for the ESM European Golden Shoe.

Messi took his tally for the season to 19 at the weekend He, Ronaldo and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Andre Silva are nine goals adrift of Bayern Munich’s FIFA world player of the year.

Formal second place in the rankings is still held by Kasper Junker of Norway’s Bodo/Glimt.

Junker scored 27 and was a long-time leader of the standings because the Golden Shoe is based on a ranking computed according to UEFA’s end-of-season rankings.

Thus marksmen from among the top five nations benefit from a multiple of 2.0, the next batch (places six to 22 ) a factor of 1.5 and the remainder 1.0.

Scandinavian leagues which traditionally play to a calendar-year schedule always provide the initial leaders before being overtaken in due course by the superstars of western Europe.

Last season’s winner was Lazio’s Ciro Immobile.

Golden Shoe standings

(Ranking multiplication based on UEFA coefficient status)

1. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) 28 x 2 = 56

2. Kasper Junker (FK Bodø/Glimt) 27 x 1,5 = 40,5

3. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 19 x 2 = 38
— Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) 19 x 2 = 38
— André Miguel Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt) 19 x 2 = 38
6. Amahl Pellegrino (Kristiansund BK) 25 x 1,5 = 37,5
7. Romelu Lukaku (Internazionale Milano) 18 x 2 = 36
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) 18 x 2 = 36
Paul Ebere Onuachu (KRC Genk) 24 x 1,5 = 36
10. Giorgos Giakoumakis (VVV-Venlo) 23 x 1,5 = 34,5
11. Erling Braut Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) 17 x 2 = 34
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC) 17 x 2 = 34
13. Luis Alberto Suárez (Atlético Madrid) 16 x 2 = 32
14. Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes (Manchester United) 15 x 2 = 30
15. Thomas Henry (Oud-Heverlee Leuven) 19 x 1,5 = 28,5
Philip Zinckernagel (FK Bodø/Glimt) 19 x 1,5 = 28,5
17. Memphis Depay (Olympique Lyonnais) 14 x 2 = 28
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) 14 x 2 = 28
Ciro Immobile (SS Lazio Roma) 14 x 2 = 28
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) 14 x 2 = 28
Luis Muriel Fruto (Atalanta Bergamo) 14 x 2 = 28
Wout Weghorst (VfL Wolfsburg) 14 x 2 = 28
23. Aaron Boupendza (Hatayspor Kulübü) 18 x 1,5 = 27
Christoffer Nyman (IFK Norrköping) 18 x 1,5 = 27
25. Patrick Bamford (Leeds United) 13 x 2 = 26
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton FC) 13 x 2 = 26
Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla FC) 13 x 2 = 26
‘Gerard’ Moreno Balagueró (Villarreal CF) 13 x 2 = 26
Andrej Kramaric (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) 13 x 2 = 26
Lautaro Martínez (Internazionale Milano) 13 x 2 = 26
Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur) 13 x 2 = 26
Kevin Volland (AS Monaco) 13 x 2 = 26
Wissam Ben Yedder (AS Monaco) 13 x 2 = 26
34. Youssef El-Arabi (Olympiakos Piraeus) 17 x 1,5 = 25,5
Gianni Bruno (SV Zulte Waregem) 17 x 1,5 = 25,5
Patson Daka (Red Bull Salzburg) 17 x 1,5 = 25,5
37. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 12 x 2 = 24
Veton Berisha (Viking FK Stavanger) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Boulaye Dia (Stade de Reims) 12 x 2 = 24
Odsonne Édouard (Celtic FC) 16 x 1,5 = 24
Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad de Fútbol) 12 x 2 = 24
Ramón Nazareno Miérez (NK Osijek) 16 x 1,5 = 24
‘João Pedro’ Galvão (Cagliari Calcio) 12 x 2 = 24
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) 12 x 2 = 24
45. Rauno Sappinen (FC Flora Tallinn) 23 x 1 = 23
46. Mushaga Bakenga (Odds BK) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Kristijan Lovrić (HNK Gorica) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Astrit Seljmani (Varbergs BoIS) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
49. Ludovic Ajorque (Racing Strasbourg Alsace) 11 x 2 = 22
Andrea Belotti (Torino FC) 11 x 2 = 22
Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) 11 x 2 = 22
Sasa Kalajdzic (VfB Stuttgart) 11 x 2 = 22
Bioty Moise Kean (Paris Saint-Germain) 11 x 2 = 22
José Luis Morales (Levante DU) 11 x 2 = 22
Karl Toko Ekambi (Olympique Lyonnais) 11 x 2 = 22
Silas Wamangituka (VfB Stuttgart) 11 x 2 = 22
57. Jens Petter Hauge (FK Bodø/Glimt) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Sékou Koïta (Red Bull Salzburg) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Milan Makarić (FK Radnik Surdulica) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Moses Ogbu (Mjällby AIF) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Pedro António Pereira Gonçalves ‘Pote’ (Sporting CP) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Yuma Suzuki (Sint-Truiden VV) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Isaac Kiese Thelin (Malmö FF) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Roman Yaremchuk (KAA Gent) 14 x 1,5 = 21
66. Francesco Caputo (US Sassuolo Calcio) 10 x 2 = 20
Amine Gouiri (OGC Nice) 10 x 2 = 20
Lorenzo Insigne (SSC Napoli Calcio) 10 x 2 = 20
Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München) 10 x 2 = 20
Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad de Fútbol) 10 x 2 = 20
Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach) 10 x 2 = 20
Jordan Veretout (AS Roma) 10 x 2 = 20
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa FC) 10 x 2 = 20
Callum Wilson (Newcastle United) 10 x 2 = 20

** The Golden Shoe is administered, computed and formulated by the European Sports Media group whose members comprise: A Bola (Portugal), ElfVoetbal (Netherlands), Fanatik (Turkey), Foot Magazine (Belgium), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy), GoalNews/Sentragoal (Greece), Guerin Sportivo (Italy), Kicker (Germany), Marca (Spain), Nemzeti Sport (Hungary), SoFoot (France), Sport Express (Russia), Telegraaf/Telesport (Netherlands), Tipsbladet (Denmark), World Soccer (England). Affiliated members: Kick Off (South Africa), Titan Sport (China), Netease (China), SportalKorea (South-Korea).