Ronaldo, Messi, Salah and the candidates to win European Golden Shoe in 2019-20

Can Lionel Messi win the award for a fourth straight season?

The Barcelona legend has finished as top-scorer on six occasions in total – his 50-goal haul in 2011-12 remains a record – and will be favourite to win it again this season.

Messi scored 36 times in La Liga last season and with the Blaugrana's attack having been bolstered by Antoine Griezmann, there is no reason why the Argentine can't enjoy a similarly productive campaign this time around.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 21 times in Serie A last season – his lowest total in a domestic league since he struck 18 for Manchester United in 2008-09.

However, the Portuguese will be confident of racking up even more goals this term, given the conservative Massimiliano Allegri has been replaced as Bianconeri boss by the more attack-minded Maurizio Sarri.

Ronaldo has claimed the Golden Shoe on four previous occasions, but not since 2014-15, when he hit a career-high 48 goals.

Mohamed Salah has become one of the world's best goalscorers since joining Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.

The Egyptian wizard went close to winning the Golden Shoe in his first season in the Premier League, in 2017-18, by scoring 32 goals, just two fewer than Messi.

He managed an impressive 22 strikes last campaign but will need to get back to his very best form if he is to have a chance of taking top spot this term.

Kylian Mbappe followed up his sensational performances for France during their triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign by netting 33 goals for Paris Saint-Germain last season to finish as runner-up to Messi in the race for the European Golden Shoe.

It is worth remembering that the former Monaco forward is still only 20, so there is every chance that he could be set for an even more prolific 2019-20 campaign.

Neymar has never previously managed to mount a sustained Golden Shoe challenge but his ratio of goals to games over his past two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain suggest he could be a challenger if he stays fit.

The Brazilian scored 19 goals in 20 games in his first campaign in Ligue 1 and hit 15 in 17 last season. However, it's not yet clear if Neymar will still be at the Parc des Princes come the close of the summer transfer window, with the forward keen on rejoining Barcelona.

Eden Hazard never managed to score more than 16 league goals across a solitary season at Chelsea, meaning he has never previously contended for the Golden Shoe.

However, with the Belgian having sealed a dream summer switch to Real Madrid, he could be set for a prolific campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Luis Suarez is the only player other than Messi or Ronaldo to have lifted the Golden Shoe since Diego Forlan in 2008-09.

In fact, the Uruguay international has claimed the honour twice, sharing top spot with Ronaldo in 2013-14, after hitting 31 goals for Liverpool, before winning the prize outright two seasons later after racking up 40 goals for Barcelona.

Sergio Aguero has scored 20-plus goals in the league for five consecutive seasons at Manchester City.

However, the Argentine has never scored more than 26 due to his persistent injury problems and only by staying fit will he have a chance of winning what would be a first Golden Shoe.

Harry Kane has established himself as a perennial Golden Shoe contender ever since his breakout season at Tottenham in 2014-15.

Indeed, his 30-goal, career-high haul in 2017-18 saw him finish just four behind Messi.

At 26, Kane should be entering his prime, so he is likely to challenge again provided he avoids any further ankle issues.

In his first full season after joining Arsenal in January 2018, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck 22 times to share the Premier League's golden boot award with Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Now fully settled at the Emirates, the Gabonese striker will be looking to emulate the 31 goals he scored for Borussia Dortmund in 2016-17.

It's certainly not beyond Aubameyang, who has formed a formidable partnership with Alexandre Lacazette and is now set to benefit from the addition of Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal's attack.

Sadio Mane is coming off the most prolific season of his career to date, with his 22 goals earning him a share of the Premier League's Golden Boot with Salah and Aubameyang.

With his new-found confidence in front of goal, the Senegalese striker will be looking to step it up again this season as Liverpool chase a first English top-flight title since 1990.

The starting centre-forward in any Real Madrid side should always be a contender for the Golden Shoe. However, it remains to be seen if Zinedine Zidane's first-choice No.9 this season will be veteran striker Karim Benzema or new signing Luka Jovic.

The latter was signed for €60m after a fantastic season at Eintracht Frankfurt but it is worth noting that he only hit 17 goals in the Bundesliga and is still only 21 years of age.

In addition, Benzema hit 21 goals in La Liga last term – his best tally since 2015-16 – so, even at 31, he could hinder Jovic's hopes of a prolific first year in the Spanish capital.

Robert Lewandowski has scored 20-plus goals in the Bundesliga for seven of the past eight seasons.

The prolific Polish striker, who turns 31 this month, is still at the peak of his powers and the possible arrival of Leroy Sane at the Allianz Arena would also represent a significant boost to Lewandowski's hopes of winning the Golden Shoe for the first time.

At 36 years of age, Fabio Quagliarella scored an incredible 26 goals for Sampdoria to post the best numbers of his lengthy career, putting him third in last season's Golden Shoe standings.

It remains to be seen if the veteran can maintain his sensational form this time around but, having been recently recalled to the Italy squad, the revitalised forward is clearly in no mood to succumb to the ravages of Father Time just yet!

Krzysztof Piatek was plucked out of Poland's first division to join Genoa at the start of last season, where he scored 13 league goals before earning a January move to AC Milan and adding a further nine.

His 22 Serie A goals placed him third on the league's goalscoring charts, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the 24-year-old Polish striker will be optimistic about getting even more chances under new coach Marco Giampaolo, who advocates an exciting brand of football.