Kylian Mbappe won the European Golden Boot over Victor Gyokeres despite the latter scoring more goals. Here’s why.
Mbappe was crowned European Golden Boot winner in May, after wrapping up his first season at Real Madrid with 31 goals in 34 La Liga games, and 42 strikes in all competitions.
Indeed, that tally saw Mbappe become the highest scoring player ever in all competitions in a maiden Real Madrid season, surpassing Ivan Zamorano’s record set in the 1992/93 season.
However, Sporting’s Gyokeres scored more league goals than the France skipper last term. The Swede netted 39 goals in Portugal's domestic league as Sporting won the title.
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But Mbappe was awarded the European Golden Boot over Gyokeres due to UEFA’s weighted scoring system, which places a higher value on goals netted in Spain than in lower-ranked leagues.
Mbappe’s 31 goals earned him 62 coefficient points, as each La Liga goal is worth two coefficient points.
A goal in Portugal’s top flight is only worth 1.5 points, meaning that Gyokeres’ 39 goals saw him on 58.5 points, 3.5 points short of Mbappe’s total.
Mbappe took time to adapt at Real, failing to score in his first three games, while he suffered muscular injuries in September.
However, he ultimately found form at the turn of the year, netting in a 5-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final, and scoring a hat-trick against Manchester City in the second leg of the Champions League play-off.
Mbappe also netted an away hat-trick against Barcelona in a 4-3 defeat during the La Liga run in.
Twenty-nine of his Real Madrid goals have come in 2025.
On his slow start at Real Mbappe said in a January press conference: “I was fine physically, but I had to do more and I knew it. It was time to change everything because I didn’t come to Madrid to play badly.
“I thought a lot. Too much. How to do this, how to move… and when you think so much, you don’t play well… For now, I’m only thinking about Madrid. I’m thinking about playing my best football.”