The Gerd Muller award recognizes the highest-scoring forward of the season. Gyokeres winning the 2024-2025 award was controversial, as he finished second to Mbappe in the European Golden Shoe race.

The reason lies in each award's criteria. The European Golden Shoe only counts goals scored for clubs in national leagues, weighted by league coefficients. La Liga has a coefficient of two, giving Mbappe 62 points for his 31 goals. The Portuguese league's coefficient is 1.5, meaning Gyokeres' 39 goals earned him 58.5 points, placing him second.

Gyokeres speaks after receiving the Gerd Muller Award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony on 22/9. Photo: *Arsenal*

Unlike the Golden Shoe, the Gerd Muller award counts all goals for club and country across all competitions, without weighting. Gyokeres won with 63 goals: 54 for Sporting and 9 for Sweden. Mbappe scored 48: 44 for Real Madrid and 4 for France.

The Gerd Muller award is named after the legendary German striker who won Euro 1972, the 1974 World Cup, three consecutive European Cups, two European Golden Shoes, and was top scorer at the 1970 World Cup and Euro 1972.

Established in 2021, Robert Lewandowski won the first two, followed by Erling Haaland in 2023. Mbappe and Harry Kane shared the 2024 award.

After his prolific season at Sporting, Gyokeres joined Arsenal for 73 million USD plus 11 million in add-ons. The 27-year-old has scored three goals in six appearances for the Gunners.

Thanh Quy (via Marca)