Top four players to win Premier League and European Cup golden boot in same season

Manchester clubs strikers have dominated the list

A select group of players have achieved the remarkable feat of finishing as the top scorer in the English top flight and the prestigious European Cup in the same season. This exclusive list, as reported, consists of only four names who have left an indelible mark on the history of football after winning the Premier League and Champions League.

4. Dwight Yorke (Manchester United, 1998-99) – 29 Goals

Dwight Yorke became the first player to win the Premier League and Champions League Golden Boot in the same season. He is one of three Manchester United players to achieve this feat. The Premier League’s Golden Boot resulted in a three-way tie for the second season in succession, with Dwight Yorke finishing level with both Owen and Hasselbaink following a stunning first season at Manchester United.

Yorke’s goalscoring exploits at Aston Villa persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson to make the forward the most expensive player in the club’s history, and he duly responded by firing the Red Devils to treble success.

The Trinidad and Tobago international scored 29 goals in all competitions—18 of which were in the league—to also be named the Premier League Player of the Season and in the division’s Team of the Year. Yorke’s season included a run of eight goals in just five appearances following the turn of the New Year, with the forward becoming the first foreign player, alongside Hasselbaink, to finish as the Premier League’s leading scorer.

He contributed goals against Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Juventus in the Champions League, and he won the Premier League Player of the Season.

3. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United, 2002-03) - 37 Goals

Ruud van Nistelrooy is one of the most prolific strikers the Champions League has ever seen. He won the Golden Boot in the 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2004-05 editions of the tournament. During the 2002-03 season, he managed to join Yorke in Man United folklore as he won his one and only Premier League top scorer award.

The Dutchman was back and even better the following season to become just the second player, at that time, to score 40+ goals in all competitions for a Premier League team in a single season. Ruud Van Nistelrooy finished as the Premier League’s top scorer with 25 goals to win the Golden Boot and was again excellent in Europe to lead the Champions League in goals (12).

His domestic return included hat-tricks against Newcastle, Fulham, and Charlton, while he scored in each of United’s final eight games of the season as the Red Devils overhauled leaders Arsenal to win the Premier League title.

Van Nistelrooy’s 12 goals in the Champions League, scored in nine consecutive games, also set a then-record for goals in a single season of the competition in the modern era. Only Denis Law (46 goals in 1963-43) has ever scored for Manchester United in a single campaign.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, 2007-08) – 39 Goals

Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed his spot among the best players in the world after an incredible 2007–08 season. It was so good that he won the 2008 Ballon d'Or award, the first of five golden balls for the Portuguese player. Ronaldo equalled Alan Shearer's record of 31 goals in a 36-game Premier League season.

To go along with this, the tricky winger scored eight goals in the Champions League to win the Golden Boot. Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 final in Moscow, Russia, after the match ended 1-1 after extra time. Ronaldo scored the goal for the Red Devils, but he did miss his penalty in the shootout.

The Portuguese international won the Premier League’s Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe awards, alongside retaining the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year accolades he had won for the first time the previous season.

1. Erling Haaland (Manchester City, 2022-23) – 48 Goals

Erling Haaland has broken the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Premier League season. The previous record was held by Manchester United striker Andy Cole in 1993-94 and Blackburn’s Alan Shearer in 1994-95, with both of these seasons seeing teams play 42 games apiece. Mohamed Salah held the record for the most goals in a single 38-game Premier League season with 32 in 2017-18.

Erling Haaland had a relatively quiet final but still finished four goals clear at the top of this season's UEFA Champions League scorers rankings. Erling Haaland finished as the top scorer in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League with 12 goals, four more than second-ranked Mohamed Salah.

The Norwegian forward struck five times in the group stage and doubled his season's tally by becoming only the third player to score five in a single Champions League match in the round of 16 (second leg) against Leipzig. He also struck in both legs of the quarterfinal triumph over Bayern, and, though they were his last goals in the competition, that proved enough for Haaland to take the prize.