Who are the favourites to win the La Liga Golden Boot this season
Winning the Golden Boot in Spain’s top division is a big deal, and it used to be reserved for either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
Those two raised the bar for competitiveness when they played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.
Since both attackers left the league, several individuals have won the Golden Boot, and last season’s race for the price was interesting.
Jude Bellingham led the log for a long time, but the Englishman eventually lost the lead. However, he did not lose it to an established striker like Robert Lewandowski.
The Poland star plays for Barcelona and has been one of the best strikers in the world for several seasons.
However, last term was a poor campaign for Barca, which also affected the number of goals he scored. He found the back of the net 19 times, which is good by many standards.
However, that only made him the fourth-highest scorer in the league, as Girona’s Artem Dovbyk won the Golden Boot with 24 goals, one goal ahead of Villarreal’s Alexander Sorloth.
Sorloth now plays for Atletico Madrid, where he helps them sell La Liga tickets and fill their stadium for games.
Dovbyk now plays for AS Roma in Italy after a big money move this summer, so a new Golden Boot winner will emerge at the end of this season.
There are so many top strikers in the league, and we have curated some of the best names we think could emerge as top scorers in Spain this season.
Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona
Considering Lewandowski’s reputation, we expected him to win the Golden Boot in Spain every season as soon as he moved to Barcelona.
He achieved that while playing for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, and there is hardly a striker with his reputation in Spain.
However, in his two seasons at Barcelona, he has failed to win the Golden Boot, but we expect that to change this term.
With Hansi Flick as Barca's manager, 36-year-old Lewandowski could have his best season in Spain. He has already scored four goals in his first five league games.
Barcelona looks unstoppable so far, and they will get even better when their injury problems ease and the players better understand how Flick wants his team to play.
His form will be instrumental in the sale of Barcelona tickets this season, so he will score many goals for the club.
Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid
Lewandowski has a new and more serious competitor for the Golden Boot award in Spain after Kylian Mbappe began life in La Liga.
Real Madrid courted the striker for a long time and he finally made the move to Spain after becoming the top scorer in PSG’s history.
Mbappe’s arrival is one reason why Real Madrid can retain the La Liga crown this season, and everyone knows they are a better team with him in their group.
The Frenchman favours playing on the right of an attacking three, but he will not automatically take that role from Vinicius Junior.
Although he is far more comfortable in that role, he is willing to play through the middle and entertain Real Madrid ticket buyers.
He has done so for much of his first few weeks at the club and has already scored three goals in five league games.
As Mbappe gets used to his new teammates, it will be easier for him to score goals and break club records, which will help him win the Golden Boot this term.
Raphinha, Barcelona
Raphinha was widely expected to leave Barcelona in the last transfer window, and the Catalans seemed open to allowing him to leave if a good offer came in.
However, the Brazilian winger had no interest in leaving the club and stayed, which seemed to be the best decision.
He lost his place on the wings to Lamine Yamal, but Flick found a way to add him to his midfield, and Raphinha is flourishing.
When he played on the wings, very few people thought he could be in the running to win the Golden Boot.
However, in midfield, Raphinha has since scored thrice and provided two assists in the first five league games of the season.
Flick is making it easy for him and other Barcelona attackers to score, and the Brazilian could surprisingly end this term as the leading scorer in Spain.
Ayoze Perez, Villarreal
Since returning to Spain from the Premier League, Perez has consistently proven to be a fine goalscorer.
He now plays for Villarreal and is a consistent goalscorer, which makes him one of the favourites to win the Golden Boot.
He will be inspired by how close Sorloth came to winning the Golden Boot last season while playing for Villarreal, and he does have a chance to win it.
The presence of Mbappe and Lewandowski reduces his chance of winning the Golden Boot, but it does not completely rule it out; he just needs to keep scoring goals.
Antoine Griezmann, Atletico de Madrid
Griezmann is in the twilight of his career, but he remains Atletico Madrid's main man and has already attained legendary status.
He has been forgiven for moving to Barcelona in 2019, a move he seems to regret, and he is now working hard to win a league title with Atletico.
His goals will be important to their success as a team, and he has shown that Atletico Madrid ticket buyers can rely on him.
This term, he has two goals and two assists from his first five league games, and we expect his performance to improve much further as the season continues.
If Atletico challenges for the league crown, he could be their leading goalscorer, which puts him in the running to win the league-wide award.
Alexander Sorloth, Atletico Madrid
Scoring 23 league goals last season earned Sorloth a move to Atletico Madrid, and he will be looking to maintain that form.
He started slowly in the Spanish capital, but that is understandable because he is beginning life at a new club that uses a different system from where he comes from.
However, Sorloth should begin to score again soon because he has already proven to be a reliable striker in Spain.
Atletico also has several attackers and midfielders who will gladly create chances for him as long as he can take them.
Conclusion
Winning the Golden Boot in La Liga is tough and doing it this season will probably be much tougher, but these players are the favourites to win the award.
