Winners Chelsea and runners-up Manchester City dominate the Champions League positional awards shortlist for the 2020/21 season. Five of the players are from Chelsea and three from Manchester City which takes the PL tally to eight. Meanwhile, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Bayern and PSG players have also made the cut.

Nominees for Champions League positional awards: Goalkeepers

#1 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

Courtois's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 12
Minutes: 1,080
Clean sheets: 4
Goals conceded: 14

Courtois made a very good case to make his way into the nominees. He played a very crucial role in the semi-final run for Real Madrid. The Belgian made some match-winning saves and helped Real reach the Semis. However, he had to face defeat to his former club, Chelsea in the semi-final.

#2 Ederson (Manchester City)

Ederson's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 12
Minutes: 1,080
Clean sheets: 7
Goals conceded: 5

The Brazilian had been shortlisted by the UEFA as one of the nominees for the goalkeeper of the season award. Although he and his team failed to lift the trophy, he made a good case for his inclusion in the list.

#3 Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)

Edouard Mendy's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 12
Minutes: 1,080
Clean sheets: 9
Goals conceded: 3

Mendy had his season turned around its head. From not being a part of any top European team earlier, to join Chelsea and win the Champions League in the very first season is worth appreciating. He is also the favourite to win the goalkeeper of the season award.

Also Read: Goals by Goalkeepers: Top 5 Highest scoring goalkeepers

Nominees for Champions League positional awards: Defenders

#1 César Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Azpilicueta's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 11
Minutes: 965
Clean sheets: 7
Goals conceded: 4

The Chelsea captain had an immense contribution behind his team's UCL triumph. Both defensively and offensively, the Spaniard contributed to the blues and is one of the favourites to win the award.

#2 Rúben Dias (Manchester City)

Ruben Dias' UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 11
Minutes: 970
Clean sheets: 6
Goals conceded: 5

Recently, Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has won the Premier League Player of the Season award. Dias only joined City last summer but immediately impacted Pep Guardiola's team and was pivotal to their domestic title win. However, they were very close to the UCL title, but couldn't manage it in the end.

#3 Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)

Rudiger's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 11
Minutes: 922
Clean sheets: 8
Goals conceded: 3

Antonio Rudiger is one of the most under-rated defenders in recent times. He played a pivotal role in Chelsea's Champions League triumph. He is also one of the favourites besides Azpilicueta to bag the award.

Also Read: Top 5 Defenders with the Most Champions League goals

Nominees for Champions League positional awards: Midfielders

#1 Kevin De Bruyne (Man. City)

De Bruyne's UCL 2020/21 Stats:
Appearances: 8
Minutes: 669
Goals: 3
Assists: 4

Recently, Kevin De Bruyne won the PFA Player of the Year award for the second time. He was also the main man for City in the UCL. However, they fell short of the UCL title after facing defeat to Chelsea in the finals.

#2 Jorginho (Chelsea)

Jorginho's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 12
Minutes: 1,031
Goals: 1
Assists: 1

Jorginho is having his dream season ever. He won the Champions League with Chelsea and went on to win the Euro with Italy. He also has a good shout for his Ballon d'Or and is one of the top 5 candidates to win this year.

#3 N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea)

Kante's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 13
Minutes: 709
Goals: 0
Assists: 0

N'Golo Kante is the name on every people's lips. Although his stats aren't that impressive but to understand his impact on the game one will actually need to watch the whole game. He has been impressive and earned back to back MOTM awards in crucial UCL matches.

Also Read: Top 10 highest scoring midfielders in the 21st century: Football facts

Nominees for Champions League positional awards: Forward

#1 Erling Haaland (Dortmund)

Haaland's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 8
Minutes: 706
Goals: 10
Assists: 2

Erling Haaland has been the man for Dortmund both in UCL and the domestic league. The young sensation has impressed everyone with his goalscoring skills and is looking forward to lifting his first-ever forward of the season title.

#2 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern)

Lewandowski's UCL 2020/21 stats:
Appearances: 6
Minutes: 514
Goals: 5
Assists: 0

Robert Lewandowski's season was put to a stall by injuries however, he still managed to emerge out as one of the nominees. Although he and his team were knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals, his goalscoring prowess remains unmatched.

#3 Kylian Mbappé (Paris)

Kylian Mbappe's UCL 2020-21 stats:
Appearances: 10
Minutes: 900
Goals: 8
Assists: 3

Mbappe had a pretty decent season in the UCL. Although they failed in front of the strong Chelsea side, he made a good case for being shortlisted for this award.

The European leagues are up and running and we have already witnessed some great encounters between the top European teams. The hunt to win the European Golden Boot is also taking shape for the 2024-25 season.

