The Golden Shoe and Espadrille

Want to know who is officially the most prolific forward in Europe? Then look no further because the results are in!

The results are in!

The Golden Shoe and Espadrille are fast becoming two of the most prestigious awards in the game, with past winners including Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jermaine Beckford. The fact is we all love goals and those who know how to find the back of the net, but who is really the best at it? Is it the player who scores the most, or the striker that always seems to pop up and score in the important matches? Well here at Soccer AM we think the players with the best goals-to-games ratio should be recognised, which is why all season we've be revealing who, in our opinion, are the best strikers in Europe with a bit of help from our friends at Opta. The Golden Shoe took into account all the players in the top four tiers of the English game as well as the Scottish Premier League for the first time, while The Espadrille focused on the top forwards from Italy's Serie A, Spain's Primera Division, the SPL and of course our very own Premier League. To qualify, the players had to have played in at least half of their side's matches this season with only league goals counting. And after a long, hard but ultimately thrilling season the goals have been counted the number of appearances have been verified and we finally have our winners!

The Golden Espadrille

Didier Drogba may be the most prolific striker in the land, but even he can't match the exploits of the best player in the world, Lionel Messi! The heir to Diego Maradona's throne, we've simply run out of superlatives to describe the little Argentine so we'll just let the stats do the talking instead! In 35 appearances in La Liga this season he has hit the back of the net 34 times, giving him a goals-to-games ratio of 0.97... if you were wondering, that's quite impressive! The Barcelona wizard scored a mammoth 47 goals in total this season, equalling Brazil legend Ronaldo's tally for the Catalan Giants during the 1996-97 campaign. His breathtaking displays have led to the inevitable 'is he the best ever?' questions, and he will have no better platform than this summer's World Cup to formally stake his claim. For now though he'll have to do make do with just being the Fifa World Player of the Year, La Liga champion and most importantly Soccer AM's 2010 Golden Espadrille winner!

PLAYER	TEAM	GOALS	GAMES	RATIO
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	34	35	0.97
Didier Drogba	Chelsea	29	32	0.91
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	26	29	0.90
Gonzalo Higuain	Real Madrid	27	32	0.84
Antonio Di Natale	Udinese	29	35	0.83
Fernando Torres	Liverpool	18	22	0.82
Wayne Rooney	Man Utd	26	32	0.81
Kris Boyd	Rangers	22	30	0.73
Carlos Tevez	Man City	23	35	0.66
David Villa	Valencia	21	32	0.66

The Golden Shoe

Following a season of twists and turns, the Premier League title was settled at Stamford Bridge, and fittingly so was Soccer AM's Golden Shoe! For many it was simply the subplot at the end of an enthralling season, but for those involved it meant everything, just ask Didier Drogba! A striker will forever be judged on the goals he scores and the Chelsea hitman is a man who knows how to find the back of the net! The 32-year-old added his name to an illustrious list of Golden Shoe winners on the final day of the season, and in some style too! His hat-trick was the icing on the cake as Chelsea thumped Wigan 8-0 to claim their third league title in six seasons. And few would argue that the Ivory Coast star played a pivotal role in Carlo Ancelotti's sides success this season, scoring an incredible 29 goals in just 32 appearances! It all means that he is officially the most prolific striker in the land with a goal-to-games ratio of 0.91 - far superior to any other player in the country. His closest competitor for much of the season came in the shape of title rival Wayne Rooney, however the Manchester United star fell at the final hurdle and he finishes third, marginally behind Liverpool's Spanish hotshot Fernando Torres. Carloz Tevez and Darren Bent complete a Premier League heavy Golden Shoe table in seventh and eighth places respectively, while Lee Hughes is the highest placed forward outside the top flight in fourth. Rangers' Kris Boyd, and League One trio Rickie Lambert, Billy Paynter and Grant Holt complete this year's top ten, however it is Drogba who will be receiving a visit from the lovely Helen Chamberlain and the much coveted Golden Shoe!

PLAYER	TEAM	GOALS	GAMES	RATIO
Didier Drogba	Chelsea	29	32	0.91
Fernando Torres	Liverpool	18	22	0.82
Wayne Rooney	Man Utd	26	32	0.81
Lee Hughes	Notts County	30	39	0.77
Kris Boyd	Rangers	22	30	0.73
Rickie Lambert	Southampton and Bristol Rovers	31	46	0.67
Carlos Tevez	Man City	23	35	0.66
Darren Bent	Sunderland	24	38	0.63
Billy Paynter	Swindon Town	26	42	0.62
Grant Holt	Norwich City	24	39	0.63