Cristiano Ronaldo is poised to win the European Golden Shoe award for the fourth time, moving him one ahead of the three won by his great rival Lionel Messi.
Entering the finishing stretch of the season, the Real Madrid star's 42 goals in La Liga put him just in front of the Barcelona talisman in the official ranking for Europe's top goalscorers.
The leaderboard takes into account only goals scored in domestic leagues, with the total multiplied by a factor of either 2 or 1.5 based on the strength of that league according to the UEFA Coefficient.
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to win the European Golden Shoe for top goalscorer for the second year in a row
The Portuguese star is leading the way in the race for the prestigious goalscorer accolade
But his Barcelona rival Lionel Messi could still beat him to the award with a few more goals in La Liga
| Rank | Player | Club | League | Goals | Factor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. Ronaldo | Real Madrid | ESP | 42 | 2 | 84 |
| 2 | L. Messi | FC Barcelona | ESP | 40 | 2 | 80 |
| 3 | S. Aguero | Manchester City | ENG | 25 | 2 | 50 |
| 4 | Neymar | FC Barcelona | ESP | 22 | 2 | 44 |
| 5 | A. Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | ESP | 22 | 2 | 44 |
| 6 | J. Soriano | RB Salzburg | AUT | 29 | 1.5 | 43.5 |
| 7 | E. Zahavi | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ISR | 27 | 1.5 | 40.5 |
| 8 | A. Lacazette | Olympique Lyonnais | FRA | 27 | 1.5 | 40.5 |
| 9 | H. Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | ENG | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| 10 | C. Tevez | FC Juventus | ITA | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| 11 | C. Bacca | Sevilla CF | ESP | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| 12 | Diego Costa | Chelsea FC | ENG | 19 | 2 | 38 |
| 13 | L. Toni | Hellas Verona | ITA | 19 | 2 | 38 |
| 14 | A. Meier | Eintracht Frankfurt | GER | 19 | 2 | 38 |
| 15 | M. Icardi | FC Internazionale | ITA | 18 | 2 | 36 |
| 16 | C. Austin | Queens Park Rangers | ENG | 17 | 2 | 34 |
| 17 | A. Robben | Bayern München | GER | 17 | 2 | 34 |
| 18 | J. Martinez | FC Porto | POR | 17 | 2 | 34 |
| 19 | Jonas | SL Benfica | POR | 17 | 2 | 34 |
| 20 | R. Lewandowski | Bayern München | GER | 16 | 2 | 32 |
| Up to and including May 10 | ||||||
So, with La Liga deemed one of Europe's strongest leagues - and therefore theoretically harder to score in - Ronaldo has a total of 84, four ahead of 40-goal Messi.
If he holds on to this advantage in the remaining two rounds of fixtures, Ronaldo will win the Golden Shoe for the fourth time.
He previously won it when at Manchester United in 2007-08, claimed it outright while at Real Madrid in 2010-11 and shared it with Liverpool's Luis Suarez last season.
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero is a distant third behind Ronaldo and Messi in the ranking
Barcelona's Brazilian star Neymar comes in fourth in the Golden Shoe list after 22 league goals
Atletico Madrid's French star Antoine Griezmann is level with Neymar on the list
Messi has previously claimed the prestigious award in 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
The pair are some distance ahead of the other contenders, with Manchester City's Sergio Aguero in third. His 25 Premier League goals result in a score of 50.
Barcelona's Neymar is in joint-fourth with Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann, followed by 29-goal Jonathan Soriano of Red Bull Salzburg.
Because the Austrian league is deemed weaker, Soriano's tally of 29 goals is multiplied by a factor of 1.5.
Tottenham's Harry Kane is ninth on the list with a score of 40, while Chelsea's Diego Costa comes in 12th with 38 points.
Cristiano Ronaldo first won the Golden shoe with Manchester United back in 2007-08
Messi has won the prize on three occasions, the last of which was during the 2012-13 campaign
