The Premier League Golden Boot is an annual award presented to the highest scoring player over the course of a single season. For sponsorship purposes, its official name is the Cadbury Golden Boot. As well as being given a trophy (in the shape of a Golden Boot), the winner is also given £1,000 for every goal scored. The amount is then donated to a charity of the winner’s choice.
Teddy Sheringham of Tottenham Hotspur was the first to win the award in 1992, thanks to the 22 goals he scored in that campaign. This was also the first season of the newly-created Premier League.
The record for the most goals scored to get the Golden Boot is tied between Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers) and Andy Cole (Newcastle United), who had both netted a total of 34 goals. Andy Cole received the award in the 1993-1994 season, and Shearer had his in the next (1994-1995). Cole finished on 34 goals in just 40 games (this was before the total league games to be played became 38), and Shearer managed 34 goals in 42 games.
The Portuguese superstar netted a staggering 31 goals in 34 games in a season which saw Manchester United win the league that season with a total of 89 points.
Ronaldo’s brilliant string of performances at Old Trafford were about to come to a screeching halt, however, as by the summer of 2009, he was gone. Real Madrid had signed the 24-year-old for an eye-watering £80m, which was a record transfer fee at the time.
Cristiano Ronaldo spent nine years at Real Madrid, and won a plethora of accolades in the process. Here, he cemented himself as one of the best players in the world. He seemed to score for fun, whether it be in the league or on the biggest stage of them all: the Champions League. No match that Ronaldo participated in was left untouched by his magic.
Then, in the summer of 2018, after rumours broke out regarding his poor treatment at Real Madrid, Juventus announced that they had signed the 33-year-old for £100m. Whilst he hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts in Turin, there’s no doubt that the Euro 2016 winner will bounce back soon enough.