Cristiano Ronaldo will be the owner of the 2023 Golden Boot title, after Pep Guardiola confirmed that Erling Haaland will retire for the rest of 2023.
Recently, at the press conference before Man City’s trip to Everton’s Goodison Park in round 18 of the 2023/24 Premier League, Pep Guardiola confirmed important information.
The Spanish strategist confirmed that his favorite student Erling Haaland will not be able to return to the field for the rest of 2023, as the Norwegian striker’s injury has not progressed well.
Thus, with Erling Haaland not being able to play in 2023 (when Man City has 1 match left), the race for the 2023 Golden Shoe title has finally ended, with the victory going to the Portuguese superstar. Hey, Cristiano Ronaldo.
With this title, Ronaldo also became the first player in football history to win the Golden Shoe title in three different decades, in 2008, 2015 and 2023.
As of now (December 28), Cristiano Ronaldo is leading the scoring list in the 2023 calendar year with 53 goals. 1 goal more than Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane, but both strikers mentioned above have run out of opportunities to improve their achievements, as Mbappe and Kane’s parent teams no longer have a 2023 schedule.
Strikers’ 2023 scoring list.
The only opponent who can still compete is Erling Haaland, who was recently officially confirmed to take a leave of absence for the year, meaning that Ronaldo will be number 1 on the list when 2023 ends.
Besides, the 38-year-old striker still has a chance to improve his scoring record this year, with the last match of the year between Al Nassr vs Al Taawon at 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 31.
In addition, according to sources in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo will be the owner of the IFFHS “World Top Scorer” award and “Globe Soccer’s Maradona Award” for being the top scorer in 2023.
