The 10 contenders for the European Golden Shoe

Just last week it seemed like Liverpool star Mohamed Salah was on course to claim the award with some ease, but an untimely groin injury, couple with Lionel Messi's hat-trick against Leganes on Saturday has seen the Argentine match Salah's tally of 29 league goals for the season so far.

That figure leaves the pair out in front, with a significant three-goal lead on Robert Lewandowski and Ciro Immobile who hable plundered 26 goals for Bayern Munich and Lazio respectively this season.

A curious observation is that Benfica's Brazilian striker Jonas actually has more league goals than any other player on this list (33), but the Portuguese league's lower coefficient means that he is at a disadvantage and trails the leaders by 8.5 points.

The former Valencia man still comes in a respectable fifth though, something that is not to be sniffed at considering he is directly above Mauro Icardi, Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero in the rankings.

It is worth pointing out that Ronaldo has already managed to claw his way back into ninth following his dismal start to the campaign and whilst he has admirably chipped away at Messi's lead, it seems improbable that the Portuguese will catch up with his rival with just seven games remaining.

Here are the current European Golden Shoe rankings:

1. Mohamed Salah - 29 goals (58 points)

1. Leo Messi - 29 goals (58 points)

3. Robert Lewandowski - 26 goals (52 points)

3. Ciro Immobile - 26 goals (52 points)

5. Jonas - 33 goals (49.5 points)

6. Harry Kane - 24 goals (48 points)

6. Edinson Cavani - 24 goals (48 points)

6. Mauro Icardi - 24 goals (48 points)

9. Cristiano Ronaldo - 23 goals (46 points)

10. Luis Suárez - 22 goals (44 points)