Aubameyang the early pacesetter in race to become Europe’s leading scorer

There’s an unfamiliar look to the top of this season’s ESM Golden Shoe standings. For the last few years the award for Europe’s leading goalscorer has developed into a personal battle between Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

This season, though, with Messi missing much of the campaign through injury and Ronaldo struggling for goals domestically, new names have emerged at the top of the leader board. Chief among them is Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has already netted 18 league goals. Completing the top three are a pair of players whose seasons are further advanced, Shakhtar Donetsk’s ‘Alex Teixeira‘ Santos and Legia Warsaw’s Nemanja Nikolic.

There are some familiar names in the top ten including Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain, as well as Barcelona duo Neymar and Luis Suarez, who between them have ensured the goals have flowed in the absence of Messi.

One unexpected name near the top of the standings is Jamie Vardy, who with 14 goals this season, has spearheaded Leicester City’s unlikely push for the Premier League title.

POS PLAYER TEAM GOALS FACTOR PTS
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) 18 x 2 = 36
2. ‘Alex Teixeira‘ Santos (Shakhtar Donetsk) 22 x 1,5 = 33
3. Nemanja Nikolic (Legia Warszawa) 21 x 1,5 = 31,5
4. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) 15 x 2 = 30
5. Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli) 14 x 2 = 28
‘Neymar’ da Silva Santos (Barcelona) 14 x 2 = 28
Tomas Radzinevicius (Süduva Marijampole) 28 x 1 = 28
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) 14 x 2 = 28
9. Thomas Müller ( Bayern Munich) 13 x 2 = 26
Luis Suárez ( Barcelona) 13 x 2 = 26
11. David Arshakyan (FK Trakai) 25 x 1 = 25
Richard Towell (Dundalk) 25 x 1 = 25
13. Imanol Agirretxe (Real Sociedad) 12 x 2 = 24
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 12 x 2 = 24
Ingemar Teever (Levadia Tallinn) 24 x 1 = 24
16. Fernando Cavenaghi (APOEL Nicosia) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Nikolai Yanush (Shakhtyor Saligorsk) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
18. Gerard Gohou (Kairat Almaty) 22 x 1 = 22
‘Jonas’ Goncalves (Benfica) 11 x 2 = 22
‘Lucas’ Pérez (Deportivo La Coruña) 11 x 2 = 22
Alexander Søderlund (Rosenborg) 22 x 1 = 22
22. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Emir Kujovic (IFK Norrköping) 21 x 1 = 21
Klaemint Olsen (NSÍ Runavik) 21 x 1 = 21
Jonatan Soriano (Red Bull Salzburg) 14 x 1,5 = 21
Lukas Spalvis (Aalborg) 14 x 1,5 = 21
27. Aritz Adúriz (Athletic Bilbao) 10 x 2 = 20
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 10 x 2 = 20
‘Eder’ Citadin (Sampdoria) 10 x 2 = 20
Javier Hernández (Bayer Leverkusen) 10 x 2 = 20
Odion Ighalo (Watford) 10 x 2 = 20
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) 10 x 2 = 20
Andrei Panyukov (FK Atlantas Klaipeda) 20 x 1 = 20
Arturas Rimkevicius (FC Stumbras Kaunas) 20 x 1 = 20
35. Samuel Eto’o Fils (Antalyaspor) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Marc Janko (Basel) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Luuk de Jong (PSV Eindhoven) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
Ilija Nestorovski (Inter Zapresic) 13 x 1,5 = 19,5
40. Jaroslav Kvasov (Sillamäe Kalev) 19 x 1 = 19
41. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) 9 x 2 = 18
Henok Goitom (AIK Solna) 18 x 1 = 18
Javi Guerra Rodríguez (Rayo Vallecano) 9 x 2 = 18
Ioan Hora (Pandurii Târgu Jiu) 12 x 1,5 = 18
Nikola Kalinic (Fiorentina) 9 x 2 = 18
Deniss Rakels (Cracovia Kraków) 12 x 1,5 = 18
Eran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 12 x 1,5 = 18