Some big names from the Top five European leagues are already in full swing and they are scoring loads of goals to clinch the coveted annual award for the highest goalscorer in Europe. However, some young and talented players have enlisted themselves in the charts as well; even from outside of the top five European leagues.

According to the coefficient rankings updated by UEFA on 7 November 2024, the top five European Leagues are the English Premier League, Serie A (Italy), LaLiga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), and French Ligue 1 respectively. 

Sportzpoint brings you all the details about the leading goalscorers in the top five European leagues, details of the UEFA League ranking, and the leading goalscorers competing for the 2024-25 European Golden Boot.

The European Golden Boot Race

The Golden Boot is awarded by European Sports Media (ESM) which is a unified association of Football Magazine publications such as Marca, Kicker, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Frankfurter AZ, etc. They took over since 1996-97 season and started a new ranking system based on the position of the league for the respective players. 

The UEFA coefficient ranking is considered a measure for weighting points, with the principle being to acknowledge players who score in leagues of higher quality according to rankings, which makes it tougher to find the back of the net.

The number of goals scored in the top five leagues of Europe are counted with a multiplier of two, while those from leagues ranked six to 21 receive a 1.5 multiplier, and goals from all other leagues are counted as one.

This is how the points system works. 

⚽️🏆 Players with the Most European Golden Boot Wins:

🇦🇷 Lionel Messi: 6
🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo: 4
🇺🇾 Luis Suarez: 2
🇫🇷 Thierry Henry: 2
🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski: 2

😳😳😳🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/AObaXoSpah

— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) July 26, 2024

Before looking at the players' list, here is the official UEFA ranking of league coefficients:

UEFA Ranking: League coefficients

Rank 1-5

Goal scorers from these five leagues receive a multiplier of 2. 

Rank 6-21

Goal scorers from these leagues ranked from 6 to 21 receive a multiplier of 1.5. 

Top goalscorers of the 2024-25 season in the top 5 European Leagues (as of 24th May 2025):

Premier League | England

1. Mohamed Salah | 28 Goals

• Club: Liverpool FC
• Nationality: Egypt
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 28

2. Alexander Isak | 23 goals

• Club: Newcastle United
• Nationality: Sweden
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 23

3. Erling Haaland | 21 goals

• Club: Manchester City
• Nationality: Norway
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 21

4. Chris Wood | 20 goals

• Club: Nottingham Forrest
• Nationality: New Zealand
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 20

5. Bryan Mbeumo | 19 goals

• Club: Brentford
• Nationality: Cameroon
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 19

Serie A | Italy

1. Mario Retegui | 25 goals 

• Club: Atalanta BC
• Nationality: Italy
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 25

2. Moise Kean | 18 goals

• Club: AFC Fiorentina
• Nationality: Italy
• Appearances: 10
• Goals: 5

3. Ademola Lookman | 15 goals

• Club: Atalanta BC
• Nationality: Nigeria
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 15

4. Romelo Lukaku | 14 goals

• Club: Napoli
• Nationality: Belgium
• Appearances: 36
• Goals: 14

5. Marcus Thuram | 14 goals 

• Club: Inter Milan
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 32
• Goals: 14

LaLiga | Spain

1. Kylian Mbappe | 30 goals

• Club: Real Madrid
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 34
• Goals: 30

2. Robert Lewandowski | 25 goals 

• Club: FC Barcelona
• Nationality: Poland
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 25

3. Ante Budimir | 21 goals 

• Club: CA Osasuna
• Nationality: Croatia
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 21

4. Ayoze Perez | 19 goals 

• Club: Villarreal
• Nationality: Spain
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 19

5. Raphinha | 18 goals

• Club: FC Barcelona
• Nationality: Brazil
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 18

Bundesliga | Germany 

1. Harry Kane | 26 goals 

• Club: Bayern Munich
• Nationality: England
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 26

2. Serhou Guirassy | 21 goals

• Club: Borussia Dortmund
• Nationality: Guinea
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 21

3. Patrik Schick | 21 goals

• Club: Bayer Leverkusen 
• Nationality: Czech Republic
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 21

4. Jonathan Burkardt | 18 goals

• Club: 1.FSV Mainz 05
• Nationality: Belgium
• Appearances: 29
• Goals: 18

5. Tim Kleindienst | 16 goals 

• Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Nationality: Germany
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 16

Ligue 1 | France

1. Ousmane Dembele | 21 goals 

• Club: Paris Saint-Germain
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 29
• Goals: 21

2. Mason Greenwood | 21 goals 

• Club: Olympique de Marseille
• Nationality: England
• Appearances: 34
• Goals: 21

