Every Golden Boot winner of the 2010s from Europe’s top five leagues
The 2010s were packed with prolific scorers, unforgettable title races, and legendary individual performances. From Lionel Messi’s mind-boggling numbers in La Liga to fierce goal battles in the Premier League, Europe’s five major leagues consistently delivered drama and brilliance in front of goal.
We’ve revisited every single Golden Boot winner from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 throughout the decade, five competitions, ten seasons, 57 winners in total. Here’s a league-by-league breakdown of who outscored the rest.
Premier League
The English top flight saw a variety of scorers rise to the top, including veterans, one-season wonders, and future icons. The 2010–11 season had a rare joint win between Manchester's finest, one from City, the other from United, both scoring 20 goals. Robin van Persie’s move from Arsenal to Manchester United paid off instantly, as he won the Golden Boot two years running, first in red-and-white and then in red.
Luis Suárez set a new benchmark in 2013–14 with 31 goals, only for Harry Kane to emerge as England’s next great number nine, claiming the award in 2015–16 and 2016–17. Mohamed Salah exploded onto the scene with 32 goals in 2017–18, while the 2018–19 season saw a three-way tie between Salah, Sadio Mané and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, each finishing on 22 goals. Jamie Vardy’s 23-goal season in 2019–20 rounded off a richly competitive decade.
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La Liga
Few players dominated the scoring charts in their domestic league like Lionel Messi did in Spain during the 2010s. The Barcelona talisman claimed the Golden Boot an astonishing six times in this span, with his 50-goal season in 2011–12 standing as a record-breaking masterpiece. Cristiano Ronaldo also featured regularly, topping the chart with 40 goals for Real Madrid in 2010–11 and adding another crown in 2013–14.
Luis Suárez broke the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly once, netting 40 goals in 2015–16, while the latter years of the decade were again monopolised by Messi, who remained astonishingly consistent even as Barcelona’s dominance wavered. His final win in 2019–20 came with 25 goals, a low tally by his standards, yet still enough to lead the league.
Serie A
Italy’s top flight had a more diverse mix of Golden Boot winners throughout the 2010s, reflecting both tactical evolution and the arrival of new attacking stars. Antonio Di Natale’s back-to-back wins in 2010–11 and 2011–12, both with 28 goals, proved that age was no barrier to prolific form. Edinson Cavani starred for Napoli in 2012–13, while Ciro Immobile began his journey to stardom with Torino the following year.
The 2014–15 season saw two players share the honour with 22 goals each, Mauro Icardi and Luca Toni, the latter at 38 years old. Gonzalo Higuaín’s 36-goal explosion in 2015–16 set a new Serie A record. Edin Džeko and Mauro Icardi shared it again in 2017–18, both with 29 goals, and Immobile would go on to win it outright in 2019–20 with another 36-goal campaign, equalling Higuaín’s mark.
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Bundesliga
The Bundesliga’s top scorer race was initially open, with names like Mario Gómez, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Stefan Kießling topping the charts early in the decade. However, the narrative shifted dramatically with the rise of Robert Lewandowski, who claimed five Golden Boots from 2013–14 onward. His 34 goals in 2019–20 sealed another dominant season for both himself and Bayern Munich.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also enjoyed a prolific stint at Borussia Dortmund, claiming the top spot in 2016–17 with 31 goals, before departing for Arsenal. Throughout the decade, the Bundesliga maintained a strong goalscoring culture, with top scorers often leading their teams to major honours.
Ligue 1
The French league experienced its own mix of domestic talent and international flair. Moussa Sow won the award in 2010–11 for Lille with 25 goals, but from 2012 onward, PSG’s dominance became increasingly evident in the scoring charts as well. Zlatan Ibrahimović claimed three Golden Boots in four seasons, peaking at 38 goals in 2015–16.
Later years saw Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappé take over the goalscoring mantle in Paris, with Mbappé winning the award in both 2018–19 and 2019–20. In that final season, however, he shared the honour with Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder, both finishing with 18 goals after the campaign was cut short due to the pandemic.
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