Who'll Score The Most Goals In Europe's Top 5 Leagues?

Being top goalscorer in the Premier League or any league is a tremendous achievement for any player. But to be the best scorer in Europe's top five leagues is an accolade any player would be proud to have. Some very big names have finished the season as the leading scorer in Europe's five major leagues - the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1. 

In the past 10 seasons, Lionel Messi (three times), Luis Suarez (twice) and Cristiano Ronaldo have all finished top of the goalscoring charts. But it was Erling Haaland who scored more league goals than anyone else last season in Europe's top five leagues. He started the season as favourite for the Premier League's Golden Boot award with the leading football betting sites. Will the Norwegian be able to back it up again this season?

Bookies.com has analysed the chances of the leading candidates this season and applied hypothetical odds. 

Leading Goalscorer In Europe's Top 5 Leagues

Erling Haaland has been a goalscoring machine in recent seasons, scoring regularly for Borussia Dortmund before joining Manchester City last season. Haaland is the man to beat after scoring 36 times in 35 Premier League games, which helped Pep Guardiola's side win the title by five points. 

The Norwegian, whose £51.2m transfer fee looks a bargain, started the 2023/24 season with two goals in City's 3-0 season-opening win at Burnley. This weekend, he and City welcome Newcastle to the Etihad, and Haaland will be looking to add to his incredible total of goals. 

Haaland scored in the 3-3 draw when the two sides met at St James Park last August. Newcastle will hope to capitalise on the fact that City had a trip to Greece for the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, which might have an impact on who plays for City on Saturday. 

Haaland wasn't the only player to score twice in the Premier League last weekend. Newcastle's Alexander Isak grabbed two of his side's five goals in their 5-1 win over Aston Villa at St James' Park. 

The Sweden international scored 10 goals in 22 league games last season, and getting off the mark as well as he did against Villa will give him plenty of confidence to go on and beat that total and perhaps challenge Haaland for this season's Golden Boot award.

Mohamed Salah missed out on scoring in the Premier League's opening weekend for a seventh successive season when he was substituted in the closing stages of Liverpool's 1-1 at Chelsea. He showed his frustration at Jurgen Klopp's decision, and he will look to take that frustration out on Bournemouth this weekend. 

Salah shared the Golden Boot award with Heung-Min Son in the 2021/22 season, and the Egyptian can't be discarded from being this season's goalscoring king of Europe. 

While the Bundesliga and Serie A start this weekend, La Liga and Ligue 1 got under way last weekend. Rennes' Ibrahim Salah was one of four players to score twice last weekend in France's top flight. The others were Akor Adams of Montpellier, Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder and Romain Del Castillo from Stade Brest. 

Other players to consider for Europe's leading scorer this season include Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who led La Liga last season with 23 goals. Barca were held to a 0-0 draw at Getafe in their opening game, which saw both sides finish the game with 10 men. Lewandowski will be among the favourites with the top betting apps to score more goals in the Bundesliga than anyone else.

Lewandowski's former club Bayern Munich have signed Harry Kane for over £100m, and the England captain will want to make an immediate impact for a team that has won 11 Bundesliga titles in a row. The German top-flight season, like Ligue 1, is four games shorter than the Premier League, which means Kane will have fewer opportunities to score. 

And don't forget about Kylian Mbappe, who has pledged his future to Paris St-Germain after it had looked like he would be moving away from the French capital. Mbappe may have lost his team-mates Neymar and Lionel Messi, who joined Al Hilal and Inter Miami, respectively, but the Frenchman hasn't lost his scoring touch. 

Victor Osimhen's 26 league goals helped Napoli win their third Scudetto and their first since Diego Maradona set Serie A alight with his brilliance over 30 years ago. Osimhen was a reported transfer target for many clubs this summer, but he is still a Napoli player. If you have a free bet offer to use, then consider Osimhen to be Serie A's leading scorer this season.

And keep an eye out for Niclas Fullkrug who is making a name for himself at Werder Bremen. If the Germany international can repeat or improve on last season's 16 league goals, then it might just pave the way for a big-money move.