3. Arnaud Kalimuendo | 17 goals

• Club: Stade Rennais FC
  
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 17

4. Jonathan David | 16 goals

• Club: Lille OSC
• Nationality: Canada
• Appearances: 32
• Goals: 16

5. Alexandre Lacazette | 15 goals

• Club: Lyon
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 15

Read Also | Most goals in Europe's Top Five Leagues in 2023/24 Season

The Ultimate European Golden Boot Race (Among the top 10 European Leagues according to UEFA coefficient rankings)

Considering the players from the top 10 European leagues in this list, this is what the current race of chasing the 2024-25 European Golden Boot looks like:

Welcome to our live coverage of the Arsenal vs Real Madrid UEFA Champions League 2024-25 quarter-final 1st leg match at Emirates Stadium.

This is Koushik Biswas, who will bring you the buildup, head-to-head stats, team news and real-time updates of the all-important match from our web desk. 

Real Madrid qualified for the last eight after a controversial penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid, after losing four games to their road to the round of 16. 

In the meantime, Arsenal thrashed PSV by 9-3 on aggregate to reach the quarter-finals. 

We have an exciting 90-minute game at hand. So, sit back and relax as we bring you all the updates from Sportz Point's web desk.

Hello and welcome to another day of LIVE football coverage on Sportz Point. Tonight, we have one of the biggest rivalries in football history scheduled for us. 

This is Koushik Biswas, who will take you through the buildup, stats, news, real-time updates and commentary of the Manchester United vs Manchester City Premier League 2024-25, set to be played at Old Trafford Stadium. 

Manchester United are in the 13th position on the points table with only 37 points, and Ruben Amorim would love to add more three to that after his first Manchester derby as United boss.

In the meantime, Pep Guardiola, who had tasted defeat in the Champions League, last time he faced Ruben Amorim as a Sporting Cp coach, won't mind taking the revenge. 

So, sit back and relax as we bring you everything on the Manchester Derby. 

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Belgian midfield maestro joined the Blue side of Manchester in 2015 and went on to mark a glittering 10-year career with the club, winning numerous personal and team accolades.

Fewest games needed to reach 100 Premier League assists:

◉ 237 - Kevin De Bruyne
◎ 293 - Cesc Fàbregas
◎ 367 - Ryan Giggs
◎ 445 - Wayne Rooney
◎ 559 - Frank Lampard

KDBrilliant. ™️ pic.twitter.com/lV9CZBOgWG

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 4, 2025

The 33-year-old midfielder has accumulated a total of 118 assists in his Premier League career across two spells with Manchester City and Chelsea, having tallied 280 appearances.

However, Kevin De Bruyne is the fastest player to register 100 assists in the Premier League, having played the fewest games among the footballers who have reached this milestone.

Here are the footballers who needed the fewest games to reach 100 Premier League assists.

Fewest games to reach 100 Premier League assists

237 - Kevin De Bruyne*

Kevin de Bruyne reached the 100-assist milestone in the Premier League in just 237 games, leaving behind some legendary figures who made it to this mark.

City's legendary midfielder registered his 100th assist in the competition on 8 April 2023 in Man City's 4-1 away win against Southampton. He also became the fifth player to bag a hundred assists in Premier League history.

Kevin De Bruyne reaches 100 assists in the Premier League.

No player has done it in fewer games (237) 🎁 pic.twitter.com/zLR9vuEmAU

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 8, 2023

De Bruyne has a total of 118 assists in his Premier League career, spanning 280 games for Chelsea and Manchester City, which is also the second-most PL assists of all time.

Read Also | Most Premier League Assists in a Season

293 - Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas, the Spanish midfield wizard, bagged a total of 111 assists across his 350 appearances for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League.

Fabregas, now retired, earned his 100th Premier League assist on 31 December 2016, in his 293rd appearance in Chelsea's 4–2 home victory over Stoke City.

Febregas is also the third player on the list who has the most assists in Premier League history, while 70 of these came at Arsenal, with the other 41 coming in a Chelsea shirt.

367 - Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs, the legendary Manchester United winger, tops the list for the most assists in Premier League history with a staggering 162 assists in 632 appearances, which is also the third-most PL appearances in history.

The Welsh legend took 367 games to reach the 100-assist milestone, having spent almost 25 years at Old Trafford before retiring in 2014.

Giggs is also the most decorated footballer in English football history, winning a record 34 trophies with Manchester United.

445 - Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is another Manchester United legend who made it to this list, having bagged a total of 103 assists in the Premier League in 491 appearances across Manchester United and Everton.

