Golden Shoe 2016-17: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Updated Points on March 6

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi remains the leader in the race for this season's European Golden Shoe after a two-goal outing against Celta Vigo helped him take his league goal tally for the 2016-17 campaign up to 23.

That total means the Blaugrana wizard sits one goal ahead of Torino frontman Andrea Belotti (22) and two ahead of Borussia Dortmund ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (21), who netted a brace against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Paris Saint-Germain marvel Edinson Cavani remains the highest scorer in the Golden Shoe standings with 27, but Ligue 1's lower point multiplier means he remains fourth with 40.5 points, despite having more goals than any of his peers.

Another leading man who improved his 2016-17 record this weekend was Harry Kane, whose brace helped Tottenham Hotspur to a 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday, taking his overall count to 19 and tying him for fifth place.

Read on as we break down the European Shoe's top 10, complete with analysis of some of the storylines from this weekend.

Position	Player	Club	Goals x Constant	Points
1.	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	23 x 2.0	46.0
2.	Andrea Belotti	Torino	22 x 2.0	44.0
3.	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	21 x 2.0	42.0
4.	Edinson Cavani	PSG	27 x 1.5	40.5
T5.	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	19 x 2.0	38.0
T5.	Edin Dzeko	AS Roma	19 x 2.0	38.0
T5.	Gonzalo Higuain	Juventus	19 x 2.0	38.0
T5.	Luis Suarez	Barcelona	19 x 2.0	38.0
T5.	Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur	19 x 2.0	38.0
T10.	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	18 x 2.0	36.0

Points for the Golden Shoe table are calculated by the number of goals multiplied by difficulty factor—determined by the league in which the goals are scored.

Goals scored in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Primeira Liga are worth two points, while in Ligue 1, goals are multiplied by 1.5.

Messi on the Move

Vladimir Rys Photography/Getty Images

An award of the Golden Shoe's prestige requires a prestigious victor, and Messi is angling toward just that after bagging his 22nd and 23rd goals of the campaign in a 5-0 rout of Celta Vigo on Saturday.

The Argentinian completed a no-holds-barred display by bookending the scoreline with the first and last goals of Barcelona's demolition, and the Champions League took note of his superb hot streak in La Liga of late:

Not that it counts at all toward his Golden Shoe count, but Messi also showed off his overall contribution to Barca's cause by following up with two assists, improving an already fearsome Spanish record, per Squawka:

With 23 goals to his name, Messi boasts just a one-goal lead over Torino's Belotti—equal to two points in the Golden Shoe hunt—and the Blaugrana remain a point ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga, albeit having played one game more.

But with their dazzling dynamo leading the way and enjoying the best form of his campaign to date, there's no reason manager Luis Enrique can't hope of ending his Barcelona tenure with one last league crown.

Clutch Cavani Keeps PSG Firing

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

While Ligue 1's lower point modifier may be something of an obstacle for Paris-based Cavani, the Uruguayan isn't allowing that to impede him when it comes to contending for this season's Golden Shoe.

An 80th-minute penalty in PSG's 1-0 win over Nancy showed the blossoming hero can come up with the much-needed winners when required, and he indicated he had his shooting boots on during Saturday's warm-up:

An already outrageous league goal count of 27 is impressive enough for manager Unai Emery's leading man, although that becomes even more astounding when one considers he has 37 for the season, per beIN Sports' Kay Murray:

It's largely thanks to Cavani successfully filling a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic-shaped void up front that PSG find themselves just three points off Ligue 1 leaders AS Monaco.

Not only has the South American kept firing to keep PSG in the silverware race across multiple fronts this season, but his red-hot form could dictate whether Cavani finishes with individual accolades to his name, too.