The English football legend achieved his 100th Premier League assist on November 6, 2016, during Man United's 3-1 away victory against Swansea City, his 445th PL appearance. He had two assists in the match, both for Zlatan Ibrahimović, with the first of these being his milestone 100th assist in the league.

Swansea 1-3 Manchester United. Goals from Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic seals a crucial win for the reds. #MUFC

Highlights of the game! pic.twitter.com/AFpPUiIraO

— David. (@Rooney_esque) November 6, 2016

Interestingly, that first assist for Ibrahimović also marked the 25,000th goal scored in Premier League history.

559 - Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard, the legendary midfielder for Chelsea, reached the 100-assist landmark in 559 appearances in the Premier League. The milestone assist came in Chelsea's memorable 7-1 victory at home against Aston Villa on March 27, 2010.

ON THIS DAY in 2010, Frank Lampard hit four goals in Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa http://t.co/L0yofsU2cq pic.twitter.com/vY3mpFQe3q

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 27, 2014

Lampard had a total of 102 assists in PL in a total of 609 appearances, having spent different spells across Chelsea, Manchester City, and West Ham United.

Remarkably, he is the only midfielder to have scored over 150 goals and provided over 100 assists in Premier League history.

(*the only active player on this list. The stats are accurate as of 5 April 2025)

Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, is known for his brilliant business strategy during the transfer windows. In recent years, Los Blancos have built one of the most impressive and young squads in football. Players like Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Thibaut Courtois, Fede Valverde, and Rodrygo are all playing for the team, there are not many sides in world football who can compete with them. 

As a result, Los Blancos have to pay for their talent and their wages are pretty handsome. Toni Kroos was the club's highest-paid player but decided to retire at the end of the 2023-24 season. After Kroos' retirement, the club brought in Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, as of now Mbappe is the most earning player for the Los Blancos. 

So, let's take a look at how much money all Real Madrid players are making in 2025, featuring Los Blancos' stars like Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior and rising stars like Arda Guler, Endrick, and Raul Asencio.

Every Real Madrid's Players wages in 2025:

Goalkeepers:

In goal, it should come as a surprise to no one that Thibaut Courtois is comfortably the highest earner in Real Madrid. The Belgian international joined Real Madrid in 2018 from Chelsea and has been a number-one choice since then. However, his injuries were never any doubt about his spot in the starting lineup, and his weekly wage reflects that. Courtois is currently earning at Real Madrid €248,249 per week.

Andrey Lunin is another goalkeeper currently in the first squad and he is currently earning at Real Madrid €46,505 per week. He is the only backup of Thibaut Courtois, so, first-team opportunities are not something he is expected to be presented with too often, but he stepped up brilliantly during Courtois' injury last season.

Defenders:

In terms of the highest-paid defenders at Real Madrid, David Alaba is currently earning at Real Madrid €372,373/week more than any other defenders in the squad. David Alaba's teammates Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao both are currently earning at Real Madrid €234,139 per week.

Similarly, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy both are currently earning at Real Madrid €172,450/week. Lucas Vasquez is currently earning at Real Madrid €155,238/week. Fran Garcia, Jesus Vallejo, and Raul Asencio, these three defenders are currently earning at Real Madrid €86,225/week, €28,914/week, and €13,493/week each. 

And, as the current reports, Liverpool's Trent Alexander Arnold has agreed on a deal to join Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer and will be taking home €240,000 per week and this will make him the second-highest earning defender for Los Blancos and also, he will become highest-paid right back in the football world. 

Midfielders:

Jude Bellingham has been playing like the best midfielder in the world since his Real Madrid transfer in 2023 and he is currently earning at Real Madrid like the midfielder too. Jude is making €344,735 per week. Federico Valverde is currently earning at Real Madrid €275,887 per week. Aurelien Tchouameni is making over €200,000 per week as he is currently earning at Real Madrid €206,874 per week. 

The last two midfielders in the squad are tied, with Dani Ceballos and Luka Modric both are currently earning at Real Madrid €172,450 per week. The Croatian has accomplished some legendary things for Real Madrid, including winning the Ballon d'Or in 2018. 

Forwards:

Kylian Mbappe is far and away the highest earner for Los Blancos. Kylian Mbappe is currently earning at Real Madrid over half and million euros every single week. Some way behind him in second place among the forwards is Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian is currently earning at Real Madrid under €350,000 per week. 

Vinicius' fellow Brazilian Rodrygo is currently earning €206,874 per week at Real Madrid. And the remaining forwards, Brahim Diaz, Arda Guler, and Endrick, this three-forwards are currently making at Real Madrid €120,649, €83,566, and €66,845 per week each.

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